Both of these seminal works by Andrzej Panufnik display his penchant for skewed harmonics and extreme orchestral colors. His tactics approach those of Schnittke and Xenakis, but Panufnik is more tonally consistent than either of those composers: in other words, there are no surprises, no cacophonous explosions. Arbor Cosmica (1983) is for 12 strings and is in 12 movements, each generated from a single three-note chord mapped like a tree. The Sinfonietta Cracovia players do an outstanding job with this difficult music, but the high octaves demanded of the violins can be ear-splitting at times. This is particularly true of the fifth movement, which is otherwise laced with beautiful meditative passages that anyone familiar with Panufnik's Sinfonia Sacra would recognize.

The Violin Concerto (1971) exhibits some of the same dead-on miking on the violin as in the Arbor Cosmica. Soloist Robert Kabara plays very well but the recording ambience limits the full-orchestra sound. Strangely, at times this music is performed with such brio that we can almost picture the members of the Sinfonietta Cracovia enthusiastically and confidently--and individually--playing to the microphones. Nevertheless, the sound balances are tolerable enough and both of these pieces are essential listening for those who wish to know Panufnik's major works. Certainly the Violin Concerto, for which no other recording is available, should be better known.

--Paul Cook