Lutosławski: Orchestral Works IV

Featuring

Edward Gardner
Tasmin Little
Michael Collins
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Witold Lutosławski

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Composer Biography

Witold Lutosławski (1913-1994) maintained creative poise and distance from external pressures throughout Poland's turbulent 20th-century history, including WWII and Stalinist cultural restrictions.

Performer Biography

Michael Collins, the clarinetist on this album, received the Royal Philharmonic Society's Instrumentalist of the Year Award for expanding his instrument's repertoire through commissioning new works.

Performer Biography

Tasmin Little, the violinist on this album, plays a violin made by Guadagnini in 1757.

Compositional Technique

Lutosławski's "Chain" compositions, including Chain 2 on this album, are named for their developmental strategy of sequentially overlapping different musical ideas.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Lutosławski's lifelong quest was to preserve a "clarity of artistic expression," even if it meant isolating himself in an "ivory tower."

Critical Reception

Lutosławski's First Symphony was banned by the Deputy Minister of Culture after its 1948 premiere, with the suggestion that the composer should be "thrown under a tram."

Composition History

Lutosławski's First Symphony, conceived before WWII, was described by the composer as "bright/cheerful" despite being brought into being during the terrible war and post-war years.