Antoni Wit's ongoing cycle of Penderecki orchestral works is yet another of those truly outstanding Naxos projects that's unlikely to get the attention it deserves. The music isn't easy, or popular, but Wit is a marvellous conductor in this repertoire, and his unfailingly intense and idiomatic performances look to become the standard by which all others will be judged. This new release just may be the best so far.


The Seven Gates, though largely unthreatening in its use of consonant harmony, is a very difficult work to perform. The choral and solo writing is tiring (if often incredibly moving and impressive), and the presence of a lengthy narration may bother some listeners. In my opinion Penderecki is one of the very few composers who can pull it off, and here he does so magnificently.


Perhaps the most wonderful thing about this recording is its ability to be serious (isn't Penderecki always?) without sounding labored, or relentlessly heavy. Partly it's a function of really exceptional choral singing and a uniformly high-quality bunch of soloists. The rest, though, is Wit's ideal pacing and that feeling for timbre and texture that made his Messiaen Turangalila-Symphonie so memorable. In short, even if you don't normally warm to Penderecki, you probably will find this disc surprisingly appealing. The sung texts are available on Naxos' website, but it's just as much fun to simply wallow in the evocative sonorities that Penderecki gets from his very large vocal and instrumental forces. Excellent engineering makes the music both rage and shimmer as it must. A splendid release in every way! [1/24/2007]
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

PENDERECKI: Sextet / Clarinet Quartet / Cello Divertimento

PENDERECKI: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 and 2

It is a trite assumption that by association with Krzysztof Penderecki's Polish identity, a performance of his work by a Polish conductor and orchestra suggests itself to be naturally definitive. In this case however, it may be true. As a former student of Penderecki's, Antoni Wit brings authoritative insight to his direction of the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra on this three volume set of Penderecki's orchestral works. The pieces are not presented chronologically. Instead, each disc pairs earlier and later works, which provides a good comparison of the composer's earliest groundbreaking work to his later neo-romantic symphonies.
The third volume includes Penderecki's Second and Fourth Symphonies. The Second Symphony, known as the 'Christmas Symphony,' continues the composer's exploration of neo-romanticism. Tortuous chromaticism, darkly introspective strings and fierce brass declarations color this as a Christmas of extreme sobriety. Moments of exuberant triumph alternate with ferocious doom. A careful listening will reveal the setting of the carol "Silent Night" in the first movement, and again in the finale. The Fourth Symphony opens with long sustained notes in the brass, wrapped in winding chromatic lines by the orchestra; this is a texture that recurs in various combinations through the symphony.

It is a trite assumption that by association with Krzysztof Penderecki's Polish identity, a performance of his work by a Polish conductor and orchestra suggests itself to be naturally definitive. In this case however, it may be true. As a former student of Penderecki's, Antoni Wit brings authoritative insight to his direction of the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra on this three volume set of Penderecki's orchestral works. The pieces are not presented chronologically. Instead, each disc pairs earlier and later works, which provides a good comparison of the composer's earliest groundbreaking work to his later neo-romantic symphonies.
The first volume is an interesting mix of music, matching the retrospective Third Symphony with earlier and more innovative works such as 'Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima,' 'Flourescences,' and 'De Natura Sonoris 2.' These are pieces of great sonic and formal experimentation. 'Threnody' uses microtonal wails in the strings to deeply disturbing but beautiful effect. In 'Flourescences,' Penderecki uses percussion and polyrhythm sculpturally as much as to define rhythm. Strange metallic rumbling, a typewriter, and droning glissandi in the strings add to the atmosphere of a world where sounds, not pitch or harmony, govern form.
REVIEWS:
American Record Guide (5-6/00, pp.165-66) - Recommended.

