Sonora Winds Showcase Polish Composers

from the Amazon.com Web page for the recording being discussed

I still seem to be trying to catch up on recent releases by MSR Classics. This past November saw the release of what seems to be the debut album of Sonora Winds. This ensemble is the quartet of Bethany Gonella (flute), Stuart Sutter (oboe), Anastasiya Nyzkodub (clarinet), and Marta Troicki (bassoon), all of whom are based in Minnesota, which is where the album was recorded.

The title of the album is From Shadow to Light: Music for Winds from Poland. The program of the album surveys six twentieth-century Polish composers, none of whom are still alive. The most familiar of these is Witold Lutosławski, represented by a trio for oboe, clarinet, and bassoon. The piece was composed in 1945; and, to some extent, it recalls the the duo piano performances that Lutosławski gave in cafes with his fellow composer Andrzej Panufnik. The other familiar name among the composers on the album is (to me at least) Tadeusz Baird, represented by a prankish divertimento for wind quartet composed in 1956. The remaining four composers are Antoni Szalowski, Wawrzyniec Żuławski (Wawa), Władysław Walentynowicz, and Janina Garścia.

Taken as a whole, all the selections are upbeat in their respective rhetorical stances. This is hardly a surprise since, for the most part, chamber music for winds maintains a sunny disposition. In addition there is enough stylistic variety for one to distinguish one unfamiliar composer from another. As a result the album makes for appealing listening, but I have to wonder if any of these pieces will engage the listener strongly enough to make for a memorable experience. Perhaps having the recording is an advantage, since familiarity tends to grow with repeated listening experiences.