Witold Lutoslawski (1913-1994)

[DavidW]

That is one of my favorite works Brian.  Check out the cello concerto and his 3rd and 4th symphonies while you're at it, I think you'll like them.

[Brian]

That is one of my favorite works Brian.  Check out the cello concerto and his 3rd and 4th symphonies while you're at it, I think you'll like them.

I will! I'm on to Symphony No 1 right now - it sounds like Roussel, but if Roussel had not been French. 

[DavidW]

Yeah just as I discover Roussel, you discover Lutoslawski... there is a nice symmetry there. 0:)

[klingsor]

  Lutoslawski and Szymanowski are the subjects of BBC3 Discovering Music this week:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b010nrlt

[Scarpia]

Cross-post from Listening thread:

Listening to my very first Lutoslawski: the Concerto for Orchestra. Holy cow, why didn't I figure out earlier that this guy is AWESOME? Great, great music - even prefer it to the Bartok Concerto I think - gotta move on and explore some more. Fantastic musical language, great development of themes, really dramatic emotional arc, all the things I love in 20th century work. Really need to do more listening to Lutoslawski.

PNRSO/Antoni Wit, by the way.

I have most of the Naxos Lutoslawski, but consider this one a cut above.

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There's also this

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Both feature the composer conducting his own works.

[Luke]

Lutoslawski is well-served with big cheap box sets, mostly the same recordings recycled - that EMI one (or something very close to it) is available in other incarnations, and often very cheaply.

[Mirror Image]

I figured I would drop by this thread and post a recent purchase:

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And I thought I owned this Salonen recording but I didn't:

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[Mirror Image]

I wonder how Brian is getting on with Lutoslawski's music now. I own all of the Wit Naxos series but something tells me these are only serviceable performances. Wit's Concerto for Orchestra was lackluster compared to the Dohnanyi one I own. I would like to get into more of Lutoslawski's mature music, but, again, Wit isn't the way I'm going to go, which is why I bought the Salonen and Gardner recordings.

[not edward]

I wonder how Brian is getting on with Lutoslawski's music now. I own all of the Wit Naxos series but something tells me these are only serviceable performances. Wit's Concerto for Orchestra was lackluster compared to the Dohnanyi one I own. I would like to get into more of Lutoslawski's mature music, but, again, Wit isn't the way I'm going to go, which is why I bought the Salonen and Gardner recordings.

Some of the Wit performances are excellent; some are less spectacular (the Concerto for Orchestra and Piano Concerto being amongst the weaker ones). I'd regard the disc with the Cello Concerto--up there with Rostropovich for my favourite recording of the work--and Livre as probably the most outstanding of the Naxos discs.

Wit, of course, scores very highly for his thoroughness in including the lesser-known works too.

[CRCulver]

The good thing about Lutoslawski's output 1960–1980 (which is the only period that really interests me) is that the works don't depend on a particular conductors approach. Because they consist mainly of ad libitum passages, these works sound more or less the same across recordings. I hear no difference really because the Salonen and Wit recordings of the Symphony No. 2, for example, so a listener who only has one has to worry that he's missing out on something on the other disc.

[DavidW]

I really like Wit in the symphonies.

[Mirror Image]

Some of the Wit performances are excellent; some are less spectacular (the Concerto for Orchestra and Piano Concerto being amongst the weaker ones). I'd regard the disc with the Cello Concerto--up there with Rostropovich for my favourite recording of the work--and Livre as probably the most outstanding of the Naxos discs.

Wit, of course, scores very highly for his thoroughness in including the lesser-known works too.

I'll have to give some of Wit's performances a fresher listen. Thanks for your feedback.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Some of the Wit performances are excellent; some are less spectacular (the Concerto for Orchestra and Piano Concerto being amongst the weaker ones).

Personally, I don't find the Wit/Paleczny PC to be inferior to the highly praised one by Zimerman. It's just a different take on the music, which I consider equally valid. In fact, I think Wit's series (the several installments I've heard) is solid throughout.

[not edward]

The good thing about Lutoslawski's output 1960–1980 (which is the only period that really interests me) is that the works don't depend on a particular conductors approach. Because they consist mainly of ad libitum passages, these works sound more or less the same across recordings. I hear no difference really because the Salonen and Wit recordings of the Symphony No. 2, for example, so a listener who only has one has to worry that he's missing out on something on the other disc.

