Tuesday 30 March 2010

Today's musical interlude

Penderecki's Symphony No 7. Not sure what to say about this one. I respect Penderecki's work in general, but can't help feeling that his late discovery of Romanticism and Catholicism led to a general softening and decay. The early stuff is stunning - particularly the almost unlistenable recreation of the Hiroshima atrocity, Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima (if you're going to tackle nuclear war, you can't do it with pretty tunes).



However, Symphony 7, celebrating the foundation of Jerusalem (strictly from a Jewish perspective, therefore ignoring the complex and multicultural history of that city) is a much easier listen. Massive choir, big orchestra, powerful stuff. Just, well, a bit safe, though very beautiful and thrilling. It feels like a brilliant 19th-century piece rather than an exploration of new frontiers.

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