Jan Krzysztof Broja (piano)
Ewa Marczyk (violin solo)
Marek Marczyk (viola solo)
Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra
Antoni Wit
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.
Szymanowski’s Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3 gained a Gramophone Editor’s Choice and 5 STARS for these “deliriously sensual scores” from ClassicFM Magazine (8.570721).
The Naxos recordings of 8.570724, Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater, is nominated in the Choral catagory of the BBC Music Awards 2009.
