Penderecki: Symphonies Nos. 2 and 4

"Penderecki shocked the world with the sonic experiments of his avant-garde Sixties before adopting a neo-Romantic idiom in his First Violin Concerto (1977) and Second Christmas Symphony (1980), thereafter gaining attention for timely nationalistic pieces like the Polish Requiem and operas exploring expressionistic themes. The catalogue contains a mere handful of his symphonic works. ... Antoni Wit's readings [of the symphonies] are a genuine alternative to the composer's and an important addition to the catalogue." --BBC Music Magazine, October 2000

"As always, Wit gets magnificent performances from his Katowice orchestra, and the sonics are everything you could want them to be. Wit has done no less than cleanse these scores, presenting them as pristine and transparent utterances that beg to be heard again and again." --American Record Guide, August 2000