Panufnik Andrzej Panufnik

Sir Andrzej Panufnik (24 September 1914 – 27 October 1991) was a Polish composer and conductor. He became established as one of the leading Polish composers, and as a conductor he was instrumental in the re-establishment of the Warsaw Philharmonic orchestra after World War II. After his increasing frustration with the extra-musical demands made on him by the country's regime, he defected to the United Kingdom in 1954, and took up British citizenship. In 1957 he became chief conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, a post he relinquished after two years to devote all his time to composition.

Works

The manuscripts and parts of a number of early compositions were lost as a consequence of the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. Panufnik reconstructed some of these in 1945.

Orchestral

• Symphonies
  • (First Symphony: 1939, lost 1944, reconstructed 1945, later withdrawn and destroyed by the composer)
  • (Second Symphony: 1941, lost 1944)
  • Sinfonia Rustica (Symphony No. 1) (1948, revised 1955)
  • Sinfonia Elegiaca (Symphony No. 2) (1957, revised 1966, incorporates material from the discarded Symphony of Peace)
  • Sinfonia Sacra (Symphony No. 3) (1963)
  • Sinfonia Concertante (Symphony No. 4), for flute, harp and small string orchestra (1973)
  • Sinfonia di Sfere (Symphony No. 5) (1974–75)
  • Sinfonia Mistica (Symphony No. 6) (1977)
  • Metasinfonia (Symphony No. 7), for solo organ, timpani and string orchestra (1978)
  • Sinfonia Votiva (Symphony No. 8) (1981, revised 1984)
  • Symphony No. 9, Sinfonia di Speranza (1986, revised 1990)
  • Symphony No. 10 (1988, revised 1990)
• Symphonic Variations (1935–36, lost 1944)
• Symphonic Allegro (1936, lost 1944)
• Symphonic Image (1936, lost 1944)
• Little Overture (c. 1937, lost 1944)
• Tragic Overture (1942, lost 1944, reconstructed 1945, revised 1955)
• Divertimento for Strings (adapted from music by Feliks Janiewicz, 1947, revised 1955)
• Lullaby (1947, revised 1955)
• Nocturne (1947, revised 1955)
• Old Polish Suite, based on 16th and 17th century Polish works (1950, revised 1955)
• Heroic Overture (1952, revised 1969)
• Rhapsody (1956)
• Polonia (1959)
• Autumn Music, for three flutes, three clarinets, percussion, celesta, piano, harp, violas, cellos, and double basses (1962, revised 1965)
• Landscape, for string orchestra (1962, revised 1965)
• Jagiellonian Triptych, for string orchestra (based on early Polish works, 1966)
• Katyń Epitaph (1967. revised 1969)
• Concerto Festivo, for orchestra [without conductor] (1979)
• Paean, for brass ensemble (1980)
• Arbor Cosmica, for twelve string soloists or string orchestra (1983)
• Harmony, for chamber orchestra (1989)

Concertante

• Concerto in modo antico, for solo trumpet, two harps, harpsichord and string orchestra [originally titled Koncert Gotycki, "Gothic Concerto"] (based on early Polish works, 1951, revised 1955)
• Piano Concerto (1962, revised 1970, re-composed 1972, first movement Intrada added 1982)
• Hommage à Chopin, for flute and small string orchestra (1966 arrangement of 1949 vocal work)
• Violin Concerto (1971)
• Concertino for timpani, percussion and string orchestra (1979–80)
• Bassoon Concerto (1985)
• Cello Concerto (1991)

Vocal

• Psalm, for soloist, chorus and orchestra (1936, Panufnik's diploma piece, lost 1944)
• Five Polish Peasant Songs, for sopranos or trebles, two flutes, two clarinets and bass clarinet (1940, lost 1944, reconstructed 1945, anonymous Polish text)
• Four Underground Resistance Songs, for voice or unison voices and piano (1943–44, Polish text by Stanisław Ryszard Dobrowolski)
• Hommage à Chopin, vocalises for soprano and piano, originally titled Suita Polska (1949, revised 1955)
• Symphony of Peace, for chorus and orchestra (1951, subsequently withdrawn and not included in the composer's symphonic canon, setting of Polish text by Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz)
• Song to the Virgin Mary, for unaccompanied chorus or six solo voices (1964, revised 1969, anonymous Latin text)
• Universal Prayer, for soprano, alto, tenor and bass soloists, chorus, three harps and organ (1968–69, setting of English text by Alexander Pope)
• Invocation for Peace, for trebles, two trumpets and two trombones (1972)
• Winter Solstice, for soprano and baritone soloists, chorus, three trumpets, three trombones, timpani and glockenspiel (1972, English text by Camilla Jessel)
• Love Song, for mezzo-soprano and harp or piano (1976, optional string orchestra part added in 1991, setting of English text by Sir Philip Sidney)
• Dreamscape, for mezzo-soprano and piano (1977, wordless)
• Prayer to the Virgin of Skempe, for solo voice or unison chorus, organ and instrumental ensemble (1990, setting of Polish text by Jerzy Peterkiewicz)

Ballets

While Panufnik's music has been used often for dance, two ballet scores were prepared by the composer using adaptations of existing works with new material.

• Cain and Abel (1968, a reworking of Sinfonia Sacra and Tragic Overture with new material)
• Miss Julie (1970, a reworking of Nocturne, Rhapsody, Autumn Music and Polonia with new material)

Chamber

• Classical Suite, for string quartet (1933, lost 1944)
• Piano Trio (1934, lost 1944, reconstructed 1945, revised 1977)
• Quintetto Accademico, for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon (1953, revised 1956, lost, was rediscovered in 1994)
• Triangles, for three flutes and three cellos (1972)
• String Quartet No. 1 (1976)
• String Quartet No. 2 Messages (1980)
• Song to the Virgin Mary, for string sextet (1987 arrangement of 1964 vocal work)
• String Sextet Train of Thoughts (1987)
• String Quartet No. 3 Wycinanki ("Paper Cuts") (1990)

Instrumental

• Variations, for piano (1933, lost 1944)
• Twelve Miniature Studies, for piano, originally titled Circle of Fifths (1947, Book I revised 1955, Book II revised 1964)
• Reflections, for piano (1968)
• Pentasonata, for piano (1984)

Pieces for young players

• Two Lyric Pieces [1: woodwind and brass, 2: strings] (1963)
• Thames Pageant, cantata for young players and singers (1969, English text by Camilla Jessel)
• A Procession for Peace (1982–83)