Lutoslawski

I appear to never have posted my notes on the great Polish composer Witold Lutoslawski. Spurred on by Naxos' budget collections of his music, and an attraction to the works of some of my colleagues which were clearly influenced by Lutoslawski (though at the time I didn't know it) - both are Oberlin grads - Curtis Hughes whose early orchestral piece whose name I don't remember and Michael Klingbeil whose "November Gales" I still find quite lovely, I decided to begin exploring the works of Lutoslawski. Like Ligeti, the early works are a variety of choral and school pieces in the spirit of Bartok. Later works move into what is usually refered to as an aleatoric period (in which players are given leeway in the way they play the provided notes) and then a more concise summation of technique in the later years. In general, I have found the music to be disappointing - the aleatoric works end up being a lot of noise with static harmony and Romantic gesture without attendant harmonic narrative. What follows is the work list followed by various notes - which I began taking late into the listening. Many of the early works and mass-songs I can find nothing out about. In coordination with the listening I have been reading Charles Bodman Rae's overly comprehensive and worshipful The Music of Lutoslawski

Has?o uczniów [Student Song] (1931) - choir (SATB/TTBB)

Requiem fragments (1937) - sop, choir, orch

Lacrimosa (1937) - sop, organ -

Symphonic Variations (1938) - orch

Two Studies (1941) - pf

Variations on a Theme by Paganini (1941) - 2 pf

Variations on a Theme by Paganini (1941, orch. 1978) - pf, orch

Pies´ni walki podziemnej [Songs of the Underground Struggle] (1942-44) - voice, piano - I cannot find anything about this.

Drobnich utworów polifonicznych (1943-44) - wind instruments

Cwicze polofonicznych (1943-44)

Trzy kole˛dy [Three Carols] (1945) - solo voices, unison choir, ensemble

Trio (1945) - oboe, clarinet, bassoon

Melodie Ludowe [Folk Melodies] (1945) - piano

Dwadzies´cie kole˛d [Twenty Carols] (1946) - voice, piano

Twenty Polish Carols (1946, orch. 1984-89) - soprano, female choir, ensemble

Szes´c´ piosenek dziecinnych [Six Children's Songs] (1947, arr. 1953) - children's choir, orchestra

Szes´c´ piosenek dziecinnych [Six Children's Songs] (1947) - voice, piano

Symphony No. 1 (1947) - orch

Two Children's Songs (1948) - voice, piano

Two Children's Songs (1948, arr. 1952) - voice, chamber orchestra

Lawina [The Snowslide] (1949) - voice, piano text(s): Alexander Pushkin, Obval (1829)

Overture for strings (1949) - string orch

Little Suite (1950) - ensemble

Little Suite (1950, r. 1951) - orch

Wiosna [Spring] (1951) - mezzo-soprano, chamber orchestra

Jesien´ [Autumn] (1951) - mezzo-soprano, chamber orchestra

Siedem pies´ni [Seven Mass Songs] (1950-52) - voice (unison chorus), piano

[Ten Polish Songs on soldiers' themes] (1951) - male choir (TTBB)

[Straw Chain and other children's pieces] (1951) - soprano, mezzo-soprano, ensemble

Silesian Triptych (1951) - sop, orch

Recitative e arioso (1951) - vn, pf - Very nice.

Wiosna [Spring] (1951, arr. 1952) - voice, piano

Srebna szybka / Muszelka [Silver window-pane / Cockle-shell] (1952) - voice, piano

Towarzysz [Comrade] (1952) - voice, piano

Bucolics (1952) - pf

Pie˛c Melodii Ludowych [Five Folk Melodies] (1945, arr. 1952) - string orchestra (school)

Bucolics (1952, arr. 1962) - vl, vc

Miniature (1953) - 2 pf

Diesie˛c tan´ców polskich [Ten Polish Dances] (1953) - chamber orchestra

Trzy utwory dla m?odziez˙y [Three Pieces for Young People] (1953) - piano

Dwie pies´ni dziecinne [Two Children's Songs] (1953) - voice, piano

Dwie pies´ni dziecinne [Two Children's Songs] (1953) - voice, piano

Three Fragments (1953) - fl, hp

Trzy pies´ni z˙o?nierskie [Three Soldiers' Songs] (1953) - voice, piano

Dwie pies´ni dziecinne [Two Children's Songs] (1953, arr. 1953) - voice, chamber orchestra

