Lutoslawski's symphonies

Witold Lutoslawski, born in 1913 and died in 1994, is often regarded as the greatest Polish composer Szymanowski since. I do not know if this kind daffirmation sense, but it is certainly one of the most famous and lun of these composers of the twentieth century that demonstrate that contemporary music is not as unattainable quon often believed (though sometimes unfortunately).

Esa-Pekka Salonen, whose Currentness discography is very rich in from year beginning (with an album of these own compositions and another devoted to Dutilleux, another composer of contemporary music accessible), we present here a double album dedicated to the composer's four symphonies Polish (with a small extra short Fanfare for Los Angeles Philharmonic).

I must admit that although I knew other works by Lutoslawski, they constitute a discovery for me, and so I havent points of comparison with other interpretations. It nen remains that precisely those records with the Los Angeles Phiharmonic seem beautiful (with excellent sound recording) as returning with great mastery acumen sound textures and details desired by their author.

For indeed, although the first symphony, dating from 1941-1947, remains of neoclassical and thus has many melodic motifs, while the third dating it to 1972-1983 (it took more than ten years ! for the composer), he seems the best known, contains recognizable melodic motifs, do not expect these works what one expects dune Beethoven symphony or even shostakovienne: compositions whose thematic progression constitute the essential frame . Here, each time this is an unprecedented sound experience awaits the listener of a meticulous work on textures that progresses by "contrasting episodes," in the words of Steven Stucky, the author of the liner notes.

From the second Symphony (admittedly made more than twenty years after the first), Lutolslawsky abandoned the classical four-movement structure for a structure in two movements (or in one motion composed of several sections in one piece). And means, for example, these attempts failed deliberately, from reaching paroxysms ViaMichelin of the orchestra, followed quickly dune extinction of the oeuvre in low and silent; we also heard in the third this outbreak sounds of all the instruments as soaring dune myriad butterflies. This picture makes me think of a dailleurs electroacoustic work of François Bayle (The shape of the mind is a butterfly), but here the effect is purely acoustic.

We must approach these works simply with an open-minded, and let enchanted by the sensuality of this music both dark and bright. A great success.