Nicola Benedetti Plays Szymanowski

The music of Szymanowski is currently being featured at the Edinburgh Festival and at least one reviewer has taken the occasion to heap abuse on the composer. He has argued that the music is of poor quality and is only being played because it has become the fashion to explore the edges of the repertoire.

For me, Symanowski's music deserves much better. He is a unique voice in music and some of his works are by turns beautiful and powerful. His opera King Roger is finally beginning to receive the attention it deserves. One of his most frequently performed works is the Violin Concerto No. 1. Our video includes an excerpt featuring the brilliant 25-year-old Scottish virtuoso Nicola Benedetti. Benedetti also included this concerto in her debut album for DG in 2005.

Paul E. Robinson