Witold Lutoslawski: Concerto For Orchestra/Symphony No. 3

On this CD:

1. Concerto for Orchestra
Composed by Witold Lutoslawski
Performed by Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Daniel Barenboim

2. Symphony No.3
Composed by Witold Lutoslawski
Performed by Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Daniel Barenboim

Tracks:

Preludes 1-7 - Polish Chamber Orchestra
Fugue - Polish Chamber Orchestra
No.1 Pensees - Krakow Radio Chorus
No.2 Le Grand Combat - Krakow Radio Chorus
No.3 Repos Dans Le Malheur - Krakow Radio Chorus
Paroles Tissees - Louis Devos
Postlude No.1 - Witold Lutoslawski

Tracks:

No.1 The Sea - Halina Lukomska
No.2 Wind - Halina Lukomska
No.3 Winter - Halina Lukomska
No.4 Knights - Halina Lukomska
No.5 Church Bells - Halina Lukomska
Introduction - - Ramon Jablonski
Four Episodes - - Ramon Jablonski
Cantilena - - Ramon Jablonski
Finale - Ramon Jablonski
I: Introductory Movement - Alban Berg Quartett
II: Main Movement - Alban Berg Quartett

Customer Reviews:

two discs of fine, lesser-known Lutoslawski.......2005-06-22

This is a great 2-disc set, part of EMI's Gemini series. Everything here was recorded in Poland in 1976 and 1977, and all feature Lutoslawski himself conducting the Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra (or Polish Chamber Orchestra), except the "String Quartet," which was recorded in 1997. I strongly recommend it (especially at the price!) to anyone who has heard THE ESSENTIAL LUTOSLAWSKI (see my review) and wants to hear more.

The first disc opens with "Preludes and Fugue for 13 solo strings" (1972 -- 33'32). A complex work that will sound forbidding to many, it is constructed from six lines (cantabile, grazioso, lamentoso, misterioso, estatico and furioso) bundled into seven interlocked preludes and an extended fugue. Then follow two vocal works, which are quite accessible and appealing -- "Trois poemes d'Henri Michaux" (1963 -- 20'11) for twenty-part all female choir and orchestra, and "Paroles tissees" (1965 -- 13'51) featuring the tenor Louis Devos. "Trois poems" includes some of the wildest, funniest passages I've heard from Lutoslawski, while the tenor piece, which evokes medieval love poetry, is one of the warmest and most moving. The first disc ends with "Postlude No. 1" (1958 -- 4'03), a very impressive orchestral work. It makes you wish for more, but apparently Lutoslawski was dissatisfied with No.s 2 and 3.

The second disc opens with another vocal work, "5 Songs for soprano and orchestra" (1957 -- 9'59), with the topics 1) The Sea, 2) Wind, 3) Winter, 4) Knights and 5) Church Bells. My one criticism of this fine set is that there is no text provided for the songs. All three vocal works are highly evocative, and are effective on a musical level regardless, and I suppose I shouldn't complain given that this is the Gemini budget series. The last two works are not Lutoslawski's best, but these are the best performances of them that I've heard. The "Cello Concerto" (1970 -- 22'20) was written for Msistislav Rostropovich, who recorded it for EMI. Roman Jablonski is the cellist here, and he and the Polish orchestra are far more convincing than the version recorded a few years later with Andras Schiff on cello, and Lutoslawski conducting a German orchestra (that recording is found on THE ESSENTIAL LUTOSLAWSKI, on Philips). The form, pitting the soloist against the orchestra, is standard, and I find the cumulative effect underwhelming, though again, the performance is committed.

Finally, the "String Quartet" (1964 -- 23'16) is here performed by the Alban Berg Quartet. This is a much better interpretation than the Arditti Quartet's (on KURTAG LUTOSLAWSKI GUBAIDULINA on Montaigne -- see my review), and I'm convinced that it's because of the ABQ's immersion in the classical repertoire. (I haven't heard the Kronos recording.) There are four sections, a long, slow opening movement which includes an element of improvisation and sounds gently chaotic, then a second movement that begins fast and agitated, culminating in an outburst which is followed by a sad, mournful, elegiac passage, and then a calm coda which returns to the sound of the first movement. Comparing the two versions, the ABQ's is warmer, and conveys the contrast between sections much more strongly than the Arditti Quartet, which plays the first movement with an edgier tone that undercuts the dramatic shift to the second movement.

That contrast is further evidence for my view that Lutoslawski was not at his best when he strayed the furthest into avant forms (ie, Symphonies 2 and 3, the String Quartet). I would place Lutoslawski alongside Dutilleux as one of the loveliest, not the most radical, of late 20th century composers. When he stayed closer to the classical tradition, extending Bartok and Debussy rather than competing with the Darmstadt Circle, Lutoslawski found his uniquely beautiful voice, as the best works on this disc demonstrate fantastically.

