Lutosławski: Orchestral Works 4

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[Little] finds the soft-edged energy of the Partita and traces a broad melodic arc in its central Largo. All the performers show their awareness of the work's indebtedness to Baroque gesture. — BBC Music Magazine, June 2013, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 25th Feb 2013
Catalogue No: CHSA5108
Label: Chandos
Series: Edward Gardner Polish Music Series
Length: 70 minutes

Gramophone Magazine

May 2013

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Lutosławski: Symphony No. 1

Work length24:47

$6.00

$7.75

$10.50

Edward Gardner, BBC Symphony Orchestra
Recorded: 2, 3 April 2012
Recording Venue: Watford Colosseum, UK

I. Allegro giusto

Track length4:35

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

II. Poco adagio

Track length10:20

$3.00

$3.85

$5.25

III. Allegretto misterioso

Track length4:28

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

IV. Allegro vivace

Track length5:24

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Lutosławski: Partita for Violin and Orchestra

Work length16:51

$5.00

$6.50

$8.75

Edward Gardner, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Tasmin Little
Recorded: 3 July 2012
Recording Venue: Watford Colosseum, UK

I. Allegro giusto

Track length4:21

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

II. Ad libitum

Track length1:05

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

III. Largo

Track length6:31

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

IV. Ad libitum

Track length0:54

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

V. Presto

Track length4:00

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Lutosławski: Chain 2

Work length19:25

$4.00

$5.20

$7.00

Edward Gardner, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Tasmin Little
Recorded: 3 July 2012
Recording Venue: Watford Colosseum, UK

I. Ad libitum

Track length4:20

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

II. A battuta

Track length4:55

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

III. Ad libitum

Track length5:45

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

IV. A battuta

Track length4:25

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Lutosławski: Dance Preludes

Work length9:47

$5.00

$6.50

$8.75

Edward Gardner, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Michael Collins
Recorded: 2, 3 April 2012
Recording Venue: Watford Colosseum, UK

I. Allegro molto

Track length0:57

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

II. Andantino

Track length2:35

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

III. Allegro giocoso

Track length1:15

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

IV. Andante

Track length3:25

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

V. Allegro molto

Track length1:35

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

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About

This is the fifth and now final volume in our survey of orchestral works by the Polish composer Witold Lutosławski. Gramophone wrote of a previous volume in the series (CHSA5106) that it ‘offers a broad view of Lutosławski’s creative profile, which the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Edward Gardner fleshes out with playing that is as polished as it is animated, and alert to the individuality of Lutosławski’s musical vocabulary and mode of expression’.

Lutosławski wrote his Symphony No. 1 between 1941 and 1947, but interestingly it does not display any obvious signs of his trying to come to terms with the ordeal that befell his people. Quite the opposite, in fact. Lutosławski himself described the symphony as bright and cheerful, ‘because that was the idea of the composition, which was conceived in the period of independence before the war, but brought into being during the terrible wartime and in far from idyllic post-war years’. At the time, one Polish colleague went so far as to call it ‘fauvist’, so wild and vibrant did it appear to the audiences at its first performance in April 1948.

Lutosławski was a meticulous collector of folk materials in the first half of the 1950s, but for him, Dance Preludes was a ‘farewell to folklore’, even though he privately still explored folk tunes for several more years. Here the orchestra and conductor are joined by the clarinettist Michael Collins, an exclusive Chandos artist.

As his career developed in the more open environment that emerged after the ‘socialist-realist’ period, Lutosławski began to receive international recognition, and with the Partita (1984, orchestrated 1988), for violin and orchestra, he presented a newly relaxed, more melodic compositional style to the public. The soloist is the exclusive Chandos artist Tasmin Little.

Chain 2 (1984 – 85) was premiered by Anne-Sophie Mutter on 31 January 1986 with Collegium Musicum, conducted by Paul Sacher to whom it was dedicated. On this recording Tasmin Little leads the orchestra through a succession of ideas, much as the soloist had done in the ‘Episodes’ movement of the Cello Concerto (recorded on CHSA5106 with Paul Watkins).

Reviews

June 2013

[Little] finds the soft-edged energy of the Partita and traces a broad melodic arc in its central Largo. All the performers show their awareness of the work's indebtedness to Baroque gesture.

16th March 2013

the violin concertos [are] notable for their expressive intensity, a quality matched by Tasmin Little’s performances. Finally, Michael Collins relishes the solo opportunities of Dance Preludes for clarinet and chamber orchestra

May 2013

Gardner's interpretative decisions vary from Lutoslawski's, swifter in the fast movements, very slow in the Poco adagio...The composer had the balance between them just right but Gardner is very persuasive...Highly recommended.

23rd April 2013

[Gardner's] ear for detail, a feature of all these Chandos releases, brings out colours and associations which you might have missed in other versions...This is as vibrant and engaging a performance of this symphony as I have ever heard on record...a series of recordings which has to be considered a worthy new reference in some of the best music the 20th century has to offer.

17th March 2013

The BBCSO and Edward Gardner, in the latest of this excellent series, capture the range of moods eloquently.

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