Penderecki: Viola & Cello Concertos
What is lasting and what not? By now we know that only the coming generations and centuries can tell. We don't even know if music is going to survive. And if it survives, in what form? But if some loose speculation is allowed, my firm intuition or hunch is that from the second half of the 20th century Krystof Pendercki's music will survive, along with Lutoslawski, Ligeti, Schnittke and some others.
To me the two pieces on this record, the viola concerto (1983) and the second cello concerto (1982), are - quite simply - master pieces. This is Penderecki at his best, as least as lasting as some of his his vocal music. Truly handsome and outstanding music. While the viola concerto contains certain ingenious moments and structural temptations, the cello concerto, written for Mstislv Rostropovich himself, stands out with its overwhelming dramatic power. Andante con moto - Vivo - Tempo I - Allegretto - Lento - Allegretto - Poco meno mosso - Tempo I. The cello communicating with the strings, the cello and the woodwinds, the cello against percussions. The cello by itself in Lento. Dark beauty. Crying without tears.
Naxos does a marvellous service to music lovers by continuing to record Penderecki's music. That it gets recorded is much more important than who performs on the discs and how the sound on them is mixed/mastered, although I have no complaints about either on this particular disc. Penderecki's music is seldom performed live. The Naxoz discs provide practically the only access there is to his musical world. To be without them would be sad personally, and overall, a great pity.