Maciejewski's Requiem | reviews, news & interviews
Maciejewski's Requiem
Maciejewski's Requiem
Monumental - or monumentally dull?
Friday, 05 February 2010
Roman Maciejwski: 'is he an overlooked Polish genius?'
Me and the Pope have had our disagreements – on condoms in Africa, gay rights and his frankly appalling Christmas album. He’s keener on the Tridentine Mass than me. But I had some sympathy with him about Maciejewski’s Requiem, which received its British premiere last night as part of the Polska! year of Polish culture. When he was merely Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he wrote to the composer’s brother Wojciech in 2001, “It speaks directly to the heart, without demanding, as contemporary music often does, any learned intermediary”.
Me and the Pope have had our disagreements – on condoms in Africa, gay rights and his frankly appalling Christmas album. He’s keener on the Tridentine Mass than me. But I had some sympathy with him about Maciejewski’s Requiem, which received its British premiere last night as part of the Polska! year of Polish culture. When he was merely Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he wrote to the composer’s brother Wojciech in 2001, “It speaks directly to the heart, without demanding, as contemporary music often does, any learned intermediary”.
The future of Arts Journalism
You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!
We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d
And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more Classical music
Kraggerud, Irish Chamber Orchestra, RIAM Dublin review - stomping, dancing, magical Vivaldi plus
Norwegian violinist and composer gives a perfect programme with vivacious accomplices
Small, Hallé, Wong, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - return to Shostakovich’s ambiguous triumphalism
Illumination from a conductor with his own signature
LSO, Noseda, Barbican review - Half Six shake-up
Principal guest conductor is adrenalin-charged in presentation of a Prokofiev monster
Frang, LPO, Jurowski, RFH review - every beauty revealed
Schumann rarity equals Beethoven and Schubert in perfectly executed programme
Levit, Sternath, Wigmore Hall review - pushing the boundaries in Prokofiev and Shostakovich
Master pianist shines the spotlight on star protégé in another unique programme
Classical CDs: Big bands, beasts and birdcalls
Italian songs, Viennese chamber music and an enterprising guitar quartet
Connolly, BBC Philharmonic, Paterson, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - a journey through French splendours
Magic in lesser-known works of Duruflé and Chausson
Biss, National Symphony Orchestra, Kuokman, NCH Dublin review - full house goes wild for vivid epics
Passionate and precise playing of Brahms and Berlioz under a dancing master
Verdi Requiem, Philharmonia, Muti, RFH review - new sparks from an old flame
Discoveries on a veteran maestro's epic journey
Batsashvili, Hallé, Wong, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - a star in the piano universe
The Georgian pianist brings precision and freedom to Liszt’s warhorses
Naumov, SCO, Egarr, Queen's Hall, Edinburgh review - orchestral magic rescues some punishing music
Hard-driven Beethoven, monotonous Eötvös, some light from Kernis
Classical CDs: Shipping lines, sabre dances and sea lice
Neglected piano concertos, Italian art songs and new music for trombones
Add comment