Andrzej Panufnik
Heroic Overture
Sinfonia di Sfere · Landscape · Sinfonia Sacra
Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra
John Storgårds, conductor
Track listing
13 tracks · 74:50Listen to samples on selected tracks.
Andrzej Panufnik
- 1 Heroic Overture 6:58
- Sinfonia di Sfere 33:48
- 2 Poco andante - 4:51
- 3 Poco allegro 1:50
- 4 Poco andante - 5:08
- 5 Andante - 9:35
- 6 Molto allegro 2:12
- 7 Molto andante 7:29
- 8 Molto allegro 2:43
- 9 Landscape 8:29
- Sinfonia Sacra 29:35
- 10 Vision I (Maestoso) - 2:33
- 11 Vision II (Larghetto) 3:57
- 12 Vision III (Allegro assai - Agitato) - 4:42
- 13 Hymn (Andante sostenuto - Maestoso) 14:23
About this recording
Andrzej Panufnik, the most important Polish / British composer of the 20th century, was championed by conductors such as Stokowski, Solti and Ozawa. This recording features some of his major works on SACD for the first time. Panufnik studied composition in Warsaw and Vienna. During Nazi wartime occupation, he performed in piano duo with Witold Lutoslawski. All his early works were tragically lost in the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. He escaped from Poland in 1954, when the Communist imposition of Socialist Realism stifled creative freedom, and settled in England after which he 'ceased to exist' in his homeland. His third symphony, Sinfonia Sacra, won the Prince Pierre de Monaco prize in 1963 and became his most performed score. This CD also contains the first digital recording of the fifth symphony, Sinfonia di Sfere.
The extensive booklet contains unpublished photographs from the personal collection of Panufnik's wife, Lady Camilla Jessel Panufnik.
Features
Hybrid SACD (recorded in DXD; SACD Surround 5.0 / SACD Stereo / CD Stereo - playable on all SACD and CD players); booklet with liner notes in English, German, French and Finnish
Press
An other-worldly recording.
Jörg Hillebrand, Fono Forum, December 2007, Stern des Monats
Piquant harmonies and idiosyncratic orchestration - a potent combination, equally powerfully in the execution.
Philip Clark, Gramophone, November 2007
Panufnik has a feeling for dramaturgical effects, he loves large string parts, widely spreaded sound fields, heroic and hymnal elements. (...) Big praise for the Tampere Philharmonic from Finland. Under chief conductor John Storgårds it champions Panufnik's music with emphasis and virtuosity (...) but also with great subtlety and intimicy.
Peter Heissler, Klassik-heute.com, September 25, 2007
excellently played and recorded (...)
David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com, September 2007
John Storgårds spans the music's range from serenity to rhythmic incisiveness with a sure hand.
Matthew Rye, The Daily Telegraph, September 8, 2007
Taken together the four pieces, in vivid performances under John Storgards, give a good sense of the power (...) of Panufnik's music.
Andrew Clements, The Guardian, September 7, 2007
(...) a fascinating composer, able to combine the most ingenious schematism with biting and beguiling sonority. These four works give a good impression of his oeuvre. (...) The performances are fresh and vivid.
Paul Driver, The Sunday Times, August 19, 2007, Records of the Year
The artists
Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra
The Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, comprising 97 musicians, is one of Scandinavia's leading symphony orchestras. In autumn 2013, young Finnish conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali succeeded Hannu Lintu as new Chief Conductor and continued in his post until 2023.