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February 4, 2008
Penderecki premieres new symphony
Avant-garde Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki conducted the Polish Orchestra and Chorus of the National Opera in the European premiere of his new work, Symphony No. 8, on Friday. Polish soprano Olga Pasiecznik and mezzo Agnieszka Relis performed the work’s sung solos.
The symphony, also called “Lieder der Verganglichkeit” (Songs of Transcience), is a cycle of nine songs with text by German writers such as Goethe and Rainer Maria Rilke. Penderecki has said he will continue to add movements to the symphony.
The first recording of the symphony, performed by the Warsaw Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, made its debut last week on the Naxos label. So far the critics like the recording, noting Penderecki’s move to a more Romantic-influenced style of composition.
Also this week, Penderecki’s 2005 “Capricioso” album became the first all-Polish album to win a Midem festival award in Cannes, France. The album features violinist Patrycja Piekutowska and pianist Beata Bilinska.
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At 9:55 am on February 4, 2008, Maude commented:
Hello Heather!
I couldn’t find a place to tell you what I thought on your “Tell me what you think” page so I figured I would just lay it on out here.
You, as always, retain the highest level of professionalism. How do you do it? I instantly trust everything you have to say (a quality not typically bestowed on bloggers). You also manage to make a girl like me, aka someone who literally falls asleep at classical music (sorry momma) interested in the gossip of the classical music world.
Your design is easy to access. I can navigate through it and locate anything I want with the upmost ease. I am torn between think your design (all the beige) is genius and a little boring. I know that it would in all probability appeal to the same kind of people that like classic music (and that’s not meat to be a jab) but I wonder if you couldn’t be a bit more adventurous with it. Maybe add more images or something.
As for your literal writing, I think you really hit on the length and right amount of links/information. I do like that you are implicitly trust but I would also like to see your hidden snarky self come out more. But that’s just me. I