Penderecki: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1 (Threnody, De Natura Sonoris, Symphony No. 3, Flourescences)

"This is not only a usefully inexpensive introduction to the music of Krzysztof Penderecki; it also includes the only available recording of his Third Symphony. ...
The other three works were composed in the early 1960s, well before Penderecki's change of style, and all three demonstrate his remarkable ear for innovative sonorities. Fluorescences draws a prodigious range of colours and textures from a gigantic orchestra, but the well-known Threnody is even more remarkable in the way that it convinces you that wind, percussion and electronic sources are present, although it is scored only for strings. ...The performances are remarkably fine, the three earlier pieces at least as eloquent as the symphony; the recording is both clear and ample."

- International Record Review, May 2000

"This is the first instalment in Naxos's cycle of complete orchestral works of Krzysztof Penderecki, once one of the leaders of the post-war avant-garde. The Third Symphony, from 1995, evokes a great tradition by peering back through Bartok and Mahler to Brahms. Early Penderecki is represented by the lacerating Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima and jubilant cacophony of Fluorescences. Performances and recording are excellent..."

- The Guardian (Tim Ashley), May 5, 2000