This CD marks the beginning of a complete Panufnik Symphonic Works series on CPO.
Andrzej Panufnik, born in Warsaw, enjoyed a successful career as a composer and conductor until he was decreed formalist and decadent by the communists. He fled to England where he was granted political asylum and felt truly at home. During this time his international reputation grew and leading conductors such as Stokowski, Horenstein and Solti performed his works.
9th May 2010
“[Katyn Epitaph] is a memorable, spare, desolate eight minutes, pre-empting the mournful minimalism of Gorecki. Tragic Overture demonstrates Panufnik’s typical resourcefulness with a nuggety germinal motif.”
27th May 2010
***
“They all reveal the careful craftsmanship and sharp-honed form that characterised Panufnik's work in the sequence of 10 symphonies that are promised from CPO, and the performances from the Polish Radio orchestra under Lukasz Borowicz suggest that the series will be well worth following.”
August 2010
*****
“Katyn Epitaph makes a profound impression...the Tragic Overture shows what Panufnik absorbed from his pre-war visit to Vienna and his analysis of the music of Webern...Nothing of its rigour is lost on the impressive young conductor, Lukas Borowicz, who maintains taut control of the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra.”
July/August 2010
“The sound lacks nothing in spaciousness or immediacy...those yet to encounter Panufnik's music could not have hoped for a more representative introduction.”
Click on any of the works listed above for alternative recordings.
