Geir Draugsvoll, Bayan
Sinfonia Varsovia
Zvonimir Hačko, Conductor

Paweł Mykietyn: Prank for chamber orchestra (2019) [30’00”]
Polish premiere

Krzysztof Penderecki: Adagio for Strings (from 3rd Symphony) for String Orchestra (2013)

Sofia Gubaidulina: Fachwerk for bayan solo, percussion and string orchestra (2009) [36’00”]

The repertoire of tonight's program consists of three works which have never been performed in Poland: Pawel Mykietyn's Prank and Sofia Gubaidulina's Fachwerk. The title of the program is taken directly from each piece: PRANKS, SQUARES, AND PANELS. These pieces allude to the character of each piece.

Mykietyn's Prank for chamber orchestra is literally a musical joke, a prank, played on the listener. The piece starts very slowly and gradually increases in tempo until it reaches a climactic point which always comes at the end of a section. At that point, the fast notes are turned to half of their value, and while everything else seems to be chugging along, faster and faster until its next climax -- at which point, again, the fast notes become a part of the longer pulse -- and so on. Soon, one realizes that this piece is rushing to nowhere. It is a fine example of tricks and good music which will keep you wanting more . . . Mykietyn's work was commissioned by the International Centre for Contemporary Music in London (ICCM) and was premiered and recorded by London Sinfonietta.

Krzysztof Penderecki's Adagio for Strings (1995/2013) is an arrangement of the third movement from his Symphony No. 3. The work's genesis over nearly two decades accounts for the multiple dates associated with its various versions. The original version of the Adagio was composed as the centerpiece of Penderecki's Symphony No. 3, written between 1988 and 1995. This initial Adagio movement was a slow, elegiac piece for full orchestra. Penderecki later created an arrangement of the Adagio specifically for string orchestra, giving new life to the evocative writing from the symphonic movement. He further revised the string arrangement as was his custom with his earlier composition. This revision reflects his evolving musical ideas and late-career stylistic tendencies toward a more neo-romantic idiom. Unlike the harsh avant-garde techniques found in his early works, such as Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima, this Adagio is a deeply moving and tragic piece. It is a stark example of Penderecki's dramatic shift toward a more tonal, lyrical, and accessible style of composition.

Gubaidulina's Fachwerk is written for solo bayan, strings and percussion; it stands as one of the great masterworks of our times. Fachwerk was inspired by the 

exposed wooden beams seen in half-timbered architecture which to Gubaidulina represented both aesthetic beauty or "wooden planks" as well as a representation of the beams of the cross. Thus, the work is primarily a spiritual symbol incorporating a "dialogue" between the solo bayan and the orchestra, focusing on craftsmanship, texture, and spiritual depth, rather than virtuoso showmanship. The work is contemplative and mysterious, with plenty of dramatic moments, and incorporates specific techniques like mirrored finger patterns on different button systems on the bayan and often uses the bayan to recall the sounds of a Bach organ. 

This piece was recorded by ICCM with tonight's guest soloist Geir Draugsvoll for whom the piece was originally written, and London Symphony Orchestra, Zvonimir Hačko conductor.