Search - Krzysztof Penderecki, Antoni Wit, The National Polish Symphony Orchestra in Katowice :: Penderecki: Orchestral Works, Vol. 01

A winning CD!

Solanales | Saint Paul, Minnesota United States | 02/27/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As an admirer of Penderecki's 1960 composition, "Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima", I was delighted to see that Naxos has issued a line of this composer's works at a bargain price. The Threnody is incisively played by the strings of the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra. The Third Symphony is very approachable, and indeed is almost Beethoven-esque in some of its stylistic elements. The symphony's forceful and demonic final movement (Vivace) is not one you would like to listen to alone in a dark house on a stormy night! "De Natura Sonoris II" and "Fluorescences" round out a generous collection of Penderecki's early and later compositions. The recording has lots of definition and somewhat forward balanced. A CD that is well worth the money!"

One Star Less for Threnody

Christopher Forbes | Brooklyn,, NY | 07/30/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Thank you Naxos for your commitment to adventurous music at affordable prices. That alone should put this CD on a must have list. Add to that the fact that for the most part, the performances are stellar and it makes this the Penderecki CD to have, if you want to explore this seminal late 20th century composer. The Symphony is one of my favorite Penderecki neo-romantic works. The neo-romantic tendency in Penderecki is evident even in his work of the late 60s. Certainly it is present in the choral music such as the St. Luke Passion. But in the Third Symphony it comes to the fore. This Symphony has echos of Bruckner, Mahler, and even Shostakovitch, but it is uniquely Penderecki. There is the same interest in orchestral effect and brooding melodic material that could be found in earlier works. For me, this Symphony and the Violin Concerto are the most successful pieces by Penderecki in this vein and certainly more interesting than many pieces by neo-romantic composers. (Give me Penderecki over Rouse any day!)The other works on the CD are from an earlier time in Penderecki's career, one in which sonority was everything. The sound experiments in De Natura sonoris III and Flouresences are well developed, but more interesting as experiments than moving as music. That leaves the Threnody. I have to agree that this is a disappointment. The performance has no arc to it. The final cluster, which should be devastating, doesn't seem to exist sonically. In fact, I missed it the first time I heard the CD. Wit seems to approach this piece in the same manner as he approaches the other pieces from the 60s on this disc, and it just doesn't work for a piece dedicated to the Hiroshima victims. (Though interestinly, I saw a lecture with Penderecki once in which he explained that the subtitle of the piece was an afterthought. He had never intended to depict bombs in the tone clusters of the piece.) Aside from the Threnody, Antoni Wit conducts this music with conviction and he has a great pedegree with the music of Penderecki, second only to the composer himself. He has conducted many premiers of the composer's music. And the Polish Radio knows the music through and through. So in conclusion, buy this CD. This is a great introduction to an important 20th century composer. But try to find the Double Forte twofer with the composer conducting the Threnody. That's a much superior performance."

An auspicious debut for Naxos' new Penderecki cycle

Richard A. Cavalla | NJ, USA | 03/19/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great start, not just to this cycle, but to anyone new to Penderecki. The bulk of the disc is the 45 minute Symphony No. 3, started in 1988 and completed in 1995. Like most of Penderecki's work of the last 30 years, it is very approachable and "neo-romantic", showing hints of everyone from Beethoven to Bruckner to Prokofiev, but mostly centering around Penderecki's unique and deeply personal style. It is certainly wild at times, with conductor Wit pushing the orchestra to its limits, but it is also highly melodic and memorable. Of special note is the virtuoso trumpet solo in the 2nd movement as well as the entire 3rd movement, an adagio that sits at the calm heart of the work; it reminds me of Bruckner with its glowing sonorities and long-breathed, expressive string melodies.
The second half of the disc takes us back to Penderecki's radical work of the 60s. The Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima is a modern classic, scored for 52 strings, though you will swear you hear woodwinds and percussion through Penderecki's revolutionary performance instructions. Their is little melody to be found in the work, but it is intense, harrowing, and gripping. Wit's performance may not be quite as wrenching as Penderecki's own with the same orchestra, but Wit brings out some details I had not heard in this dense score. The two remaining works, Fluorescences and De natura sonoris II, are not as intense as the Threnody, but are similar in their exploration of using unusual sounds in musical ways. Fluorescences features a brief appearance by a typewriter(!), the pounding on its keys in a catchy rhythmic pattern that will make you reassess where noise ends and music begins!
Special note has to go to conductor Antoni Wit and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. They play these works like men possessed, adding to an already impressive recording resume that includes the orchestral works of Lutoslawski, and concertos by Shostokovich and Prokofiev.
Finally, a word of thanks to the recording company, Naxos. Penderecki has been underserved on CD, and I am glad to see any new recordings, let alone at budget price! Why it took this long to get a work as exciting, melodic, and expressive as the 3rd Symphony to reach CD is nearly criminal.
Needless to say, I highly recommended purchasing this disc."