The oeuvre of Roxanna Panufnik and Mikolaj Piotr Gorecki is inadvertently compared with the artistic achievements of their brilliant fathers. However, it is worth remembering that the specific musical language of both composers is an idiomatic and fully autonomous phenomenon. In this context, the idea of juxtaposing their chamber works should be considered extremely relevant and useful.
Roxanna Panufnik's Four World Seasons was created in 2011 on commission of violinist Tasmin Little. Although it was Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons that were the driving force behind the work, the differences between the two cycles are significant. Four World Seasons are musical illustrations of four culturally distinct places in the world. Autumn in Albania is based on Albanian folk dance melodies. Tibetan Winter contains motifs of two versions of a traditional Tibetan song. In Spring in Japan, one can hear echoes of the singing of the Japanese bush warbler - a symbol of spring in Japanese culture. In turn, Indian Summer is saturated with harmonic and melodic phrases drawn from Hindu scales. Despite its huge harmonic diversity, the piece is extremely accessible and vividly speaks to the listener's imagination.
The four works presented on this album show different facets of Mikolaj Piotr Gorecki's activities. It is oneiric gentleness that plays a key role in the development of the narrative of each of them, introducing the listener into a state of deep contemplation. G?recki mastered the skill of using delicate sounds and harmonies, creating almost a hypnotic musical mosaic.
This release follows the BBC Music Magazine nominated 'Bacewicz: Music For Chamber Orchestra Vol. III' from the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra and conductor, Agnieszka Ducszmal (DUX1828):
"dynamic and full of life" ? BBC Music Magazine, 4 STARS
"These performances by the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra are simply scintillating. While Deutsche Grammophon and the Brits hold up Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla as a paragon of female conductors, Agnieszka Duczmal has been thrilling Polish audiences for decades with her crisp, incisive readings of all the classic, old and modern. This is a wonderful recording all around!" - Art Music Lounge
