Divertimento (Penderecki)

The Divertimento is a 1994 composition for solo cello by Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki. The piece is well known for its typical chromatic melodies and for its recurrent use of pizzicati and col legno.

Composition

This composition takes approximately 20 minutes to perform. The movement list is as follows:

1. Serenade
2. Scherzo
3. Notturno
4. Sarabande (Johann Sebastian Bach in memoriam)
5. Tempo di valse
6. Aria

There is no available recording of the complete work so far, even though there are some available excerpts of the work. Most typically, recordings tend to omit at least one movement.

Penderecki wrote this divertimento for solo cello as part of a musical collaboration with fellow cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, a musical collaboration which started with the Cello Concerto No. 2 and which went on for more than twenty years. It was premiered at Köln in December 28, 1994, by Russian composer and cellist Boris Piergamienszczikow. Since then, the composition has rarely been performed. However, it has been published both by Boosey and Hawkes and Schott Music.

Penderecki himself arranged some of the movements of this composition for viola for separate performance, among them Sarabande, which he rearranged in 2000.

Notable recordings

As mentioned previously, there is no complete recording of the piece. Here is a list of notable partial recordings of this composition:

Solo cello	Record company	Year of recording	Format
Arto Noras	Naxos Records	2004	CD
Dariusz Skoraczewski	Analog Arts	2004	CD