Composer: Mieczysław Karłowicz
Orchestra: New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Antoni Wit
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Naxos
Catalogue: 8570295
Release: 2008
Size: 258 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Powracajace fale (Returning Waves), Op. 9
02. Smutna opowiesc, “Preludia do wiecznosci” (A Sorrowful Tale, “Preludes to Eternity”), Op. 13
Odwieczne piesni (Eternal Songs), Op. 10
03. I. Piesn o wiekuistej tesknocie (Song of Eternal Longing)
04. II. Piesn o milosci i o smierci (Song of Love and Death)
05. III. Piesn o wszechbycie (Song of Eternity)
Mieczyslaw Karlowicz’s six symphonic poems, composed between 1904-09, are the pinnacles of a career tragically ended when he perished in an avalanche during a solitary mountain hike.
His fame as one of the outstanding Polish composers of his generation rests on these highly original, lushly-scored masterpieces, the first, second and fifth of which are included on this second volume.
Bitterly criticised by contemporary Polish critics as examples of ‘modernist chaos’, these splendid Neo-Romantic works show both Karlowicz’s intense admiration for Wagner, Tchaikovsky and Richard Strauss, and the scale of his own achievement.
Volume 1 is available on Naxos 8570452
“Antoni Wit has an admirable track record with Naxos.” Classics Today