Penderecki's symphonies

Encyclopaedic editions are a sign of seniority. They usually carry considerable weight (both in the real and figurative sense), but are also sold at comparatively low prices, provided the publisher is in a good festive mood. It is a special distinction when a package of this kind includes the work of a living composer. To mark Krzysztof Penderecki's 85th birthday (on November 23, 2018), Schott-Verlag has published a slipcase containing the study scores of Symphonies Nos. 1-8.

Composed between 1972/73 and 2008/17, they describe the oeuvre of this composer, who was in a constant state of stylistic change: from the search for sound through chromatic clusters to harmless neo-romanticism. The representative genre designation once again catches on - and this despite the fact that the last works were conceived as a series of songs (based on texts by Hans Bethge, Latin models or German-language poems about transience). It is astonishing to see the path Penderecki took in the decades recorded here and where there were obvious problem areas. This applies above all to the 6th Symphony (Chinese songs), whose date of composition is given as 2008/2017, whereas the 7th Symphony was already completed in 1996. This also reveals what the impressive publication lacks at the end: an essay, a small documentary, meaningful original sounds. Like these words: "When I write symphonies, the architecture of the whole is the most important thing." (quoted from BR Klassik)

Krzysztof Penderecki: Symphonies Nos. 1-8, study scores in slipcase, ED 23098, € 99.00, Schott, Mainz