Krzysztof Penderecki's St. Luke Passion (Passio et mors Domini Nostri Jesu Christi secundum Lucam) is considered by many to be a landmark work in the history of twentieth century. One would not know that from the degree to which the work has been recorded; since its 1965 premiere, the St. Luke Passion has only been recorded in its entirety three ...
Even though Gustav Mahler's vast Symphony No. 8 in E flat major, "Symphony of a Thousand" is the most difficult of his works to mount -- with an expanded orchestra, an organ, eight vocal soloists, boys choir, two large adult choirs, and an off-stage brass ensemble, it outstrips even the massive instrumentation used in the Symphony No. 2, ...
Naxos continues its exploration into the major repertoire of Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki with his Polish Requiem, which has an interesting background in that its various sections were assembled over time, much in the manner of Johann Sebastian Bach's Mass in B minor. Although the "Sanctus" wasn't added until 1993, most of the individual ...
The most notable feature of Penderecki's Symphony No. 7, "Seven Gates of Jerusalem," is that it sounds more like an oratorio than a symphony; in fact, one movement is set for a cappella chorus. It is not surprising, then, to discover that Penderecki wrote the piece in 1996 as an oratorio in celebration of Jerusalem's third millennium and didn't ...
Among contemporary Polish composers, Henryk Gorécki has nearly outdistanced the long-established popularity of Krzysztof Penderecki, partly due to his willingness to abandon the international style fostered in Darmstadt in favor of a calm, quiet, and accessible style that nonetheless effectively takes on the challenge of Poland's disastrous place ...
The durable Canadian Brass has been among the quickest of small groups to jump on the bandwagon of releasing its own music; various discs have shown that the group's ability to forge a distinctive and seamless combination of classical, jazz, and pop numbers is unimpeded by the appearance of a host of competing groups on the scene. The same ...
Despite an inescapable reputation for composing avant-garde music, many of his works for solo instrument(s) and orchestra are heavily seasoned with Romantic elements. This is certainly the case for the first two works on this Naxos album: the Concerto Grosso No. 1 for 3 Cellos and Orchestra (composed in 2000) and the Largo for Cello and Orchestra ...
The pieces included on Naxos' 2008 release of choral works by Karol Szymanowski exactly matches those of its 1996 recording featuring Karol Stryja leading the Polish State Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, but the remarkable quality of this new version fully justifies the duplication of the repertoire. Antoni Wit, whose stature has become more ...
For some late twentieth century Russian composers, composing for the viola came to represent the same type of "bad luck" that beginning a tenth symphony did generations earlier. It's no surprise, really, that such a superstition would arise; Schnittke suffered the first of what was to be a series of fatally debilitating strokes just after ...
Violinist Benjamin Schmid's choice of repertoire for this Oehms Classics album is perfectly selected for a number of reasons. For starters, the chronological sequence from Wieniawski to Szymanowski to Lutoslawski brilliantly showcases the often underappreciated lineage of great Polish composers. The works of these three giants are ideally suited ...
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