When international listeners think postwar Polish composers, they may think of Krzysztof Penderecki or perhaps of Witold Lutoslawski. But how often do they think of Andrzej Panufnik? Not often enough based on the merits evident in this recording. While Penderecki made his reputation with his sheets of sound, and Lutoslawski made his with his radiantly dodecaphonic sound, Panufnik's fundamentally tonal scores received a less enthusiastic welcome from the American and European avant-garde; recordings of his works, though ...
Read More
When international listeners think postwar Polish composers, they may think of Krzysztof Penderecki or perhaps of Witold Lutoslawski. But how often do they think of Andrzej Panufnik? Not often enough based on the merits evident in this recording. While Penderecki made his reputation with his sheets of sound, and Lutoslawski made his with his radiantly dodecaphonic sound, Panufnik's fundamentally tonal scores received a less enthusiastic welcome from the American and European avant-garde; recordings of his works, though always embraced by an ardent minority, were few and far between. On this spectacular 2007 Ondine release with John Storgårds leading the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, two of the four works are receiving their digital premieres.Storgårds is clearly a big fan of the works, and he really puts his back into making them succeed. The Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra plays with energy and strength. The Heroic Overture, begun in 1939 before the Nazi invasion and completed in 1952 during the...
Read Less