Album Review: Musical Joke — Duets for Piccolo and Wind Instruments Hanna Turonek
With Musical Joke, composer and piccolo virtuoso Hanna Turonek offers a recording that delights from first note to last—a collection of miniature duets that celebrate wit, character, and the sheer joy of musical storytelling. Whimsical, imaginative, and irresistibly charming, this album feels like a cabinet of curiosities: each short work a perfectly formed vignette, each title an accurate and affectionate signpost to the musical world it inhabits.
Turonek’s gift as a composer lies in her ability to say a great deal in very little time. Nowhere is this clearer than in Hiccup, a 1:13 gem featuring bass clarinetist Karol Sikora. In barely over a minute, Turonek conjures a scene that is playful, knowing, and utterly endearing. Sikora returns later in Crazy Dance, where clarinet and piccolo engage in a mischievous, high-spirited dialogue—fleet, playful, and full of personality. Equally memorable is Annoying Insect, with trumpeter Alan Turonek, a humorous miniature that buzzes and darts with cheeky precision over its just-two-minute span. Emergency, performed with oboist Paulina Sochaj, captivates from beginning to end, its urgency and brilliance delivered with masterful control and compelling intensity.
The album’s charm is further deepened by its inspired instrumental pairings. Little Bears’ March, featuring tuba player Krzysztof Mucha, is exactly as adorable as its title promises, warm-hearted and gently humorous. Chase, with flutist Anna Jasińska, sparkles with agility and playful momentum, while Reveille, featuring horn player Anna Baran Płaczkowska, brings a noble yet lightly ironic flair to the collection. Music Box featuring piccolo player, Anna Jasińska is a quirky and unconventional duet for two piccolos. Plus Minus Blues, a jazzy, capricious duet with trombonist Michał Daszkiewicz, stands out for its sultry edge—sexy, sly, and rhythmically alive. The album concludes its tour of sonic imagination with Extreme Sound, featuring bassoonist Szymon Michalik, adding depth and color to this already vibrant palette.
Each performer is exquisitely chosen, contributing not only impeccable technique but a shared sense of humor and musical empathy. Musical Joke is capricious and fanciful, yes—but also finely crafted and deeply musical. These duets are tiny gifts of sonic poetry, wit, and charm, to be savored again and again. A treasure of a recording, and a testament to Hanna Turonek’s creativity both as a composer and as one of today’s most engaging piccolo artists.