Krzysztof Penderecki - Symphony No. 6; Trumpet Concertino; Concerto doppio (Antoni Wit)

Information

Composer: Krzysztof Penderecki

• Trumpet Concertino
• Concerto doppio (Version for Violin, Cello & Orchestra)
• Symphony No. 6 "Chinesische Lieder"

David Guerrier, trumpet

Aleksandra Kuls, violin

Hayoung Choi, cello

Jarosław Bręk, bass-baritone

Hsin Hsiao-ling, erhu

Norrköping Symphony Orchestra

Antoni Wit, conductor

Date: 2023

Label: Naxos

-----------------------------------------------------------

Review

Krzysztof Penderecki’s list of numbered symphonies reached eight – the composer, who died in 2020, never wrote an anticipated ninth – but paradoxically the last to have been completed was the Symphony No. 6. Subtitled ‘Chinese Songs’, it had the longest gestation and was premiered in Guangzhou in 2017. Whether or not it was intended as something valedictory – a tolling bell is heard in the last movement, ‘The Flute Song of Autumn’ – it’s hard not to recall Mahler’s leave-taking with Das Lied von der Erde, particularly since Penderecki draws on the same collection of ancient Chinese poems, translated into German by Hans Bethge.

A distinguished Penderecki interpreter, Antoni Wit – who has recorded more of the composer’s music than anyone else – now adds the Symphony No. 6 to his otherwise complete set of the symphonies, and makes a strong case for the work. Continuing in the ‘song-symphony’ form that Zemlinsky and Shostakovich developed out of Mahler, the haunting score sets eight poems and introduces interludes on the traditional Chinese two-stringed erhu. The baritone Jarosław Bręk is a solid soloist, bringing out the melancholy tone of the texts.

The other two scores are less significant, but they receive excellent performances from Wit and a tautly impressive Norrköping Symphony Orchestra. Featuring some dazzling playing from David Guerrier, the perky Trumpet Concertino (2015) sounds like a throwback to Soviet socialist realism, yet the lyrical Concerto doppio (2012) for violin and cello – Aleksandra Kuls and Hayoung Choi well matched as soloists – finds Penderecki in more personal voice.

— John Allison

-----------------------------------------------------------

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.

***

Antoni Wit (born 7 February 1944) is a Polish conductor. Educated in conducting at the Academy of Music in Kraków and in Paris under Nadia Boulanger, he also holds a law degree from Jagiellonian University. Following success at the Herbert von Karajan Conducting Competition, he led major Polish orchestras, serving as director of the Warsaw Philharmonic from 2001 to 2013 and later as music director of Spain's Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra. Wit has made over 200 records, earning numerous international awards, including a GRAMMY Award, for his acclaimed interpretations of Polish and classical repertoire.

-----------------------------------------------------------