Szymanowski: Songs of a Fairy-tale Princess for voice & orchestra - The Lonely Moon
Szymanowski: Songs of a Fairy-tale Princess for voice & orchestra - The Nightingale
Szymanowski: Songs of a Fairy-tale Princess for voice & orchestra - Dance
Szymanowski: Harnasie, Op. 55 - Ballet - pantomime in two tableaux for tenor, chorus & orchestra - Tableau I: In the mountain pasture - No. 1 Driving the sheep
Szymanowski: Harnasie, Op. 55 - Ballet - pantomime in two tableaux for tenor, chorus & orchestra - Tableau I: In the mountain pasture - No. 2 Mimed Scene (Courtship)
Szymanowski: Harnasie, Op. 55 - Ballet - pantomime in two tableaux for tenor, chorus & orchestra - Tableau I: In the mountain pasture - No. 3 The Tatra Robbers' March
Szymanowski: Harnasie, Op. 55 - Ballet - pantomime in two tableaux for tenor, chorus & orchestra - Tableau I: In the mountain pasture - No. 4 Mimed Scene (The Harnas & the girl)
Szymanowski: Harnasie, Op. 55 - Ballet - pantomime in two tableaux for tenor, chorus & orchestra - Tableau I: In the mountain pasture - No. 5 The Tatra Robbers' Dance. Finale
Szymanowski: Harnasie, Op. 55 - Ballet - pantomime in two tableaux for tenor, chorus & orchestra - Tableau II: In the inn - No. 6a The Wedding
Szymanowski: Harnasie, Op. 55 - Ballet - pantomime in two tableaux for tenor, chorus & orchestra - Tableau II: In the inn - No. 6b Entry of the bride
Szymanowski: Harnasie, Op. 55 - Ballet - pantomime in two tableaux for tenor, chorus & orchestra - Tableau II: In the inn - No. 6c Drinking Song
Szymanowski: Harnasie, Op. 55 - Ballet - pantomime in two tableaux for tenor, chorus & orchestra - Tableau II: In the inn - No. 7 The Tatra Highlanders' Dance
Szymanowski: Harnasie, Op. 55 - Ballet - pantomime in two tableaux for tenor, chorus & orchestra - Tableau II: In the inn - No. 8 Raid of the Harnasie. Dance
Szymanowski: Harnasie, Op. 55 - Ballet - pantomime in two tableaux for tenor, chorus & orchestra - Tableau II: In the inn - No. 9 Epilogue
Szymanowski: Love Songs of Hafiz (for high voice & orchestra) - Desires
Szymanowski: Love Songs of Hafiz (for high voice & orchestra) - The infatuated East Wind
Szymanowski: Love Songs of Hafiz (for high voice & orchestra) - Dance
Szymanowski: Love Songs of Hafiz (for high voice & orchestra) - Pearls of my soul
Szymanowski: Love Songs of Hafiz (for high voice & orchestra) - Eternal Youth
Szymanowski: Love Songs of Hafiz (for high voice & orchestra) - Your Voice
Szymanowski: Love Songs of Hafiz (for high voice & orchestra) - Drinking Song
Szymanowski: Love Songs of Hafiz (for high voice & orchestra) - Hafiz's Grave
Track Listings (9) - Disc #2
Szymanowski: Violin Concerto #1, Op. 35 - I. Vivace assai - Tempo comodo: Andantino - Subito vivace assai
Szymanowski: Violin Concerto #1, Op. 35 - II. Vivace scherzando (Fig. 52) - Tempo comodo: Allegretto - Vivace
Szymanowski: Violin Concerto #1, Op. 35 - III. Cadenza (Vivace) - Allegro moderato - Lento assai
Szymanowski: Violin Concerto #2, Op. 61 - I. Moderato - Andante sostenuto - Tempo I - Cadenza
Szymanowski: Violin Concerto #2, Op. 61 - II. Allegramente, molto energico (Fig. 26)
Szymanowski: Violin Concerto #2, Op. 61 - III. Andantino molto tranquillo (Fig. 40) - Tempo I (Allegramente, animato)
Szymanowski: Symphonie concertante, Op. 60 (Symphony #4) - I. Moderato, Tempo comodo
Szymanowski: Symphonie concertante, Op. 60 (Symphony #4) - II. Andante molto sostenuto
Szymanowski: Symphonie concertante, Op. 60 (Symphony #4) - III. Allegro non troppo, ma agitato ed ansioso
Track Listings (19) - Disc #3
Szymanowski: King Roger, Op. 46 (Opera in 3 Acts) - Act Three - orchestra
Szymanowski: King Roger, Op. 46 (Opera in 3 Acts) - Act Three - Wokol martwota glazow
Szymanowski: King Roger, Op. 46 (Opera in 3 Acts) - Act Three - Rogerze! Rogerze!
