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PENDERECKI
(b. 1933)
Orchestral Works, Volume 2.
Symphonies Nos. 1 and 5.

National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Katowice)/Antoni Wit.
Naxos 8.554567 [68'06] [DDD]

The systematic recording of Penderecki's orchestral output is a commendable exercise, and Naxos seems to be relishing the challenge. They even have the advantage of an authentically Polosh orchestra! Furthermore, the coupling of the First and Fifth symphonies works remarkably well, and anyone wishing to investigate this composers' sound-world should not hesitate.

The First Symphony (placed second on the disc) was premiered in 1973. Its arresting, percussive opening seems to pose a question, in response to which Penderecki takes us on a searching, fascinating journey. What seems increasingly clear as one listens (if one did not know already) is that Penderecki is the master of the grand gesture. Memorably scored blocks of sound can be juxtaposed with other, seemingly unrelated passages in the blink of an eye. Its four sections are played without a break. After the expertly-scored first movement ('Arche I'), with its grinding dissonances, the powerful, complex sonorities of the second movement ('Dynamis I') are portrayed here in the bleakest of terms. This desolate sound-scape is a perfect foil for the ghostly scherzo of the next movement, 'Dynamis II'. Here the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra could have been even more alive to the transient harmonic shifts - certainly a more spacious recording would have helped, too. In the faster, more explosive passages they seem to grow in confidence and the whole experience becomes all the more convincing for it.

Dating from almost twenty years later (it was premiered in 1992), the Fifth Symphony is a single-movement span lasting nearly forty minutes. The National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra's violins show remarkably little strain in some of the more stratospheric lines, but there is a sense of over-exertion in the fugato passage about five minutes into the work. This is a pity as there is a cumulative energy to this section which is missed (possibly because of under-rehearsal?). As in the First Symphony, it is the bleak passages which come off the best, their very stillness making one hold one's breath. The 'Scherzo' would need a further injection of mercury before it emerged in its full quicksilver glory, and the climax of the final section is a little too much for the microphones so that the sound becomes crowded.

The disc functions mainly, then, as a super-budget indicator of wht a memorable effect this music really can have. Penderecki has recorded the First Symphony with the LSO on EMI CDM5 65416-2 (coupled with the First Cello Concerto, 'Emancipations' and the Partita), but, of course, you will have to shell out more. Richard Whitehouse's excellent booklet notes lead the listener by the hand through the Pendereckian maze.

Reviewer

Colin Clarke

Performance

Recording


Reviewer

Colin Clarke

Performance

Recording


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