It is a trite assumption that by association with Krzysztof Penderecki's Polish identity, a performance of his work by a Polish conductor and orchestra suggests itself to be naturally definitive. In this case however, it may be true. As a former student of Penderecki's, Antoni Wit brings authoritative insight to his direction of the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra on this three volume set of Penderecki's orchestral works. The pieces are not presented chronologically. Instead, each disc pairs earlier and later works, which provides a good comparison of the composer's earliest groundbreaking work to his later neo-romantic symphonies.
The first volume is an interesting mix of music, matching the retrospective Third Symphony with earlier and more innovative works such as 'Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima,' 'Flourescences,' and 'De Natura Sonoris 2.' These are pieces of great sonic and formal experimentation. 'Threnody' uses microtonal wails in the strings to deeply disturbing but beautiful effect. In 'Flourescences,' Penderecki uses percussion and polyrhythm sculpturally as much as to define rhythm. Strange metallic rumbling, a typewriter, and droning glissandi in the strings add to the atmosphere of a world where sounds, not pitch or harmony, govern form.
REVIEWS:
American Record Guide (5-6/00, pp.165-66) - Recommended

PENDERECKI Hymne an den heiligen Adalbert 1. Song of the Cherubim 2. Canticum Canticorum Salomonis 3. Kosmogonia 4. Strophen 5 • Antoni Wit, cond; 4,5 Olga Pasichnyk (sop); 4 Rafa? Bartmi?ski (ten); 4 Tomasz Konieczny (bs); 5 Jerzy Artysz (spkr); 1,3-5 Warsaw PO; 1-4 Warsaw P Ch • NAXOS 8.572481 (57:18)


Naxos’s Penderecki releases have been of very good quality, but have tended to jumble together music in wildly different styles. The present release is no exception, going backwards chronologically from the Hymne an den heiligen Adalbert (1997) to Strophen (1959), which was composed when Penderecki was in his mid-20s. One would be forgiven for guessing that at least two different composers, perhaps more, were at work here. In the 1970s, thanks in large part to Hollywood, I was turned on to “old” Penderecki, and had a difficult time accepting the changes his style underwent from that point onward. Now that I am gaining maturity (ha!), I’ve become more open-minded, and if “new” Penderecki is not as innovative and striking as “old” Penderecki, the level of workmanship remains very high, and a distinctive voice remains, albeit a different one.


Having said that, I think this disc is most welcome for the presence of the last two, and oldest, works listed in the headnote, because they have been elusive on CD—in fact, I am not sure they have appeared on CD until now. The first (and only?) recording of the creepily beautiful Kosmogonia (1970) appeared on the Polskie Nagranie/Muza and then the Philips labels. The conductor was Andrzej Markowski, and the soloists were Stefania Woytowicz, Kazimierz Pustelak, and Bernard ?adysz. That recording, if you can find it, remains attractive, as it has a warmth and an emotional quality not quite matched by Wit’s, which seems a little clinical. As I recall, like Naxos, it does not print the work’s texts (which are “in copyright”), but I think the texts dealt with the creation of the universe and ended with . . . was it a quotation from Neil Armstrong? Maybe someone will help me out here. I have Strophen on a Polskie Nagranie/Muza LP (with Canticum Canticorum Salomonis ) and I am glad to replace it with this new version, even though I prefer Stefania Woytowicz to Olga Pasichnyk. The texts are taken from Menander, Sophocles, the Books of Isaiah and Jeremiah, and Omar Khayyam, and if their stagey narration makes Strophen seem a little dated, one has to appreciate the work’s daring, if nothing else.


Canticum Canticorum Salomonis (1973) slightly predates Penderecki’s Magnificat , and listeners will appreciate their stylistic proximity, particularly in the aggressive choral writing. Song of the Cherubim (1986) is much more reined in, with little to remind one of the composer’s avant-garde experimentation 15 years earlier. It is, nevertheless, a fine work, whose stern spirituality speaks for itself. Hymne an der heiligen Adalbert references a bishop who was martyred, in the 10th century. The stark but impressive brass and choral writing play off each other to good effect. This is much closer to Górecki than “old” Penderecki; it’s even (gasp) tonal. Still, it’s tough and demanding in its own way, and I don’t think anyone could reasonably suggest that Penderecki lost his nerve as he passed through middle age—he simply became more appreciative of tradition.


The Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, whether they are conducted by Wit or someone else, can be depended upon to bring authenticity and fire to Penderecki’s music. Despite my preference for Markowski’s Kosmogonia , I really have no reservations about these performances. In fact, this Canticum Canticorum Salomonis is the most impressive I’ve heard, eclipsing the composer’s own recording on EMI. (Wit’s slower tempos emphasize the music’s sensuality.) Texts, with the exception of Kosmogonia , are available online. I am looking forward to hearing what Wit does with the Magnificat.