Szes´c´ piosenek dziecinnych [Six Children's Songs] (1947, arr. 1953) - mezzo-soprano, chamber orchestra

Concerto for Orchestra (1954)

S´pijz˙e, S´pij [Sleep, sleep] (1954) - mezzo-soprano, chamber orchestra

Idzie nocka [Night is falling] (1954) - mezzo-soprano, chamber orchestra

Warzywa [Vegetables] (1954) - mezzo-soprano, chamber orchestra

Trudny rachunek [Difficult sums] (1954) - mezzo-soprano, chamber orchestra

Cztery Melodie sla˛skie [Four Silesian Melodies] (1945, arr. 1954) - four violins (school)

Dance Preludes (1954) - cl, pf

Dance Preludes (1954, orch. 1955) - cl, ch orch

Dance Preludes (1954, arr. 1959) - ens

Zas?yszana melodyjka (1957) - two pianos

Five Songs (1957) - sop, pf

Five Songs (1957, orch. 1958) - sop, orch

Bajka iskierki [Sparkling Tales] (1958) - voice, piano

Piosenki dziecinne [Children's Songs] (1958) - voice, piano

Na Wroniej ulicy w Warszawie [On Wronia Street in Warsaw] (1958) - voice, piano

Musique funebre (1958) - str orch - Excellent

Sechs polnische Weihnachtslieder (1959) - 3 recorders

Trzy piosenki dziecinne {Three Children's Songs] (1959) - voice, piano

Three Postludes (1960) - orch

Jeux vénitiens (1961) - ch orch

Trois poemes d'Henri Michaux (1963) - choir, orch

Quartet for Strings (1964): I was not too fond of this quartet either.

Paroles tissées (1965) - tenor, ch orch: I found much of this to be rather dull. The vocal line clearly written specifically for Pears, but perhaps I'm growing tired of all of Lutoslawski aleatory.

Symphony No. 2 (1967) - orch

Livre pour orchestre (1968): Again, none too pleased.

Invention (1968) - pf: This invention is a somewhat atonal-ish eighth note study.

Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (1970): I feel like L. has changed here, the mumbling aleatory is gone replaced with a more extroverted aleatory. The cello is definitely pitted against the ensemble, maybe a little much so. Nothing changes in the work, there is no rapprochement. Also, it seems the preoccupation with 12 note chords seems to be a little toned down as well.

Preludes and Fugue (1972) - 13 str: Okay. Way too long. 7 preludes with all manner of Lutoslawski cliches, twelve-note chords, mumbly pizzicato etc, followed by a "fugue" with the Lutoslawski overlapping heterophony. What really bothers me is that we effectively have images of loud, soft, tense, animated, without really having it. Tense means lots of repeated notes, everyone playing fast, but this isn't matched in harmony whcih effectively stays thesame throughout the moods. Similar with the tempo - probably owing to lack, relatively, of harmonic rhythm. It is said this is a culmination of the aleatoric style, I certainly hope so.

Les espaces du sommeil (1975) - bar, orch: Again - Lutoslawski has nice moments but they are subsumed in a long boring stretch. The vocal line is mainly syllabic.

Sacher Variation (1975) - vc: Ok. Like all the Sacher pieces this takes the notes of his name and has them take over the piece essentially. In between an ascending "Sacher" are a number of ornamented playings on single notes - quarter-toned out ornament-wise.

Mi-parti (1976) - orch: Mi-parti shows Lutoslawski a little more in touch with his harmonies and has a few minor nice moments that are similar to what drew me to Lutoslawski, but ultimately I'm bored by it. I likethe use of the brass playing essentially heterophonically, with one playing 1, 3, 5 and the other playing 1, 2, 4, 5 and they come together at the beginningand end - I'm not describing it well.

