Krzysztof Penderecki: Concerto for Violin & Orchestra No. 2 "Metamorphosen" (1992-95) / Béla Bartók: Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 2, Sz 76 (1922) - Anne-Sophie Mutter / London Symphony Orchestra / Krzysztof Penderecki / Lambert Orkis [IMPORT]

Anne-Sophie Mutter (Artist), Lambert Orkis (Artist), Krzysztof Penderecki (Composer), Bela Bartok (Composer), London Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra)

Product Details

• Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra
• Composer: Krzysztof Penderecki, Bela Bartok
• Audio CD (January 14, 1998)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Dg Imports
• ASIN: B00000613P
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #162,777 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #22 in	Music > Classical > Featured Composers, A-Z > ( P ) > Penderecki, Krzysztof
  #24 in	Music > Classical > Featured Performers, A-Z > ( M ) > Mutter, Anne-Sophie

Track Listings

1. Violin Concerto No. 2 ('Metamorphosen'): Allegro ma non troppo - Allegro vivace

2. Violin Concerto No. 2 ('Metamorphosen'): Allegretto - Allegro vivo

3. Violin Concerto No. 2 ('Metamorphosen'): Molto meno mosso - Andante

4. Violin Concerto No. 2 ('Metamorphosen'): Vivace

5. Violin Concerto No. 2 ('Metamorphosen'): Scherzando

6. Violin Concerto No. 2 ('Metamorphosen'): Andante con moto - tempo primo

7. Sonata for violin & piano No. 2 in C major, Sz. 76, BB 85: I. Molto moderato

8. Sonata for violin & piano No. 2 in C major, Sz. 76, BB 85: II. Allegretto

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hauntingly Beautiful, March 16, 2000

By	Lanny Thompson (San Juan, Puerto Rico) - See all my reviews

I'm no expert on classical music (I'm basically a jazz fan), but I know what I like, as they say. Penderecki's second violin concerto--Metamorphosen--is my very favorite piece of classical music. Penderecki wrote it for, and dedicated it to, the performing violinist, Anne-Sophie Mutter. It is a piece in six movements, with a well-defined opening theme which is repeated in the final movement. Overall, the piece is intense but at once hauntingly beautiful. I would not say that you can sing along, but almost. Mutter, the violinist, writes in the liner notes that the piece ends "with a scene of burial, in which the soul triumphs over the body and soars aloft to heaven." Indeed! I had listened to Penderecki before (the Hiroshima composition), but this piece is much different. Mutter's violin is intimate, almost fragile, in the high registers, yet insistent in the lower. The orchestra is dialogic even supportive, but not overwhelming. A remarkable composition that comes alive by means of an incredible performance.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars total brilliance, July 11, 2004

By	Alejandra Vernon "artist & illustrator" (Long Beach, California) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

Though I somehow always think of Penderecki as a composer of vocal works, here his voice is the violin, in one of the most astounding pieces for the instrument I have ever heard. It has mystery, drama, and intense beauty, and rather than six separate movements, it stretches from mood to mood, segueing into them. My favorite is the transition from the fifth to the sixth, with the orchestra sounding more like the rumblings of nature than instruments.
The concerto was dedicated to Anne-Sophie Mutter, who was the soloist in the enthusiastically received first performance in 1995. The extreme difficulty of the concerto must be daunting for a violinist, but Mutter's technical mastery equals her sensitivity and artistry. Of special note is the 5th movement cadenza, which is enthralling.
Like most Penderecki works, this is a composition that gets better with every hearing; one has to get to know this piece, for it to reveal the full magnificence of its soul.

The Bartok Sonata # 2 takes us into far different territory: Angular, harsh and energized, it's a whirl of virtuoso technique and dynamic sound. Lambert Orkis on piano counterbalances Mutter's violin, producing varied tones and rhythms.
Anne-Sophie Mutter has been an award-winning soloist with major world orchestras since her teens, making her Berlin debut with Karajan and the Philharmonic when she was only 15, and her wide range of repertoire is impressive. Penderecki writes of her in the liner notes, that he was inspired by her "...sublime art of interpretation". The Penderecki was recorded in 1997, the Bartok in '95. The sound is excellent and total playing time is 58'01

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW - A Revelation, November 24, 2003

By	Earl C. Johns (Sewickley, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was familiar with some of Penderecki's earlier works of which were much more atonal than the later - he made a change in the 1970's. I quote from a reviewer (Nicholas Reyland) who describes Penderecki's later music as "The music firmly posits itself in a tradition stretching from Brahms through Bruckner, Mahler, Wagner and Sibelius to Shostakovich, and now to Penderecki."

I am blown away by this composition and performance. I am still digesting the performance, but it is colorful, tragic, meaningful, and so on. Penderecki uses clearly recognizable themes througout the composition that are interesting (for me) to follow. The performance by Mutter is intesley passionate, soulful and masterful. The composition has much color and drama.

I highly recommend this recording!