I have not been overly impressed with most Polish recordings of Lutoslawski's Concerto for Orchestra. The orchestras usually feature decent enough strings, but also weaker winds, percussion, and especially brass, which makes the concluding Toccata e corale something of a letdown. This performance, though, shows how the situation has steadily improved over the past couple of decades. The Sinfonia Varsovia sounds terrific, and Jerzy Maksymiuk knows his way around this ebullient score, pacing each movement perfectly and eliciting a virtuoso response from the ensemble, bringing the closing pages home in rousing fashion. If anything, Chantefleurs et Chantefables is even better. Olga Pasieczak sings beautifully (The Grasshopper is especially delightful), and the SACD multichannel sonics place the voice naturally and evocatively among the instruments. It's enormously compelling, as is this bold and gutsy romp through the Paganini Variations. In short, this disc is a winner both interpretively and technically. [6/30/2005]

--David Hurwitz