Listeners who have been following the career of Polish postmodernist composer Krzysztof Penderecki will have to hear this disc because it features the world-premiere recording of his Symphony No. 8 "Lieder der Vergänglichkeit" (Songs of Transience). Conductor Antoni Wit delivers a committed and satisfying performance that must be considered at least representative, if not definitive. Written in Penderecki's mature post-1970 style -- that is, with tonal harmonies, staid tempos, dark colors, and heavy textures -- the Symphony ...
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Listeners who have been following the career of Polish postmodernist composer Krzysztof Penderecki will have to hear this disc because it features the world-premiere recording of his Symphony No. 8 "Lieder der Vergänglichkeit" (Songs of Transience). Conductor Antoni Wit delivers a committed and satisfying performance that must be considered at least representative, if not definitive. Written in Penderecki's mature post-1970 style -- that is, with tonal harmonies, staid tempos, dark colors, and heavy textures -- the Symphony No. 8 is in 12 movements setting nineteenth and twentieth century German poetry on the subjects of life, death, and eternity. This style, of course, is a complete volte-face from the style of Penderecki's landmark works of the late '50s and '60s, works that featured cluster harmonies, amorphous tempos, searing colors, and clotted textures. Two works in this youthful style are included on this disc, the Dies irae from 1967 and Aus den Psalmen Davids from 1958, and the contrast of...
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