Orkiestra Filharmonii Narodowej w Szczecinie by Penderecki, Brahms, Ó (2023/2023), Seoltóir Andrzej Boreyko, Mieczysław Karłowicz Philharmonic, Szczecin, Poland

Firmly rooted in the musical thought of Anton Bruckner, the arch-romantic Symphony No. 2 was composed by Krzysztof Penderecki between September 1979 and April 1980. The premiere took place a few days after its completion, on 1 May 1980. The Symphony was given the subtitle 'Christmas Eve', which the composer explained by saying that he gave the work its final one-movement form on Christmas Eve 1979 (the original plan was for a four- or five-movement form). A British critic, however, warned not to expect a sleigh with bells and jubilation from this 'Christmas' work, but rather the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The sense of Christmas gloom that pervades Symphony No. 2, the overwhelming sense of the inevitability of tragedy even in moments of euphoric hope, will probably be easiest to understand for Poles steeped in the tragedy of their country's history. Less than two years after that Christmas Eve, on which Krzysztof Penderecki gave his Second Symphony its final form, the night of martial law fell in Poland. The joyous sounds of Christmas became even more distant for a good few years. Aleksander Laskowski Brahms’s first two symphonies, completed a year apart, form an antithetical pair: the First is exalted and technically complex, the Second more serene and transparent in structure. The four movements of the Symphony No. 2 (Allegro moderato, Adagio non troppo, Allegretto grazioso, Allegro con spirito) alternate between idyllic and melancholy moods. The listener's attention is captured by the singing melodies and expressive climaxes. Magdalena Dziadek see more: filharmonia.szczecin.pl