Three Miniatures for Clarinet and Piano is an early work by Polish composer

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best known works include ''Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', ''Polish Requiem'', ''A ...

. It was finished in 1956, but was premiered four years later.

Composition and premiere

The ''Three Miniatures'' were composed when Penderecki was only 23 and still a music student. They were dedicated to Władysław Kosieradzki, who was the clarinet professor at the

Academy of Music in Kraków The Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków ( pl, Akademia Muzyczna im. Krzysztofa Pendereckiego w Krakowie) is a conservatory located in central Kraków, Poland. It is the '' alma mater'' of the renowned Polish contemporary composer Krz ...

, and were premiered by the dedicatée at the clarinet and Zbigniew Jeżewski at the piano in the 1958 Polish Composers' Union concert, which took place in November 17. The score was published afterwards by the

Polish Music Publishing House The PWM Edition ( pl, 'Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne', abbreviated as PWM) is a music publishing house based in Kraków, Poland. It was founded in 1945 and was the only music publisher in Poland for several years. In 2012 it released the twelfth vo ...

and

Belwin-Mills Alfred Music is an American music publishing company. Founded in New York in 1922, it is headquartered in Van Nuys, California, with additional branches in Miami, New York, Germany, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. History In New York City ...

Analysis

This composition consists of three short miniatures which take 1 to 1:30 minutes each to perform. The general mood and style of the work differs from the following works and shows no signs of Penderecki's later radicalism, in the sense that these miniatures are not focused on the sonority of the instruments to generate atmospheres, probably influenced by

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as H ...

. The miniatures were titled as follows: # Allegro # Andante cantabile # Allegro ma non troppo The two outer movements of this composition are active and fast, while the middle one is slower and more meditative.

Reception

The ''Miniatures'' were negatively received by critics.

Vincent McDermott (Joseph) Vincent McDermott (September 5, 1933 – February 10, 2016) was a classically trained American composer and ethnomusicologist. His works show particular influence from the musics of South and Southeast Asia, particularly the gamelan musi ...

, from

The Musical Quarterly ''The Musical Quarterly'' is the oldest academic journal on music in America. Originally established in 1915 by Oscar Sonneck, the journal was edited by Sonneck until his death in 1928. Sonneck was succeeded by a number of editors, including Car ...

, described the whole set of miniatures as "dull". However, the miniatures were some of the few early compositions accepted for publication.

Notable recordings

Following are some of the most well-known recordings of this piece:

References

{{Krzysztof Penderecki Compositions by Krzysztof Penderecki 1954 compositions Contemporary classical compositions