Novelette (1979) - orch: Novelette is a story that never gets off its feet. It has a disturbing habit of moving to a level of "high tension" and then backing off, dispersing it with no ramifications ina chromatic flurry. Disappointing.

Epitaph (1979) - ob, pf: When Lutoslawski goes back to a small scale he is much more effective as he is in this tiny oboe and piano piece, that alternates a melody with a number of interpolations before the melody gets to play in full at the end. When he uses large scales he tends to fall into the same traps over and over. When he is using a few instruments he seems to be forced to find different solutions and in some ways return to the roots of his melodic sense.

Double Concerto (1980) - ob, hp, ch orch:

Grave: Metamorphoses (1981) - vc, pf: Not as effective as the oboe piece. People talk about how there is a new phase in Lutoslawski, but it's not particularly an interesting one - I do note more melodic writing and less dependence on effects developed from aleatory. I'm curious to see how he makes this into a string orchestra piece.

Grave: Metamorphoses (orch. 1981) - vc, str orch: Works better in string orchestra.

Nie dla ciebie (1981) - sop, pf: Cannot find any information

Mini-Overture (1982) - brass quintet: A small overture, nothing special.

Symphony No. 3 (1983) - orch: Long, long. Really only picks up in the end, when Lutoslawski has effectively put a lot of the improvisational material behind him.

Chain I (1983) - ens: Hard to say this piece, it has moments, but is not memorable.

Partita (1984) - vn, pf: Work for violin and piano - like much of Lutoslawski's chamber music it is far better than some of the orchestral works. Again there is a sort of Bartokian flair, combined with a slow movement that does have a dramatic sweep to it, muc in the way of Messiaen. There are some fine melodies - if we can cal them that, more like melodic writing - and a brash powerful opening.

Partita (1984, orch. 1988) - vn, orch: Transcription of the violin and piano work. I did not look at the score.

For Martin Nordwall (1984) - clarinet: Cannot find any information

The Holly and the Ivy (English Carol) (1984): This appears in a collection published in England called the "Chester Book of Carols" A rather straightforward rendition of the traditional carol - the melody remains the same as expected. The harmony is slightly pungent, but not enough so to distress congregational singers. Lutoslawski must have had a thing for Christmas given the amount of Carol settings in his worklist.

Chain II: Dialogue for violin and orchestra (1985): Tepid piece for violin and small orchestra in the "chain" form that Lutoslawski was looking towar.d He claims to be devoting much more attention to harmony but again loses it in the aleatoric sections. In the notated sections we come across a good deal of twiddly writing in the violins with percussive writing in the winds and strings - very melody accompaniment without any trong melodies, so here we have a tension that I think results in this feeling of tepidness that I experience. My understanding of this "chain" concept is that the accompanimnet, in this case the orchestra, and the soloist, here the violin, often do not begin and end together making neat phrases. In practice, I don't know that we hear like this - I certainly don't hear anyhting special in this overlap given the history of counterpoint and long phrasing schemes in much modern music.

Chain III (1985) - orch: What feels to me to be the most successful and interesting Lutoslawski work I've heard in some time. It feels good to say that I'm not disappointed in hearing this. There is a narrative structure within this "chain" method. It is said, by Stucky, that the opening is a prime example of this technique, which I feel like I may now have understood, essentially what it is is a succession, not so much juxtaposition, in that they overlap, of various musical fragments, which may or may not be related to each other, though the succession never seems incongruous as in say Stravinsk'ys SYmphonies of Wind Instruments, there may not be a narrative arch to the succession, though just as often there seems to be one, but the events flow into each other. This piece has a climactic ending which after a few crashing chords gives way to a keening group of cellos glissando-ing for a measure or so - very Ives-like. Chain form is like moment form but with an overlap.

Fanfare for Louisville (1986) - winds, perc: One finds it hard to speak of a tiny one minute fanfare. This iis loud with the sparking chords that are his metier

Fanfare for CUBE (1987) - brass quintet: But 20 seconds long, yet classical, in Eb, marked a la Polonaise.