FANFARE: Raymond Tuttle

Composed for the final concert of the Chopin bicentenary celebrations in Warsaw in 2010, Krzysztof Penderecki’s Powia?o na mnie morze snów… (A sea of dreams did breathe on me…) is an extended song cycle comparable in scale to the composer’s Eighth Symphony [Naxos 8.570450]. The individual songs, settings of both Romantic and contemporary Polish poetry grouped into larger movements, chart a progression from an almost impressionistic lightness to monumentality, the expressive tenor of the music ranging widely – nostalgic for loss, but also tense and impassioned. Antoni Wit, Polish conductor non-pareil and for over a decade the managing and artistic director of the Warsaw Philharmonic, is at the conductor’s podium leading the orchestra, chorus and soloists gathered together for this grandly-scaled, important project.

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REVIEW:

As one by now expects as a matter of course, conductor Antoni Wit and the Warsaw Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra provide letter-perfect renditions that also fully capture the spirit as well. While the difficulties of mastering the Polish language (not a particularly mellifluous one for singing) may prove a hindrance to this work entering the standard repertoire, on the basis of musical merits it fully deserves such placement; a stronger piece than the recent and uneven Symphony No. 8, for me this confirms Penderecki’s status as the world’s greatest living composer. Naxos provides excellent recorded sound, and Polish-English texts in the booklet rather than online. Urgently and emphatically recommended.

– Fanfare

This album was nominated for the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance.
Recording information: Warsaw Philharmonic Hall (05/27/2003-06/03/2003).

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REVIEW:

Stylistically speaking, A Polish Requiem is remarkably coherent. Penderecki knows how to handle large choral-orchestral forces, and how to develop long paragraphs and build up to well-calculated climaxes, while drawing on a large stylistic palette. A Polish Requiem may not be without "longueurs", but it nevertheless contains many powerful moments that cannot fail to impress.

The present performance conducted by the ever-faithful Antoni Wit is as fine and assured as one may wish. He draws committed and convincing singing and playing from all concerned, to make the best of this substantial work.

– MusicWeb International

The highly romantic music of Alla Pavlova, a Russian composer now resident in the USA, has been praised for its ‘surreal serenity…woven with unflinching sadness, without concessions to short attention spans and all within the long émigré tradition of nostalgia for homeland’ (MusicWeb) and its ‘integrity and good old-fashioned craft’ (Fanfare). These traits are amply evident in her highly emotional Symphony No. 6, inspired by Vincent van Gogh’s famous painting The Starry Night and dedicated to the tormented artist, and the delightful suite from her ballet Thumbelina, based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale.

Pavlova: Symphonies Nos. 2 and 4

Born and trained in Russia, the composer Alla Pavlova later settled in America. Her Symphony No. 1 'Farewell Russia' for chamber orchestra, written in 1994, expresses her feelings about the Russia she knew, now changed beyond recognition. Her Symphony No.

PAVLOVA Monolog. Old New York Nostalgia. Sulamith: Ballet Suite ? Yarolsav Kransnikov (vn); Rossen Milanov, cond; Moscow PO ? NAXOS 8.557674 (73:57)


Much of this program falls into the category of light classical, or pops music. Alla Pavlova, Moscow born and trained, now a resident of New York City, writes well-constructed material that is drenched in nostalgia, and yet each work on this program has a distinct profile. Monolog is an homage to the composer?s music-loving father, an amateur violinist. It is sweet and short, in just the right proportions; the brevity of the piece keeps the sentimentality of the music from welling over into sappiness. Old New York Nostalgia is also, at first blush, too simple and relentlessly tonal to have any lasting impact, and yet there is an integrity and good old-fashioned craft at the core of this writing that draws the listener in, and even encourages repeat hearings. Her memories tend to be sweet with little bitterness; even the ?Lullaby for the Twins,? a 9/11 tribute, oddly skirts any intense emotions.


The centerpiece of the program is Sulamith , a ballet suite based on the Russian writer Alexandre Krupin?s tale of a love affair between King Solomon and one of his servants, the eponymous young waif. The oriental flavor of the music brings to mind Rimsky and Scheherazade , less the soaring sumptuousness. That?s the rub; Pavlova, in all of the music on this CD, seems determined to keep her emotional burners on low, even as she flirts with coy melodrama. Her symphonies, which have also been recorded by Naxos, may tell a different story. Certainly, her voice is intriguing enough to merit an audition.


