The two largest works included here are transcriptions of other scores: the Sinfonietta No. 2 for clarinet and strings (1994) derives from the Clarinet Quartet of the previous year, and the Clarinet Concerto (1996) stems from the Concerto for flute and chamber orchestra of 1992, recorded recently by Naxos (11/99).
Both are among Penderecki's stronger recent pieces, and they survive their transformations well. The pared-down style of the Sinfonietta is especially effective, and although the work's proportions are unusual, with the slow finale (Abschied) virtually as long as the three earlier movements put together, Kam's direct yet well-varied style of playing is consistently persuasive. In the concerto, the harder edge of the clarinet, compared to the flute, may explain why the music's repetitiveness seems more insistent in this version, but the expressive immediacy and rhythmic clarity of this expert account are undeniable.
Penderecki's early Miniatures now come across as very dated exercises in a style somewhere between Poulenc and Bartok, but the more recent Prelude has an easy eloquence made memorable by the implied rather than actual harmony provided by the solo line. As for Lutosyawski's familiar Dance Preludes, even though I prefer the version with piano, Sharon Kam's performance here is undeniably exciting, and the recording throughout is good.'