Szymanowski: King Roger, Op. 46 (Opera in 3 Acts) - Act Three - Na sad, na sad staw sie Krolu
Szymanowski: King Roger, Op. 46 (Opera in 3 Acts) - Act Three - Syc ofiarny
Szymanowski: King Roger, Op. 46 (Opera in 3 Acts) - Act Three - Edrisi, juz swit!
Szymanowski: King Roger, Op. 46 (Opera in 3 Acts) - Act Three - Slonce! Slonce! Edrisi!
Szymanowski: Stabat Mater, Op. 53 - Stabat Mater dolorosa
Szymanowski: Stabat Mater, Op. 53 - Quis est homo qui non fleret
Szymanowski: Stabat Mater, Op. 53 - Ela Mater, fons amoris
Szymanowski: Stabat Mater, Op. 53 - Fac me tecum pie fiere
"Simon Rattle conducting Szymanowski seems like an odd choice, but you will find in this set that Rattle knows this music very well as do the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Karol Szymanowski is a very unusual composer in the sense that he never truly found his own unique style of composition. He has obvious ties with Strauss' and Debussy's music, but also the folk music of Poland. One thing I've noticed is that his music never truly settles down and gives the listener an upfront harmony and it is this aspect of his music that gives it a searching quality. I would also say that Szywmanowski wasn't that confident in his abilities as a composer. All of this aside, he has wrote some very good music, which I will detail in my next paragraph.
The contents of this box set:
Disc 1:
Songs of a Fairy-tale Princess
Harnasie
Love Songs of Hafiz
Disc 2:
Violin Concerto No. 1
Violin Concerto No. 2
Symphonie concertante (Symphony No. 4)
Disc 3:
King Roger - Acts 1 & 2
Disc 4:
King Roger - Act 3 (continued)
Stabat Mater
Litany to the Virgin Mary
Symphony No. 3 "Song of the Night"
In disc 1, the highlight for me was the ballet "Harnasie." This is a great piece of music filled with all kinds great rhythms and musical ideas. This should appeal to fans of Prokofiev or any fan of 20th Century ballet. The second disc, which contains "Symphonie concertante" is one of the best pieces Szymanowski ever wrote, especially the second movement "Andante molto sostenuto." This particular movement is so moving to me. The "Violin Concertos" are also well-played and contain some beautiful music. I don't like opera so the third disc and the first part of the fourth are of no interest to me. The highlight for me of disc four was the very beautiful choral piece "Stabat Mater," which could very well be called a masterpiece. It is Szymanowski's most confident piece of music. The other piece I enjoy (from disc 4) was "Symphony No. 3." This is a very enjoyable piece with some great musical ideas. The performances from Rattle and the City of Birmingham Symphony are fantastic.
While Szymanowski's music may not appeal to everybody, it does have it's moments of greatness and charm. The only thing I wish was Rattle had conducted the first two symphonies, which are badly needing a more committed peformance put to disc. While I can't get onboard with all of this music, the performances of the compositions that I like are fantastic. This CD set is the only Szymanowski set available right now (unless Naxos puts together a box for Antoni Wit's cycle), so I would definitely give these a try as there's some very accomplished and enjoyable music to be found here."