Lutoslawski: Complete Symphonies

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it is very good to have Salonen's version of the Second Symphony restored to the catalogue; he captures its elusive qualities, and the LA strings sound at their most potent here in the surging... — BBC Music Magazine, June 2013, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 18th Feb 2013
Catalogue No: 88765440832
Label: Sony
Length: 1 hour 45 minutes

Presto Recording of the Week

18th March 2013
Gramophone Awards

1986

Winner - Contemporary
Grammy Awards

29th Awards (1986)

Best Contemporary Classical Composition

Lutosławski: Fanfare for Los Angeles Philharmonic

Work length0:55

$1.30

$1.70

Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Esa-Pekka Salonen

Lutosławski: Symphony No. 1

Work length24:27

$5.20

$6.80

Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Esa-Pekka Salonen

I. Allegro giusto

Track length5:09

$1.30

$1.70

II. Poco adagio

Track length9:26

$1.30

$1.70

III. Allegretto misterioso

Track length4:21

$1.30

$1.70

IV. Allegro vivace

Track length5:31

$1.30

$1.70

Lutosławski: Symphony No. 2

Work length27:51

Album only

Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Esa-Pekka Salonen

I. Hesitant

Track length13:40

Album only

II. Direct

Track length14:11

Album only

Lutosławski: Symphony No. 3

Work length31:26

Album only

Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Esa-Pekka Salonen

Lutosławski: Symphony No. 4

Work length21:01

Album only

Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Esa-Pekka Salonen

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Recording of the Week, Salonen conducts Lutosławski Symphonies

18th March 2013

The Finnish conductor and his Los Angeles orchestra mark the centenary of Lutosławski’s birth with a recording of his complete symphonies in performances which tap into the full range of exciting colours which the composer employs.

To celebrate the 100th anniversary in 2013 of the birth of influential Polish composer, Witold Lutoslawski (1913-1994), Sony Classical is teaming up with the phenomenal forces of the LA Philharmonic and its Finnish Conductor Laureate, Esa-Pekka Salonen to present the Lutoslawski Symphonies Edition.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic was an orchestra with which Lutoslawski had a particularly close relationship.

Authoritative liner notes are by Lutoslawski scholar, Steven Stucky.

The Edition includes a brand-new recording of the First Symphony, recorded live in Dec 2012 at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in LAX together with their earlier recordings of Symphonies Two, Three and Four plus a new recording of his ‘Fanfare for Los Angeles Philharmonic’, written in 1993, a year before he passed away.

In concert, Salonen will honour the Lutosławski anniversary with concerts around the globe, including a season-long project with the Philharmonia Orchestra called Woven Words: "Music Begins Where Words End" (30th Jan, 7th March; 21st March – UK dates) as well as performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Of Lutoslawski’s Symphonies, Salonen noted: "[They] possess the beauty of a giant organism, like a tree, or maybe a forest. We are moved by the logic of the form and the inevitability of growth. We perceive the music in shapes and lines, overall characteristics of the musical texture, and contrasts between movement and static situations". He described the art of composing as “fishing for souls”.

Reviews

June 2013

it is very good to have Salonen's version of the Second Symphony restored to the catalogue; he captures its elusive qualities, and the LA strings sound at their most potent here in the surging warmth of the second movement...this holds together compellingly as a cycle.

June 2013

Salonen's Lutoslawski symphony cycle provides a refined but often exciting take on a impressive corpus of work...The performances are utterly convinced and the clear, impressively 'present' sound is ideally suited to them, though involving three separate acoustical settings.

6th May 2013

Salonen’s sense of shape and atmosphere are refined and timeless. The playing in all of these works is largely excellent, though the wind and brass solos stand out as particularly strong in [the Fourth]

18th March 2013

[Salonen] is the ideal conductor for this kind of repertoire: he not only knew Lutosławski personally but remains a committed advocate of his music...this is a great introduction to the works of Lutosławski. The playing is stunningly dynamic throughout, and makes for an excellent showcase for the range of emotions and moods that these symphonies offer.

10th March 2013

The inherent mobility of his idiom seems to make for a magical refreshment of standard gambits — suddenly scuttering woodwind, cutting brass, the slicing, soaring string line. At his most rhetorical, he’s never actually predictable.

28th March 2013

Released for the first time as a set, they make the perfect tribute for this year's Lutosławski centenary. Salonen's best qualities as a conductor are exemplified here too, whether in the care with which he marshalls and balances the neoclassical textures of the First Symphony...or brings so vividly to life the immaculately crafted surfaces of the Third and Fourth.

Lutoslawski: Complete Symphonies

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Recording of the Week, Salonen conducts Lutosławski Symphonies

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