Description
This release presents a continuation of DUX Recording Producers' series which explores the chamber music of Krzysztof Penderecki. The album includes compositions for solo cello performed by artists from all over the world. A number of recordings featured were also made during the Warsaw Witold Lutoslawski Cello Competition, which Maciej Kulakowski won in 2011.
Kulakowski's career as a soloist and chamber musician confirms his extraordinary lyrical talent and virtuosity, reflected in the interpretations of Penderecki's works. These, in turn, set the highest standards for cellists.
The album begins with the most avant-garde piece in terms of performing techniques and sonoristic effects. However, in the following works, the listener will discover the lyrical element and folk motifs, for which the composer would frequently reach. Admirers of Pendereki's work will notice quotations of his own melodies, for example in the Violoncello totale written for the Tchaikovsky Competition one can hear phrases from the Concerto grosso and the String Quartet No. 3.
The album also features lesser-known compositions – the Duo concertante for violin and cello, and a wonderful love confession; Serenata for 3 cellos dedicated to the composer's wife.