Witold LUTOSLAWSKI (1913-1994)
Orchestral Works - III
Mała Suite (or Little Suite) (1950) [10:13]
Concerto for cello and orchestra (1969/70) [23:53]
Grave for cello solo and string orchestra (1982) [5:36]
Symphony No. 2 (1965/67) [29:51]
Paul Watkins (cello)
BBC Symphony Orchestra/Edward Gardner
rec. 5-6 December 2011, Watford Colosseum, England
SACD Hybrid Multi-channel Stereo
CHANDOS CHSA 5106 [70:04]
This release continues the Chandos Lutosławski series now at volume
four.
Considered to be a composer at the heart of the European mainstream
Lutosławski
in the late 1950s experimented with progressive techniques including
serialism
and aleatoric (dependant on chance/luck) processes. There are many
composers
today whose music would be generally considered as more challenging than
Lutosławski’s
but in truth it took me a considerable time and much concentration before
I
began to gain the rewards I now obtain from listening to his music.
The Mała Suite (or Little Suite) is for chamber orchestra
and was a commission from Warsaw Radio written in 1950 in the midst of the
Soviet oppression. Lutosławski revised and enlarged the orchestration
for symphony orchestra in 1951. In this four movement score folk melodies
are employed - themes collected from the village of Machów near Rzeszów
in south-eastern Poland. It’s accessible and highly attractive and far
more substantial than its title might at first suggest. The first movement
Fujarka (Fife) is an appealingly melodic Allegretto just bustling
with activity. Prominent piccolo figures combine with drums to give a curious
martial spirit together with rhythmic often rapacious bursts of energetic
forward momentum. Briskly taken, the Hurra Polka (Hoorah Polka) marked
Vivace has an impishly playful quality. This contrasts with the Piosenka
(Song), a captivatingly atmospheric Andante molto Sostenuto that builds
in weight and sports a profusion of prominent woodwind contributions. The
final movement Taniec (Dance) is an Allegro molto and has an
introduction that reminded me of the brass fanfare in the central movement
of Janáček’s Sinfonietta. This is varied and hauntingly
melodic music and contains much to hold the interest.
Composed in 1969/70 the Concerto for Cello and Orchestra was a
commission
from the Royal Philharmonic Society with support from the Gulbenkian
Foundation.
It is dedicated to and intended for Mstislav Rostropovich. This highly
original
four movement score is played without a break. The Introduction is
purposely
inconspicuous containing considerable trite and repetitious wailing
effects.
Marked Episodes the second movement opens with a brass fanfare. A
wealth
of varied and fascinating ideas emerged and unravelled to hold my
attention.
The Cantilena features the lyrical cello over a progressively
weighty
and increasingly threatening accompaniment that concludes in a state of
near
pandemonium. The atmosphere of hostile diatribe continues for much of the
Finale.
Becoming increasingly isolated the cello yowls and squeals in resignation
sometimes
accompanied ny the orchestra, sometimes not.
Lutosławski sustained his interest in the cello and wrote his
Grave
for cello and piano in 1981. The next year Lutosławski orchestrated
it
as his Grave for cello and string orchestra giving it the subtitle
‘Metamorphoses’.
Playing virtually non-stop the solo cello opens on a cold, bleak note of
solitude
and near despair. This strongly reminded me of the soundworld that
Shostakovich
often inhabits. At point 3:00 as the music quickens abruptly the mood
lightens
somewhat becoming more purposeful. Between points 4:27 and 5:15 the
soloist
plays in isolation before the work concludes with a light layer of
strings.
Twenty years elapsed between Lutosławski’s Symphony No.
1
from 1947 and the completion of his Symphony No. 2 in 1965/67. A
commission
from the Norddeutscher Rundfunk of Hamburg, the symphony is divided into
two
movements. In 1968 it won first prize at the UNESCO International Rostrum
of
Composers in Paris. Here Lutosławski employs an aleatoric approach.
Its
purpose is not always easy to fathom. It is not difficult to view all this
as
over-technical, rigorously controlled and too cerebral; nevertheless it
remains
well constructed and interesting. The first movement titled
Hésitant
contains an introduction followed by a series of six episodes played by
small
groups of instruments that unfurl in the same manner. Each episode is
followed
by a refrain from trios of double reed instruments. Titled Direct
the
music of the second movement can be divided into five overlapping segments
although
they can be hard to differentiate. The music slowly but constantly
unfolds,
maintaining tension. It increases in complexity and weight right through
to
the conclusion.
For those new to Lutosławski’s symphonies the Symphony No.
2
is probably not the best place to start. More convincing and
rewarding
is the stunning and masterly Symphony No. 3. Edward Gardner and the
BBC
Symphony Orchestra have already recorded and released this symphony among
earlier
volumes in this Chandos series.
I played this latest Chandos hybrid SACD on my standard CD player.
Recorded
in 2011 at the Watford Colosseum the sound quality is immediate with a
fine
presence that is especially satisfying. Cellist Paul Watkins is an
incisive
and authoritative soloist yet remains as appropriately sensitive as one
could
wish. The splendidly prepared BBC Symphony Orchestra under Edward Gardner
play
Lutosławski with remarkable dedication and expertise. The results are
compelling.
Michael Cookson
Compelling music-making.
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