SKU: PR.114407510

UPC: 680160011599. 9.5 x 13 inches.

Commissioned by Marta Ptaszynska for the 1992 Bydgoszcz Percussion Symposium in Poland, Dorff’s concerto bears a secret program reflecting the proud strength of Polish Solidarnosc standing up to Soviet oppression. Lurking in the drama’s background were the ironies of Poland’s financial dependence on the USSR, and Dorff’s ancestry with Russian and Polish roots. The first movement was completed in August 1991, and an hour later Gorbachev was deposed by a coup; the remainder of the concerto was composed as the USSR fell. This glorious development for human freedom also meant the end of financial commitments from the USSR to its satellite countries, leading to the cancellation of the Bydgoszcz Festival. Percussionist Dean Witten premiered the work with the Haddonfield (NJ) Symphony, conducted by Maestro Alan Gilbert, then in his 20s.