Little Requiem for Certain Polka / Three Dances

These four works, written between 1973 and 1993, fully reflect Gorecki's expressive variety. The Little Requiem for a Certain Polka, for piano and thirteen instruments, combines a wide range of moods. The Concerto- Cantata, which received it's world premiere from the soloist on this recording, alternates a moving vein of melancholy with a charged, violent energy. The radical, energetic Harpsichord Concerto is heard here in the version for piano, performed by the composer's daughter. The Three Dances are hugely approachable and full of exciting contrast. Antoni Wit, one of the most highly regarded Polish conductors, studied conducting with Henryk Czyz and composition with Krzysztof Penderecki at the Academy of Music in Krakow, subsequently continuing his studies with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. In 2002 he became managing and artistic director of the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra.