American Record Guide

The recordings date from 1986, 1987, and 1984 and all but Pieta have been reviewed previously (July/Aug 1994; Jan/Feb 1992). Pieta arranges music from the Requiem (Jan/Feb 1992). Mr De Jong summed up the composer’s style very well: “The music is often dissonant but also has moments of lyricism, and the rhythms are varied. Artyomov lists as influences on his music 19th Century romanticism, Schubert, Bruckner, and Russian folk music; but not all of that is evident in this music. An individual voice is heard sometimes, but frequent glances at the Polish School are also evident.”

These works are more somber than lyrical, more ecstatic than passionate; luminous clusters of string sound and intense melodies with wide intervals abound. They still sound very good after all these years, and the performances hold up, too. Still, these works are not for the faint-hearted, and I have no compelling reason to keep them in my library.

—Rob Haskins