Lutoslawski: Musique Funébre (Funeral Music in memory of Béla Bartók)

Witold Lutoslawski (1913-1994) was the pre-eminent member of a group of Polish composers that came to prominence after the Second World War and whose artistic advancement was given impetus by the death of Stalin in 1953.

The works in this set cover four decades of Lutoslawski's career and include most of his important orchestral works, starting with the early Symphonic Variations, his first and second Symphonies and the Concerto for Orchestra, perhaps his best-known work.

69°42’ north - 19°00’ east represent the map coordinates of the town of Tromsø in Norway, and therefore also of the orchestra featured on Perspectives. It is from this vantage point that its perspective on five European composers is applied, five composers who in turn exist in mutual contrast and perspective. The varied works by Webern, Pärt, Lutoslawski, Kurtág, and Fredrik Högberg embrace 99 years of European music history and are balanced by paradoxical opposites. The programme is dominated by moods of the long, arctic winter night - grief, longing, absence - and the midnight sun’s unceasing orgy of light and life.

Tromsø Chamber Orchestra is the only full-time professional chamber orchestra in Norway. It has become well-known as a modern and versatile ensemble of high international standard. The orchestra gives weekly concerts in Tromsø, and the musicians also serve regularly as a part of the Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra, through the organisation NOSO AS. They appear with some of the most sought after soloists and artistic leaders from all over the world. Musically their range is from chamber ensembles and chamber orchestra to bigger symphonic productions. In addition to this, the orchestra has a high reputation in crossover repertory, through several co-productions with some of Norway's most in demand pop and jazz artists.

Dennis Russell Davies has had a long-running and highly productive association with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra – documented on exceptional ECM recordings of repertoire from Mozart via Stravinsky and Pärt to Kancheli – and is currently the orchestra’s Conductor Laureate. Here he leads them through spirited performances of Bartók’s Divertimento, the ever popular Romanian Folk Dances, and Seven Songs (for which the orchestra is joined by the Hungarian Radio Children’s Choir).

This selection of lively Bartók pieces is viewed through the prism of Witold Lutoslawski’s Musique funèbre, written in memory of the great Hungarian composer, and first performed on the 10th anniversary of Bartók’s death. It’s an important, and moving, piece - and one which also led to international recognition for Lutoslawski, Bartók’s Polish kindred spirit.

The Divertimento for strings was Bartók’s last composition in Europe before emigrating to the US. It adapts Hungarian local colour in a manner that documents his despondency and can still cause shivers in listeners today. He was probably aware that with this work in 1939 he was not only taking leave of Europe and his traditions. He must also have sensed that Europe as he knew it was about to disappear into the darkness of history.

The least known works here are undoubtedly the Seven Songs, taken from a collection of 27 by Bartók. These choruses on folk texts were created for Kodály’s educational programme. Like the Romanian Folk Dances of 1915 (which were orchestrated a couple of years later), they are not folksong arrangements but rather original compositions “in the style of folk music”. Wolfgang Sandner comments in his booklet notes: “They reveal a personality trait that one rarely comes across to such an extent in his other compositions: serenity; one is tempted to call it a sunny disposition, not clouded by social adversity. “Hey, life, glorious life, / This is the life, the glorious life!” are the last lines of the wooing song Csujogató, and that is how Bartók’s original music sounds: joyous, beautiful and pure.”

The Polish composer Lutoslawski is one of the towering figures of 20th century music. His Concerto for Orchestra can stand comparison to the famous example by Bartók, and Mi-parti from 1976 has become a modern classic.These recordings, directed by the composer in 1976/7 contain all the orchestral music he had written up to that point, and are essential listening for all that are interested in 20th century music.

‘It’s my guess that posterity will judge Witold Lutowslaski among the supreme twentieth century musical colourists. All in all, this must surely count as the introduction to Lutoslawski s symphonic world.’ Gramophone reviewing the original release