ZYGMUNT NOSKOWSKI (1846-1909): Orchestral Works, Vol. 3 - Symphony No. 3 in F "From Spring to Spring" (National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra Katowice; José Maria Floréncio), From the Life of the Nation, Prelude to Act II of the Opera Livia Quintilla, Elegiac Polonaise (Polish Radio Orchestra Warsaw; Lukasz Borowicz).

Description: The 40-minute Third of 1903 is a symphony of the seasons: "Spring", "Summer. The charm of a midsummer's night.", "Autumn.  The Okrezne festival. Hafrvest home song and Dance." and "Winter. Silence and torpor in nature. A snow storm.  Return of spring and the welcoming of a sunny morning." Yet Noskowski claimed that it was not programmatic! One could, of course, also see it as an allegory of partitioned Poland. But there's no doubt of its orchestral color and Noskowski, as in everything we've heard by him so far, is a first-class melodist and orchestrator. Of the latter, even more so, if possible, in From the Life (1901) which is nothing less than a 31-minute set of 18 variations on Chopin's Prelude Op. 28 No. 7 which encompasses a huge variety of moods. The shorter opera act-prelude and Polonaise are icing on the cake.