Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Jan Krzysztof Broja, Antoni Wit - Szymanowski: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 4, Concert Overture & Study in B-Flat Minor (2009)

Tracklist

01. Concert Overture, Op. 12
02. Symphony No. 1 In F Minor, Op. 15: I. [Allegro Moderato]
03. Symphony No. 1 In F Minor, Op. 15: II. Finale: Allegretto Con Moto Grazioso
04. Symphony No. 4, Op. 60, "Symphonie Concertante": I. Moderato - Tempo Comodo
05. Symphony No. 4, Op. 60, "Symphonie Concertante": II. Andante Molto Sostenuto
06. Symphony No. 4, Op. 60, "Symphonie Concertante": III. Allegro Non Troppo, Ma Agitato Ed Ansioso
07. 4 Studies, Op. 4 (Arr. G. Fitelberg): Study in B-Flat Minor, Op. 4, No. 3 (Arr. G. Filtelberg for Orchestra)

Although Szymanowski later dubbed his First Symphony a “contrapuntal-harmonic-orchestral monster” and disavowed the influence of Wagner, Reger and Richard Strauss (also evident in the opulent Concert Overture), it is an astonishingly powerful work by a composer only in his mid-20s and still enthralls a century after its première. He described his Fourth Symphony as “nearly a concerto” owing to the piano’s prominent rôle, its highly-charged Neo-baroque character inviting comparison with Stravinsky. The Naxos recordings of 8570724, Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater, is nominated in the Choral catagory of the BBC Music Awards 2009.

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