Krzysztof Penderecki (1933-2020)

Started by Maciek, April 12, 2007, 03:43:03 PM

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VonStupp

#480
Quote from: Brewski on August 28, 2021, 07:17:00 AM
So happy that you know of Warland, who really was one of the country's great choral conductors. And I totally agree about his body of work -- all fantastic recordings, with superb musicians.

--Bruce

I sat next to Dale Warland at a choral convention many, many years ago and workshopped with him in the 70's. Suffice to say, the nicest of men and an excellent educator. I read just a few weeks ago that he received a lifetime achievement award as well as reading an interview with him from a few months ago which I linked below; nice to see he is still active. Luckily for us, I think Gothic Records has been going through the Dale Warland Singers unreleased back catalog.

https://www.messengernews.net/opinion/local-columns/2021/05/seeds-of-dale-warlands-musical-success-sown-in-badger-church-fdsh/

VS
"All the good music has already been written by people with wigs and stuff."

vers la flamme

Quote from: hvbias on August 27, 2021, 01:36:48 PM
Great soundtrack and film. One of those rare films I wanted to watch again immediately afterward to see if I could pick up on all the clues leading up to what we find out.

Edit: I have Penderecki conducting the symphonies on Dux. Is there anything further to be gained with the Antoni Wit cycle?

Agreed! Always fond of Scorcese's work, and of his soundtrack collaborations with Robbie Robertson.

If you ask me, there's always something further to be gained in hearing alternative interpretations of works.

Mirror Image

#482
Here's a pretty interesting video about the music of The Shining:

https://www.youtube.com/v/bbqfc1jjeMI

relm1

Quote from: Mirror Image on August 29, 2021, 10:34:31 AM
Here's a pretty interesting video about the music of The Shining:

https://www.youtube.com/v/bbqfc1jjeMI

Wow, that was very enlightening!

Mirror Image


Mirror Image

I just finished watching this documentary about the composer:



An interesting documentary, but, for me, didn't really tell me enough about his music. Some of the most valuable footage was when Janine Jansen and Julian Rachlin were rehearsing the composer's Double Concerto in front of the composer, but also in the concert hall. Very cool to see this and the other valuable footage was of Penderecki as a young man in the 60s in a studio, but also taking a bow at the premier of his St. Luke Passion. Truly awesome to to see this and this was worth the price of admission. I'd love to see some documentary that actually goes into the backstories of some of his works and how they came to fruition like the afore mentioned St. Luke Passion or the String Quartet No. 3, "Leaves of an unwritten diary" just to give some examples. So this wasn't a great documentary, but some of the footage was priceless.

Mirror Image

#486
I continue to marvel at this composer's music. Since I've "cracked his code" so to speak, I don't believe I've heard a work that didn't speak to me on some level. I'd love to hear some Penderecki in the concert hall which, according to Jonny Greenwood (of Radiohead fame) in the Penderecki documentary I watched last night, is the best way to hear his music, but this goes for any composer. He said there's something strangely beautiful about hearing it in a concert hall that doesn't quite translate that well on a recording. My counter-argument would be this is the only way I can listen to his music at the moment. I don't live in Poland where I'm sure his music is performed quite frequently, but neither do I live in a classical music mecca like London, Berlin, Paris, Vienna, etc. either, so my chances of hearing his music aren't too high. So I'm fine with his music on CD. 8)

Maestro267

So happy that Penderecki seems to have clicked for you. All this talk in here is making me want to revisit his music again. And all the composers you mentioned some time ago as having "outsider" mentality...Schnittke, Pettersson, et al. are all among my favourites as well.

Mirror Image

Quote from: Maestro267 on August 31, 2021, 12:39:48 AM
So happy that Penderecki seems to have clicked for you. All this talk in here is making me want to revisit his music again. And all the composers you mentioned some time ago as having "outsider" mentality...Schnittke, Pettersson, et al. are all among my favourites as well.

Thanks, Maestro. Do you have a large Penderecki collection?

DavidW

Quote from: Mirror Image on August 31, 2021, 07:04:40 AM
Thanks, Maestro. Do you have a large Penderecki collection?

I'm not him but I used to have all of Penderecki's symphonies, concertos, vocal works and chamber works I could get my hands on.  I actually had a larger Penderecki collection than I did a Mahler collection.

Mirror Image

Quote from: DavidW on August 31, 2021, 09:10:17 AM
I'm not him but I used to have all of Penderecki's symphonies, concertos, vocal works and chamber works I could get my hands on.  I actually had a larger Penderecki collection than I did a Mahler collection.

Nice, Dave! So you got rid of all your physical collection or just the Penderecki?

Maestro267

Quote from: Mirror Image on August 31, 2021, 07:04:40 AM
Thanks, Maestro. Do you have a large Penderecki collection?

14 recordings from the Naxos series. I think the only ones I'm missing are the Horn Concerto disc, A Sea of Dreams... and Sinfoniettas and so on.

Mirror Image

#492
Quote from: Maestro267 on August 31, 2021, 01:13:20 PM
14 recordings from the Naxos series. I think the only ones I'm missing are the Horn Concerto disc, A Sea of Dreams... and Sinfoniettas and so on.

Cool. You should check out that Dux series. It's outstanding. Also, A Sea of Dreams Did Breathe on Me... is exquisite. Also, do check out Symphony No. 6, "Chinese Songs".

Speaking of the Horn Concerto, if you can find this recording (it might be OOP) for a good price, then jump on it:


DavidW

Quote from: Mirror Image on August 31, 2021, 09:47:15 AM
Nice, Dave! So you got rid of all your physical collection or just the Penderecki?

The former.

Mirror Image

Quote from: DavidW on August 31, 2021, 03:12:56 PM
The former.

Ah, well I hate hearing about this, but I do understand in terms of saving space.

DavidW

Quote from: Mirror Image on August 31, 2021, 03:14:17 PM
Ah, well I hate hearing about this, but I do understand in terms of saving space.

Funny enough I'm now buying a house so I now actually have room! :D  I'm thinking about making one of the rooms a dedicated music room.

Mirror Image

Quote from: DavidW on August 31, 2021, 03:26:49 PM
Funny enough I'm now buying a house so I now actually have room! :D  I'm thinking about making one of the rooms a dedicated music room.

Nice! That sounds like a good idea. Maybe you can buy some framed photographs of your favorite composers and hang them on the walls. 8) I hope you're not thinking of a buying a physical collection again. ;)

Maestro267

I do also have Spotify premium so I did listen to A Sea of Dreams the other day, and I really enjoyed it. Shame I can't find the Dux recording of Symphony No. 8 on there, despite plenty of non-symphony recordings of that series being available.

Mirror Image

Quote from: Maestro267 on September 01, 2021, 04:05:50 AM
I do also have Spotify premium so I did listen to A Sea of Dreams the other day, and I really enjoyed it. Shame I can't find the Dux recording of Symphony No. 8 on there, despite plenty of non-symphony recordings of that series being available.

Very nice. Have you heard Symphony No. 6, "Chinese Songs" yet?

Maestro267

I think I might be working my way through the symphonies in numerical order so I'll listen to No. 6 when I get to it. Listened to No. 2 today and loved it, as usual.