Fluorescences

At its première in 1962, Krzysztof Penderecki described this work as the ‘final assessment’ of his experimental years. Unorthodox tonal apparitions and all manner of noise effects radiate from the score like fluorescent objects. The ‘liberated sound beyond the confines of traditional instrumentation’ was the declared aim of the composer in this work, achieved through rigorous experimentation with new playing techniques and extremely dynamic contrasts. Penderecki himself described the result as ‘a work without pardon’ – in our time it has long been adopted as a classic of twentieth century music.