Penderecki, K :: Concerto

Krzysztof Penderecki's Concerto for flute (or clarinet) and chamber orchestra is presented here in a piano reduction by Claus-Dieter Ludwig. This concerto is for the advanced flutist at the collegiate or higher level of playing.

Penderecki has written all his concertos and concertante pieces for specific performers whose artistic temperament and stylistic preferences he knew very well. He dedicated this Concerto to the legendary flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal, shunning all the unconventional instrumental techniques the composer is so thoroughly familiar with. Instead he used the natural flute sound, at the same time calling for virtuoso skills of the highest order. The Concerto is a one-part composition of medium length, in which the tempo of the musical narration changes several times, and intense lyricism alternates with anxiety. Most motifs in the Concerto are light arabesque openwork played solo or in dialogue with other wind instruments. There are also song-like, meditative melodies unfolding against the background of carefully instrumented accompaniment from the chamber orchestra. The sound material bears resemblance to the musical language of Ubu Rex, but its expressive character is quite different. Instead of grotesque and irony underpinned by aggression, this Concerto emphasizes pastoral, ethereal moods akin to Midsummer Night s Dream .

- Ninateka