Jean-Louis Capezzali (oboe), Artur Pachlewski (clarinet), Warsaw Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra/Antoni WitNaxos 8.572212 ***

The Three Pieces in Old Style which open this collection of works for string orchestra date from 1963, but sound straight out of the world of Grieg's Holberg Suite. Given Krzysztof Penderecki's 1960s avant-garde credentials, it would have come as a shock at the time had it not been written for Wojciech Has's film The Saragossa Manuscript. The Capriccio for oboe and strings (1964) and Intermezzo (1973) are both in Penderecki's avant-garde style. The later works show romanticised surfaces with occasional harshness. The Serenade (1997) and Sinfonietta No 1 (1992) do so in a way that seems ultimately bland. The Sinfonietta No 2 (1994) takes flight through the presence of a solo clarinet. The orchestral playing under Antoni Wit presents the pieces in the most glowing colours.  iti.ms/HbjmKV