The recording features works spanning Penderecki's career to date, from Fonogrammi, Anaklasis and the alerting De natura sonoris from the 1960s to the Horn Concerto from 2008, along with Partita and The Awakening of Jacob from the early 1970s. The recording continues Maestro Wit's survey of Penderecki's work for the Naxos label with the National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra in Warsaw, and soloists are Urszula Janik (flute), Jennifer Montone (French horn) and Elżbieta Stefańska (clavichord).
The disc has received praise from classical-music critics. In Tim Ashley's review in the Guardian, he finds the Horn Concert "handsomely played" by Montone, and says "Wit and the Warsaw Philharmonic are mavelously assured elsewhere [...]". Leslie Wright of MusicWeb International makes a similar assessment, and writes,
Antoni Wit and the musicians of the Warsaw Philharmonic continue to do yeoman service to Penderecki with this volume spanning the composer’s career with the greater emphasis placed on his earlier works. If you are new to Penderecki’s music, the Horn Concerto is as good a place to start as any. Jennifer Montone’s performance is excellent…
Antoni Wit (born 1944 in Kraków) has recorded over a dozen albums of Krzysztof Penderecki's music, as well as the works of other renowned Polish and international composers, including Szymanowski, Karłowicz, Lutosławski, Mahler and Strauss. Recording for labels such as EMI, Sony and Naxos, Maestro Wit has been nominated for the Grammy seven times, and now receives the prestigious award for the first time. He is the supervising director and art director of the National Philharmonic, and has conducted over 400 concerts in the past decade. He has led with leading orchestras around the world, including the Dresden Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, St Petersburg Philharmonic, La Scala Milan, NHK Tokyo, the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal and the New Zealand Symphony.
Composer and conductor Krzysztof Penderecki (born 1933 in Dębica) gained international renown for challenging compositions at the outset of his 50-year career. His works are featured in renowned films including The Exorcist, The Shining and Shutter Island. He has inspired contemporary musicians across genres, such as Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood, who composed 48 Responses to Polymorphia as an ode to Penderecki's powerful Polymorphia from 1961.
The 55th annual Grammy Awards took place on the 10th of February 2013, with the cream of the American and international music industry in attendance and winners including the Black Keys, Kanye West Jay-Z, Gotye and Kelly Clarkson gracing the stage. Pop group FUN won the Song of the Year award for their track We are Young, while also picking up the prize for Best Newcomer. We are Young was coproduced by Pawel Sek, who grew up in the city of Przemysl, in southeastern Poland.
To hear the winning Naxos recording of Penderecki, see: www.naxos.com
Editor: Agnieszka Le Nart
Source: www.grammy.com, www.icartists.co.uk, www.thenews.pl