Lutosławski: Jeux vénitiens & Symphonies Nos. 1 and 4

Featuring

Hannu Lintu
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Witold Lutosławski

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Compositional Technique

Lutosławski's 'controlled aleatorism', first used in Jeux vénitiens, involves precisely written individual parts whose synchronization is left to the performers, creating an elastic, free sound without a discernible pulse.

Critical Reception

The premiere of Lutosławski's First Symphony in Katowice in April 1948 brought him to the forefront of Polish music, but later performances faced criticism and outrage from Soviet delegates due to 'formalism'.

Composer Biography

Lutosławski's Fourth Symphony, his last large-scale work, was composed between 1988-92, and he conducted its premiere in Los Angeles in February 1993, a year before his death from cancer.

Compositional Technique

Witold Lutosławski's First Symphony is rooted in Neo-Classicism, using frequent counterpoint, often in the form of canons, but without folk music elements common in his later works.

Composition History

The stimulus for Lutosławski's stylistic breakthrough came from hearing John Cage's Piano Concerto on the radio in March 1960, inspiring his 'controlled aleatorism'.

Compositional Technique

From his Second Symphony onwards, Lutosławski used a continuous two-part symphonic form where an introductory first part is followed by a more decisive second part, often designed to resolve frustration built in the first.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Lutosławski rejected the idea that his First Symphony reflected the worldwide conflict of its genesis, emphasizing his music was absolute and independent of external world links.