Mieczyslaw Karlowicz's music has been fairly well served on CD, especially by Chandos and Naxos, but he doesn't seem to have broken through in the same way some other formerly obscure composers have. That's a pity, since this music is easily accessible, with a rich sound and memorable melodies. Karlowicz turns up the Romantic dial to 11 in this music, which isn't surprising considering its main influences are Tchaikovsky's Pathetique and Wagner's Tristan.
Both the Symphony and The White Dove music are relatively early works, though Karlowicz didn't live long enough to build a very large body of work. He was killed in an avalanche while skiing at the age of 33. This music very much wears its heart on its sleeve, and Wit lets his Polish musicians loose in the kind of music they must know well. I found the entire disc very appealing. Naxos does its usual excellent job of capturing the mood and presenting unfamiliar music well worth our time and money.
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