Anna Mikołajczyk Niewiedział Józef Wieniawski, Witold Lutosławski Songs

For this Elektra/Nonesuch release, the Kronos Quartet interprets Witold Lutoslawski's 1964 String Quartet, an uncommonly difficult piece since the four musicians are commanded to play their parts ad lib, as if they were alone. Lutoslawski was influenced by the random procedures of John Cage, but he also wished to maintain dramatic structure, so string quartet includes rigidity in time measures. The balance between freedom and structure provides for a surprisingly appealing recording.

This new album continues Ondine’s award-winning series of orchestral works by Witold Lutoslawski (1913–1994) together with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. The series has gathered several accolades, including a Grammy nomination, a BBC Music Magazine Awards nomination, and several recording of the month awards and best recordings of the year nominations. This album includes the composer’s early hit, his folklorish masterpiece Concerto for Orchestra, which is among his most performed compositions.

Bartók's influence in the Forties and Fifties grew to a great height throughout the Soviet satellites of Eastern Europe, particularly among the better composers. True, one found serialists like Eisler in East Germany and Tadeusz Baird in Poland, but they seemed exceptions, rather than the rule. In Poland, for example, we meet the examples of the remarkable Grazyna Bacewicz and Witold Lutoslawski. Lutoslawski especially seemed to regard Bartók as Brahms did Beethoven, a spiritual father who inspired within him both an almost stifling reverence and the need to break free.

Das SWR Vokalensemble gehört zu den besten Chören der Welt. Ein weiterer Baustein in der Serie mit Chorwerken aus verschiedenen Ländern. Sehr selten aufgeführte Werke von Szymanowski, Gorecki, Haubenstock-Ramati und Lutoslawski, den bedeutendsten polnischen Komponisten. Dass Polen besonders im 20. Jahrhundert so viele und so herausragende Komponisten hervorgebracht hat, ist angesichts der politischen Geschichte des Landes sehr überraschend. Nach dem 2. Weltkrieg und nach Stalins Tod brach sich auf dem Musikfestival 'Warschauer Herbst' 1956 die aufgestaute Kreativität Bahn und es präsentierte sich das ungeheure musikalische Potential des Landes einer erstaunten Weltöffentlichkeit.

Christoph von Dohnányi served as conductor of the famed Cleveland Orchestra from 1984 to 2002 and the rapport between conductor and orchestra produced some of the finest orchestral playing in this country. This recording of the Shostakovich Symphony No. 10 paired with Witold Lutosl'awski's homage to Bartok, the Musique funèbre offer the reason for the magic of this combination of ensemble and conductor. The Shostakovich is rich in sonorities and in first desk playing and von Dohnányi's control over these mighty forces makes this an immensely intense recording. The sound produced by Cleveland (captured by Decca Engineers) is huge but never less than beautiful.