This work, abounding in sharp contrasts, was written in Lusławice park in the spring.
Viola Concerto: part no. 6 (Vivo)
00:00
00:02:57
Robert Kabara, viola
Polish Orchestra Sinfonia Iuventus
Krzysztof Penderecki, conductor
DUX 1185 (2015)
Penderecki had a special liking for the strings, especially deep-sounding ones such as the viola and cello. He eventually decided to write a viola concerto as a commission for Simón Bolivar’s birth bicentenary. Though the Concerto did not quite answer to the Venezuelans’ expectations, it soon became part of the canon and was adapted by the composer himself for other instruments. The music ranges from lento ‘sighs’ to flamboyant vivo or vivace episodes. It was first performed in Europe by Grigori Zhislin, for whom Penderecki later wrote his Cadenza.