Witold Lutoslawski (1913-1993) - Another Centenary

2013 seems to be a year dominated by Wagner, Verdi and Britten. All three of them wrote great works for the theatre. Consequently, one composer is at risk of being overshadowed.

Witold Lutoslawski (1913-1993) wrote mainly symphonic works, arguably amongst the finest examples of the modern symphony. His symphonic output charts an evolution in style from an almost Bartokian style right through to more radical compositional methods.

Throughout his career he was involved with the political upheaval in his own country. He was subjected to artistic constraints put in place by the soviet regime. Lutoslawski seems to have remained quite indifferent to trends in compositional technique, although influences can be detected, albeit limited to certain aspects of his music. His ideas of harmonic colour and orchestral texture can be traced back to Debussy, while his later "aleatoric" method, a technique involving composition by chance operandi, owes a great deal to John Cage. Despite these influences he still maintained his integrity and his music seems to have its own particular sound world.

This year seems an ideal opportunity to celebrate and reevaluate this giant of twentieth century music. The latest offerings on the market come from Chandos as part of their 'polish music series'. These recordings by the conductor Edward Gardner and the BBC Symphony Orchestra will become the new benchmark both in interpretation and sound quality. The recording engineers have captured the orchestral textures and colours with such clarity, resulting in a very direct and visceral experience. So far, Chandos have released three volumes of orchestral music and another disc of vocal music (CHAN10688).

Each disc is programmed to include a work from different parts of his career. For instance, volume one (CHSA5082) contains the Concerto for Orchestra and the Symphony No. 3, works separated by 3 decades. The Concerto for orchestra, from 1954, is representative of his early style. Much of the work is based on folk inspired melodies, along with other pieces written around the same time. Lutoslawski was fascinated with the rhythms and melodic structure of Polish folk melodies, incorporating them in large scale orchestral works, just as Bartok had done 11 years before in his concerto for orchestra. Lutoslawski also shared a similar approach to Bartok, many of them not 'real' melodies but a reproduction of their respective cultural folk song heritage. Both composers had assimilated the folk idiom by having plenty of exposure to it and internalising their subtle language.

By the 1980's, Lutoslawski had changed his style considerably, employing more extensive use of orchestral colour and from his second symphony onwards he began to use aleatoric methods to produce a hybrid style, often coined 'limited aleatoricism'. This would involve using chance methods for some sections of the compositional process and having those sections cued by the conductor. Often Lutoslawski would only have rhythm dictated by chance but later in his career this had spread to having whole sections written out but their rhythmic coordination being subject to chance. This is most explicit in his 'Jeux Venitiens' of 1960-61.

When given the opportunity to traverse the output of this composer in this way, the connections are explicit between the works and the differences are subdued. Despite the constant change in style, there is one voice, an innate lyricism and an organic unity that informs every bar of his music.

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Written by Jason Hatton

Lutoslawski Vol. 5 - Symphony No. 1 - CHSA5108

Chandos' fifth and final release of Lutoslawski's music in Edward Gardner's Polish Music Series is now available.

It features the wonderful talents of Michael Collins (clarinet) playing the Dance Preludes and Tasmin Little (violin) playing the Partita for Violin & Orchestra and Chain II. 

Szymanowski - Symphonies 2 & 4 - CHSA5115

Also part of the Chandos Polish music Series, Edward Gardner and the BBC Symphony Orchestra begin surveying Szymanowski's orchestral music. This Volume include the Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 and the Concert Overture. 

BBC Music Magazine said of this disc: "These performances prove ideal, finding luminosity at the opening, and delivering a taut, energetic fugal finale"