PASSION AND CONVICTION

PETER DALE explores the orchestral music of Penderecki -
a composer who lit a beacon for Polish music

<< Continued from page 3

Both Fluorescences and De Natura Sonoris barely seem satisfactory now, though they made a mark in their day. This is not so much music as sonic taxonomy. They reach us now as samples from colour charts rather than as compositions in colour, though to anyone with a historical interest in 20th century music, they may well be seminal scores. However that may be, how much better as music does Lutoslawski's Livre Pour Orchestre, which sets out to achieve very similar things, strike the listener now.

The whole disc is very well played indeed - and this is taxing music to perform even when it is thoroughly accessible to the listener. It is also very well recorded and that, in the case of the intensely if incoherently colouristic pieces which close it, is no mean achievement.

This is only Volume One of Naxos' complete set of Penderecki's orchestral music. I shan't queue up to be first to get my hands on the rest but, as with this disc, I should be sorry not to have them all to listen to sooner or later. [Listen - track 5, 10:15 - 10:50.]

To listen to the aural illustrations in this review, you may need to download RealNetworks' realplayer G2.