Symphony No. 3

I recommend this version over the alternatives for four reasons. First, the price is unbeatable. Second, I believe the performance is marginally better than its competitors. Third, the remarkable singing of Zofia Kilanowicz. Fourth, unlike some recordings of this symphony, the disc contains not only the symphony itself, but "Three Olden Style Pieces," which while not as interesting as the main piece are not without interest. In short, this disc features the best performance, is offered at the best price, and contains more music than its competitors.

I do want to question the logic behind one of the other reviews. A reviewer from Derbyshire has expressed his belief that this music is somehow intellectually inferior and that its effects can be as harmful as a drug. I'm sure this was meant hyperbolically, but even granting this, this seems to me to indicate some confusion. In fact, the point is confusedly made. He grants that in Ravel (in the Bolero, a piece that I like not only less than most of the rest of Ravel's corpus but far less than the Gorecki) repetition is effective, and also in Beethoven. Why Gorecki's use of repetition is supposed (I emphasize "supposed") to be less effective is not made clear. Is it because the symphony is popular? Personally, I find the symphony haunting. The music strikes the listener with the simplicity of simple folks tunes and simple masses. Yes, it produces a stunning emotional reaction and can be almost mesmerizing. I personally do not see how this is a negative.

Although this is almost without question the most popular symphony of the past few decades, it has been subject to some criticism because it isn't sufficiently "modern." I worked for a couple of years at Symphony Center in Chicago, where the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performs. I was fascinated to hear backstage the intense hatred a significant number of the orchestra members had for the work of most recent composers. Someone like Gorecki, however, they liked. To me it seems like a perfect instance of the musicians themselves knowing that the emperors had no clothes. We have, I believe, at present something of a gap between fans of orchestral music and musicians on the one hand, and composers and composition teachers on the other. Contemporary orchestral compositions have been plummeting in popularity in the period following Stravinsky and other composers of the early twentieth century, and I would argue that the impossibility of enjoying these compositions on more than an intellectual level has been one of their greatest problems. I am not arguing that orchestral music should be anti-intellectual, but it can't be merely intellectual, as too much of it is.

I actually prefer this version of the symphony more than any others I've heard, as the really slow tempo enhances the overall power of the piece. A clean recording and wonderful presentations also compliment the music within, as well as some terrific linear notes that provide both information on the composer and "The Symphony Of Sorrowful Songs", Symphony no. 3.

The recording quality is exemplary and the dynamic range powerful in its progressive
climb through the first movement -- but not so great as to necessitate changing the
volume part way through if driving or doing other activities while listening to the
piece.

Zofia Kilanowicz is breathtaking in her skill. Her clarity of tone is, to my ear, much
greater than Dawn Upshaw's. Further, her ability to partially suspend vibrato is a
great asset in this piece, emphasizing the deep sorrow that lies just beneath the
beauty of the presentation and lending to the crisp minimalist, modern feel of the
piece.

Lastly, to include the 3 Pieces in Olden style is simply a wonderful bonus on an
already shockingly well priced CD. The second of the three pieces was inspired by
the same folk melody that Gorecki again returns to in his chamber piece "Already it
is Dusk".

This is simply the best recording of this piece, at the best price and then topped off
with a bonus piece of music -- you can not go wrong.

Antoni Wit also does a fantastic job conducting the Polish National Radio
Symphony Orchestra (PNRSO) in the Naxos recording of Smetana's Ma Vlast --
also the best recording available of that piece (except possibly Rafael Kubelik on
DG -- but, it is roughly $20 and the Naxos is roughly $9).