Penderecki: St. Luke Passion (Live)

Penderecki’s St. Luke Passion, first heard in 1966, celebrates a millennium of Polish Christianity, and it does so in a language that is both contemporary and very engaging. Its music is stark, atonal but also very immediate, and it communicates effortlessly, regardless of your faith. Kent Nagano, always at his best in modern music, has the measure of this large and often complex score and makes a real statement with it. Recorded at the 2018 Salzburg Festival in the presence of the composer to celebrate his 85th birthday, this performance now stands as a posthumous tribute to a major creative spirit.