Rossen Milanov is a young conductor of Bulgarian origin and seems to be one of the more promising talents of his generation. He has become highly admired in Philadelphia, as the associate conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, where he has consistently displayed a sensitive ear for color and dramatic shape, which are appropriate attributes in this music. The Moscow ensemble is gently sonorous, warmly sympathetic to the music.


FANFARE: Peter Burwasser

GRAMMY®-Award winners in 2009, The King’s Singers are one of the world’s most celebrated ensembles. Their programming concept in this disc is unique: built upon the individual clauses of The Lord’s Prayer, beginning and ending in plainchant, it ranges over the centuries to explore the spiritually charged text. Chant is at the heart of the programme, and each composer’s setting illuminates the others, shedding rich interpretative light on the poetic and devotional aspects of the prayer.

PASCULLI Fantasia sull’opera “Poliuto” di Donizetti. Concerto sopra motive dell’opera “La favorita” di Donizetti. Gran concerto su temi dell’opera “I vespri siciliani” di Verdi. Fantasia sull’opera “Les Hugenots” di Meyerbeer. Ricordo di Napoli • Ivan Paisov (ob); Natalia Shcherbakova (pn) • NAXOS 8.570567 (63:05)


In the days before recorded sound, composers were faced with a problem: how to get their music beyond the concert hall and footlights and into the ears of the broader public. In the 18th century, Mozart jumped through this hoop by arranging excerpts from his more popular operas for an ensemble of wind instruments; other composers were already on this band wagon, and those who weren’t turned a blind eye to unauthorized adaptations of their works by some of their more gifted (and some not-so-gifted) colleagues. In the 19th century, the tradition of wind-ensemble arrangements gradually subsided, and was replaced by fantasies on themes from popular operas, usually written for unaccompanied piano (e.g., Liszt and Thalberg) a solo instrument accompanied by piano (Pablo de Sarasate), or occasionally piano and orchestra (Chopin’s variations on Mozart’s “La ci darem la mano” from Don Giovanni ).


In Italy, opera was the undisputed king of the hill, and almost everywhere one went the strains of Bellini, Donizetti, and their countrymen could be found emanating from village bandstands. Restaurants offered patrons the 19th-century equivalent of dinner music via the concertina and/or singing waiters, and the street-corner organ grinders also got in on the act. Everywhere one went it was opera, opera, and more opera!


In the salons of the well-off middle class and in the recital halls, wind instruments were the most prominent of soloists in these fantasies and potpourri , and musicians like oboist Antonio Pasculli (1842–1924) made their share of arrangements for use in their concerts and recitals. The abilities of Pasculli and a number of his colleagues were legendary, and Pasculli may have been the greatest oboe virtuoso of all time; his legendary skills have been favorably compared to those of Paganini. The works assembled here are testimony to Pasculli’s skills and therefore are by no means for the amateur; they are virtuoso display pieces first note to last, requiring the soloist to be on his or her toes throughout. Pasculli wanted to impress, and as a result effectively combined the lyrical aspect of his instrument with its agility, resulting in music of gracious lyricism and dazzling bravura.


I first encountered the manifold and impressive talents of oboist Ivan Paisov on “The Russian Oboe,” also on Naxos (8.570596), an interesting and impressive collection of music by Paisov’s countrymen, including Nikolai Gorlo, Boris Asafyev, and their female colleague Marina Dranishnikova. Paisov’s second release is just as stunning, if not more so. It holds over an hour of operatic fantasies that thrill, charm, and mesmerize. Paisov and Shcherbakova are an ideal pairing whose virtuosity is unquestionable and whose give and take is second to none. Paisov’s tone is beautifully clear, never tight or pinched in the upper register, and warm and rich in the lower reaches of the instrument. He makes his way through Pasculli’s demanding adaptations, replete with scales and arpeggios, with apparent ease and a singing tone. Natalia Shcherbakova is an exceptional pianist who provides sturdy, unwavering, and when necessary, virtuosic support.


This release is not for everyone, but enthusiasts of wind music, oboists in particular, should find it quite interesting and enlightening, not to mention something to add to their toolbox, that is if they have the fortitude!

FANFARE: Michael Carter