If you can get hold of the probably out of print Kofman recording on cpo--the one I used to recommend like a stuck record player--it's possible you might be surprised: at least for me the progressive sonic buildup in the second movement is far more dramatic here than on any other 2nd I've heard. (The disc also comes with an intriguingly slow 4th -- over 25 minutes -- which I don't think is fully successful, but certainly gives a different view of the work, one in which the ad libitum passages are more structurally significant than in Wit, Salonen et al.)

Personally, I don't find the Wit/Paleczny PC to be inferior to the highly praised one by Zimerman. It's just a different take on the music, which I consider equally valid. In fact, I think Wit's series (the several installments I've heard) is solid throughout.

For some reason, the Wit/Paleczny piano concerto has always felt underpowered to me (which rather surprised me as this pairing did what is easily my favourite Szymanowski Symphonie concertante). Zimerman probably remains my favourite recording, though the IMO terribly underrated Paul Crossley's recording with Salonen has to run it close. I also have Andsnes/Welser-Most, which I wanted to like more than I actually do, and Poblocka/Kord, which I need to revisit.

[lescamil]

Believe it or not, the recording I like best of the piano concerto is the one by Leif Ove Andsnes. It is probably played the least romantically of the bunch (I haven't heard Lortie yet, though), but it has the most nuance to it. It's one of those recordings that you wouldn't expect to be so good, especially because of Andsnes's musical track record. I was frankly shocked to find out that he had recorded this piece. It does have a sound similar to how he recorded Bartók's 2nd piano concerto, speaking of Bartók, but with more lightness to it.

[snyprrr]

Chain 3 is probably my favorite Luto work at the moment.

I just pulled this Post up, as I pulled up the Chain 2 (Mutter), and Chain 3 (DG) from their oblivion in The Inventory. Chain 2 was quite playful, and was I right in hearing a presumed 'violin sonata' (piano & violin) that had an ad libitum orchestration (couldn't read notes and drive!)? Chain 3 must have passed while I was lamenting the fate of my evening, so, I will have to return in the morning!

I see Chain 1 is the rarest, yet from the samples seems to be another quite playful work.

I don't know WL just seems lovable to me, no? Like Martinu? I did feel these pieces were, ..., I don't want to say 'old fashioned' , but with WL here you're just getting the 'joy' factor. 'Exuberance' is certainly a WL trait. Rules melt away, he is in The Pantheon.

[Karl Henning]

One of the things I love about live performance is: at the time you arrive at the hall, you feel only roughly, "Sure, that's a nice enough piece." And the band play their heart out, and that piece which you thought, "I can take it, I can leave it," now grabs you, and you think it one of the great works in the lit.

Thus, to-night, the Musique funèbre.

[Johnll]

Dundonnell:

I bought the Naxos recording on the recommendation of the fine people on this forum, and although I like it very much, I still prefer the Rostropovich version - as I have already said on this thread, that Rostropovich CD coupled with the Dutilleux is one of the absolute high points in his recorded output - and that is realy saying something. The Dutilleux is similarly fantastic - this is one of the best recordings of anything in my collection.

Doing some lurking on this thread. I strongly second the Rostropovich rec! The sound is not 24 bits fresh, but still fine and the performance (experience ) is A+++.

[snyprrr]

I'm assuming MI has ALL Lutoslawski recordings?!?!?!haha

Is Salonen still Tops in Symphony No.3?


Just writing that reminds me of first hearing No.3. I believe it was the biggest Modern work I'd heard up until then (all recommends from Penguin; Messiaen being the other heavyweight). No.3 is one huge, sweeping Symphony. THEN, Sony re-released it, un-yolked from Messiaen, with No.4 (hey, also, who's Tops here now?,... Salonen's was never considered the best anyway)!! That was nice!

So, along with Dutilleux, where are we with the Lutoslawski Symphonies? I like the rawness of the EMI in 1-2 and hear no reason to carry farther on there.

[lescamil]

Is Salonen still Tops in Symphony No.3?

I still have yet to hear better than Salonen for that symphony. I don't think that recording will be bettered.