Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra begin their survey of Grażyna Bacewicz’s orchestral music with her last two symphonies, composed in 1952 and 1953 respectively. The Polish-born Bacewicz had trained as a violinist, but also studied composition in Paris with Nadia Boulanger, and despite a promising career as a soloist, on her return to Warsaw she joined the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra for two years specifically to hone her skills as an orchestrator.
