Krzysztof Penderecki—Capriccio per Radovan
by Wojciech Kamionka
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Krzysztof Penderecki
(photo by Jakub Ociepa) |
Krzysztof Penderecki (1933-2020)—Polish composer and pedagogue, and Rector of the Academy of Music in Kraków from 1972 to 1987—in his various compositions, dedicated a notable number of solos to the horn. As examples, he wrote long solos for horn on-stage and off-stage in Credo (1997-98) in the movement Crucifixus, as well in his Symphony No. 7 “Seven Gates of Jerusalem” (1996), commissioned for the 3000-year anniversary of the city of Jerusalem. This work was premiered in Jerusalem on January 9, 1997. The orchestra included members of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Lorin Maazel. The horn part was performed by Will Sanders of the Bavarian Radio Symphony, and he will come in-person for the IHS 58 Symposium in Kraków.
The composer welcomed the 21st century with a chamber music work, Sextet for clarinet, horn, string trio, and piano (2000). The world premiere of the work took place in the Vienna Musikverein, the concert hall famous for the “New Year with the Vienna Philharmonic” concerts. From the all-star team of musicians, the horn part was performed by Radovan Vlatkovic who worked closely with the composer on the part. The extraordinary fruit of that relationship came in 2008 when Penderecki composed his Horn Concerto Winterreise, dedicated to Vlatkovic. The concerto is 17-18 minutes long, and in it, the composer exploited the most beautiful qualities of horn: deep expression of sound, long phrasing, intimacy, sometimes brutality and power, and the colors of both muted and stopped horn. The inspiration of the title Winterreise (Winter Journey) came more from the season spent composing the work and travelling in winter than from the famous song cycle of Franz Schubert. The work has notable recordings by Radovan Vlatkovic with the Sinfonietta Cracovia of Kraków and again with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Jennifer Montone with the Warsaw National Philharmonic, and Katerina Javurkova with the Sinfonia Iuventus. The work is also available with a piano reduction; it is published by Edition Schott.
Additionally, Penderecki composed several short virtuosic pieces dedicated to notable soloists. In 2012, he composed Capriccio per Radovan “Il sogno di un cacciatore” per corno solo, a piece again dedicated to Radovan Vlatkovic. The Italian title translates as “A Hunter's Dream,” and the work starts strangely with an imitation of snoring! In the dreams of a sleeping hunter, a horn player sounds themes from Penderecki’s works as well as those of other composers. The piece ends with one of the most famous motifs for horn, the call from the Hunters’ Chorus from Carl Maria von Weber’s Der Freischütz. Capriccio is also published by Edition Schott.
Capriccio is the obligatory piece in the IHS Premier Soloist Competition at IHS 58 in Kraków. I believe it will be interesting to hear several different interpretations, and personally, I wonder if the younger generation will interpret Capriccio more as a dramatic work or as a comic piece? or perhaps we will be surprised!
