Krzysztof Penderecki - Complete Cello Concertos (Arto Noras)

Information

Composer: Krzysztof Penderecki

1. Concerto for Cello and Orchestra No. 1
2. Concerto for Cello and Orchestra No. 2
3. Concerto for Viola and Chamber Orchestra

Arto Noras, cello

Sinfonia Varsovia

Krzysztof Penderecki, conductor

Date: 2003

Label: Elatus

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Review

Arto Noras is a vigorous‚ stylish cello soloist in all three of the works listed here‚ though only one – the Concerto No 2 – was originally designed for that instrument. The composition described as ‘Cello Concerto No 1’ began life as a work for five-­stringed violin (a violin with a viola extension)‚ while – according to the booklet – there are at least six versions of the Viola Concerto‚ including the option of playing the original viola part on the cello. Penderecki’s music‚ fortunately‚ is a good deal less complicated than all this implies‚ and the Concerto No 2‚ completed in 1982 and first performed by Rostropovich‚ is one of the more satisfying demonstrations of his later‚ unashamedly Romantic style. At 35 minutes it is too long‚ especially in a final section which gets more firmly stuck in a single groove the more determinedly it tries to move on. But it maintains a strong dramatic profile‚ and the obsessive focus on limited materials – with strong echoes of the main theme of Lutoslawski’s Funeral Music (1954­58) – is effectively offset by occasional reminders of the denser harmonies and more explosive moods of Penderecki’s youthful radicalism. That early style is given full rein in the First Concerto‚ an enjoyably spooky and hectic exploration of extremes‚ one moment icily remote‚ the next erupting in volcanic petulance. It’s exhilarating music‚ in which sound­effects matter more than themes‚ but nevertheless far preferable to the routine‚ repetitive thematic processes of the Viola Concerto‚ written a year or so after the Second Cello Concerto and based‚ it appears‚ on very similar material‚ even though little more than half the length. Noras dispatches both these shorter works in the same strongly sculpted manner that serves the Second Concerto so well‚ and the recordings – with the composer doubling as an efficient conductor – are resonant but well defined.

— Gramophone

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Krzysztof Penderecki (23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer. After graduating from the Academy of Music in Kraków, he began teaching there and gained international recognition. His innovative compositions, characterized by experimental sonorities and distinctive orchestral techniques, include Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima, St. Luke Passion, Anaklasis, Utrenja and Polish Requiem. His output also include 5 operas, 8 symphonies, concertos, chamber works and numerous choral compositions. Penderecki received many prestigious honors, including 4 Grammy Awards.

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Arto Noras (born 12 May 1942 in Turku) is a Finnish cellist. He studied at the Sibelius Academy and the Paris Conservatoire, where he earned the Premier Prix in 1964 under Paul Tortelier. His success at the 1966 Tchaikovsky International Competition launched an extensive international performing career. Noras has received several prestigious awards, served as a professor at the Sibelius Academy, and participated in major international music competitions as a juror. He has also enjoyed a notable chamber-music career and as founder of both the Naantali Music Festival and the V Paulo International Cello Competition.

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