Witold Lutoslawski

Concerto for Orchestra (Lutosławski)

Polish composer Witold Lutosławski's Concerto for Orchestra was written in the years 1950–54, on the initiative of the artistic director of the Warsaw Philharmonic, Witold Rowicki, to whom it is

Music#

The three movements are: The first movement is a sort of extended two-subject overture beginning in on an ostinato drum beat more threatening, if anything, than that which begins the Brahms’s First Symphony. The Capriccio is an airy, virtuoso scherzo, the main subject of which is intoned by the violin, followed by the remainder of the strings and woodwinds. It is followed by an expressive Arioso initiated by the brass section. The reprisal of the capriccio is intoned by the cellos and harp, the theme bowed, then with pizzicato. It is concluded with the ominous rumblings of the drums, double-basses and bass clarinet. The last movement is in three sections: the Passacaglia being a set of variations on a brooding theme played by the double-basses; followed by a vivacious and dynamic Toccata; and the (instrumental) Corale. The Corale’s second appearance produces a solemn finale for the monumental construction, the material for which is borrowed from a nineteenth-century collection compiled by the Polish ethnologist Oskar Kolberg. The concerto finishes with a dramatic flourish and climax from the whole orchestra.

Instrumentation#

The score calls for a large orchestra consisting of the following instruments. Woodwinds : : : : Brass : 4 horns : 4 trumpets : 4 trombones : 1tuba Percussion : timpani : snare drum : tenor drum : bass drum : cymbals : tambourine : tam-tam : xylophone : bells Keyboards : celesta : piano Strings : 2 harps : violins I : violins II : violas : cellos : double basses

Performance history#

The work was first performed in Warsaw on 26 November 1954, and was responsible for making Lutosławski’s name recognised in the West. However, once Lutosławski embarked on a style marked by heavy aleatoricism in the early 1960s, he attempted to distance himself from the Concerto for Orchestra, though he conducted it in Copenhagen in August 1967 upon receiving a $10,000 prize from a Danish foundation.

Composer: Witold Lutoslawski