Est 1923

Lutoslawski Double Concerto for Oboe, Harp and Chamber Orchestra

A lighter side to the Polish composer alongside a brilliant, colourful concerto

Record and Artist Details

Composer or Director: Witold Lutoslawski

Genre:

Orchestral

Label: Naxos

Media Format: CD or Download

Media Runtime: 58

Mastering:

Stereo
DDD

Catalogue Number: 8 555763

Tracks:

Composition Artist Credit
Double Concerto Witold Lutoslawski, Composer
Antoni Wit, Conductor
Arkadiusz Krupa, Oboe
Nicolas Tulliez, Harp
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
Witold Lutoslawski, Composer
Dance Preludes Witold Lutoslawski, Composer
Antoni Wit, Conductor
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
Witold Lutoslawski, Composer
Zbigniev Kaleta, Clarinet
Chain 1 Witold Lutoslawski, Composer
Antoni Wit, Conductor
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
Witold Lutoslawski, Composer
(2) Children's Songs Witold Lutoslawski, Composer
Antoni Wit, Conductor
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
Urszula Kryger, Soprano
Witold Lutoslawski, Composer
(6)Children's Songs Witold Lutoslawski, Composer
Antoni Wit, Conductor
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
Urszula Kryger, Soprano
Witold Lutoslawski, Composer
Grave Witold Lutoslawski, Composer
Antoni Wit, Conductor
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
Rafael Kwiatkowski, Cello
Witold Lutoslawski, Composer
Volume 8 (the last?) of the Naxos Lutosawski series is nothing if not diverse, with several short pieces originally written for voice or instruments with piano alongside two attractively adventurous scores from the early 1980s.

Eight of the large number of children’s songs which Lutosawski composed in the years immediately after the war remain attractive and unsentimental offerings in folk style, and they are probably most effective when performed, as here, by an adult mezzo: in particular, the broad lyric lines of ‘A Brook’ benefits from Urszula Kryger’s vibrant legato, and she avoids excessive coyness in the comic items. The Dance Preludes are most familiar – and work best – in their version for clarinet and piano. Similarly, the brief later Grave, in an arrangement for cello and strings, seems almost overloaded texturally. But these orchestrations were the composer’s own, so it’s right that they should be available on disc, and the performances here – as throughout – are admirable.

The Double Concerto which Lutosawski composed for Heinz and Ursula Holliger is a fine example of his ability to use immediately accessible materials in imaginative and far from conventional ways, and there are few better instances of genuine comedy in 20th-century music than the concerto’s finale, which perfectly complements the dirge-like atmosphere of the middle movement. Best of all, Chain I, written for the London Sinfonietta in 1983, recaptures the boldness of colour and febrile juxtapositions of diverse materials, from the most poetic to the most exuberant and joyful, which first brought Lutosawski to international notice in his Venetian Games. The Naxos recording lacks perspective, but music of such energy and eloquence is not seriously disadvantaged.

Lutoslawski Double Concerto for Oboe, Harp and Chamber Orchestra

Double Concerto

Dance Preludes

Chain 1

(2) Children's Songs

(6)Children's Songs

Grave

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