Suite (Penderecki)
{{short description|Suite for cello by Krzysztof Penderecki}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox musical composition
| name = Suite
| image = Krzysztof Penderecki 20080706.jpg
| caption = Penderecki in 2008
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| composer = Krzysztof Penderecki
| form = Suite
| catalogue =
| period = Contemporary
| language =
| composed = 1994 - 2013
| published = 2014 {{efn|Previously partially published as Divertimento.}}
| publisher = Schott Music
| duration = 20 minutes
| movements = 8
| scoring = Cello
}}
The Suite (formerly and alternatively entitled Divertimento) is a composition for solo cello by Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki. The piece is well known for its typical chromatic melodies and for its recurrent use of pizzicati and col legno.{{cite web
|url = http://www.naxos.com/mainsite/blurbs_reviews.asp?item_code=8.557052&catNum=557052&filetype=About%20this%20Recording&language=English#
|title = About this Recording – 8.557052 – PENDERECKI: Sextet / Clarinet Quartet / Cello Divertimento
|last1 = Whitehouse
|first1 = Richard
|year = 2004
|publisher = Naxos Digital Services Ltd.
|location = Hong Kong
|accessdate = June 3, 2013
}}
Background
Initially entitled Divertimento, Suite was written over the course of twenty years and had many additions and revisions. Penderecki initially wrote this suite for solo cello as part of a musical collaboration with fellow cellist Mstislav Rostropovich which started with the Cello Concerto No. 2 and which went on for more than twenty years. It consisted of only three movements: Serenade, Scherzo, and Notturno, all of them composed in 1994 and premiered on December 28, 1994, in Köln by Boris Pergamenschikow. The Suite was initially dedicated to Pergamenschikow and commissioned by KölnMusik. The composition was later revisited many times over the years until its completion in 2013. Sarabande followed in June 15, 2001, performed by the dedicatee in Ludwigsburg. After that, Tempo di Valse was premiered at the Kronberg Academy in Kronberg, on October 21, 2004, in a memorial concert for Pergamenschikow performed by Claudio Bohórquez. The Aria was the next movement to be composed, which was premiered by Michel Strauss on September 2, 2006, at the Musée d'art américain in Giverny, at the Festival de Musique de Chamber à Giverny 2006. The Allegro con bravura was premiered by Arto Noras on February 20, 2010, in Paris and, finally, the Preludio was premiered between April 16 and 27, 2013, in Paris, at the fifth International Paulo Cello Competition. It was published several times by Boosey & Hawkes and Schott Music to include the different expansions to the suite. However, the final version was dedicated to Arto Noras and published by Schott Music in 2014.{{cite web
|url = http://www.schott-music.com/shop/products/show,22468,,f.html
|title = Divertimento
|year = 1994
|publisher = Schott Music GmbH & Co.
|accessdate = June 3, 2013
Composition
This composition takes approximately 20 minutes to perform. The movement list is as follows:{{cite web
|url = http://www.boosey.com/shop/prod/Penderecki-Krzysztof-Divertimento-For-Cello-Solo/687447
|title = Krzysztof Penderecki: Divertimento For Cello Solo
|last1 = Penderecki
|first1 = Krzysztof
|year = 1994
|publisher = Boosey & Hawkes
|accessdate = June 3, 2013
{{ordered list|list_style_type=upper-roman
| Preludio
| Serenade. Allegretto
| Sarabande
| Tempo di Valse
| Allegro con bravura
| Aria
| Scherzo. Vivace
| Notturno. Larghetto
}}
Penderecki himself arranged some of the movements of this composition for viola for separate performance, among them Sarabande, which he rearranged in 2000.{{cite web|title=Krzysztof Penderecki (* 1933) Sarabanda (2000)|url=http://www.stretta-music.com/author-krzysztof-penderecki-1933/penderecki-sarabanda-2000-nr-584346.html?pgNr=1|accessdate=28 July 2014}}
Notable recordings
Since the composition was completed in 1994 but subsequently expanded, recordings initially omitted several movements when they were released.{{cite web
|url = http://www.allmusic.com/album/release/penderecki-sextet-clarinet-quartet-mr0002735989
|title = Penderecki: Sextet; Clarinet Quartet (CD – Naxos #8 557052)
|year = 2003
|publisher = Rovi Corp.
|accessdate = June 3, 2013
|url = http://www.allmusic.com/album/release/cello-populus-mr0003231186
|title = Cello Populus (CD – Analog Arts #8830)
|year = 2004
|publisher = Rovi Corp.
|accessdate = June 3, 2013
}} Here is a list of notable partial recordings of this composition:
class="wikitable" width="800px"
!align="center"|Solo cello !align="center"|Record company !align="center"|Year of recording !align="center"|Format |
align="center"|Arto Noras
|align="center"|Naxos Records |align="center"|2004 |align="center"|CD{{cite web |url = http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.557052 |title = PENDERECKI: Sextet / Clarinet Quartet / Cello Divertimento |year = 2003 |publisher = Naxos Digital Services Ltd. |accessdate = June 3, 2013 }} |
align="center"|Dariusz Skoraczewski
|align="center"|Analog Arts |align="center"|2004 |
Footnotes
{{notelist}}