Average customer rating:

Fabulous album!
Tonal and atonal, Beautiful and radical.
A portrait of the great Polish composer
best introduction to a modern master, a superb compilation
Great

The Essential Lutoslawski

Manufacturer: Philips
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00002DDWR
Release Date: 2000-01-11

Tracks:

Symphony No. 3
Concerto For Orchestra: Intrada: Allegro maestoso
Concerto For Orchestra: Capriccio notturno e Arioso: Vivace - Stesso movimento
Concerto For Orchestra: Passacaglia, Toccata e Chorale: Andante cn moto - Allegro giusto (alla breve) - Molto Allegro (quasi alla breve) - Presto
Venetian Games: Movement I - Symphony Orchestra Of The National Philharmonic, Warsaw
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Variations On A Theme By Paganini - Witold Lutoslawski

Tracks:

Cello Concerto
Dance Preludes: 1. Allegro molto
Dance Preludes: 2. Andantino
Dance Preludes: 3. Allegro giocoso
Dance Preludes: 4. Andante
Dance Preludes: Allegro molto - Presto
Concerto For Oboe, Harp And Chamber Orchestra: Rapsodico
Concerto For Oboe, Harp And Chamber Orchestra: Dolente
Concerto For Oboe, Harp And Chamber Orchestra: Marciale e grotesco
Concerto For Oboe, Harp And Chamber Orchestra: Les espaces du sommeil
Funeral Music: Prologue
Funeral Music: Metamorphoses
Funeral Music: Apogee
Funeral Music: Epilogue

Customer Reviews:

Fabulous album!.......2006-01-09

The constructive sonorous straightness enclosed inside a stylized cipher, the lucid tonal geometry and an overwhelming spontaneity that elapses with an intrinsic pleasant character, are some of the remarkable features of this fabulous composer. He has been able to approximate to the searches of the more advanced vanguard that proceeds from Pierre Boulez.

His musical speech supported by diatonic lines and the overlapping of interweaved tumultuous tonalities are not any obstacle to enjoy and appreciate his art.

I think this admirable Concerto for Orchestra is one the most representative works after the WW2. When you buy this double CD you will include it among your most estimated treasures.

Exceptional and rewarding selection with an insuperable sound.

Tonal and atonal, Beautiful and radical........2005-12-29

I still remember my first time playing Luto's Concerto for Orchestra when I was in PYP. my thoughts were something like "What the hell is this! It's tonal, yet so radical, yet so beautiful!" and then, when i heard his Musique Funebre at an Oregon Symphony concert, I was astounded that it was composed using Luto's version of twelve-tone theory. something so beautiful, yet so atonal! This twofer it worth it if only for those two pieces, yet you also get his amazing 3rd Symphony and Venetian Games, etc etc.

A portrait of the great Polish composer.......2004-08-19

Witold Lutoslawski has rightfuly reached the position as one of the great masters of the 20th century music. His compositions are always presented with the composer's unique sense of beauty of tonal colour and pitch organisation which never turns out to be just pure mathematics. An artist should NOT be scientist or philosopher. Just a pure artist with heart, ideas and musical invention, that's all.
Even if Lutoslawski would not write anything else but the Concerto for orchestra, this magnificent, monumental work is one of the best orchestral works of the 20th century. Although many people describe the Concerto as the composition with Bartok influences, I do not find so many relations between these two works. Lutoslawski has such unique orchestral colour and is much more radical than Bartok.
The most radical works such as Venetian Games show the composer's taste for "sounding" but it is the weak point in his opus. It took Lutoslawski some time to rediscover himself. The Cello Concerto, Double Concerto and Third Symphony are excellent proof. Cello Concerto is a unique dialogue between soloist and orchestra, while Double Concerto is perhaps too "plural" to become a masterpiece and it lacks the certain stylistic point. Third Symphony is a true masterpiece and constantly surprises the listener with its ideas. The symphony also has a great organic development, good contrasts and modern beauty of melodies.

best introduction to a modern master, a superb compilation.......2002-09-06

Lutoslawski's music sounds to me like an early modern sensibility moving to incorporate more recent techniques. The two earliest pieces here are both superb -- "Concerto for Orchestra" (better than the Bartok piece by the same name!) and "Dance Preludes" from the early/mid 1950s. Following the post-Stalin thaw, Lutoslawski made contact with the West, and the two works from that initial encounter, "Funeral Music" (for Bartok) and "Venetian Games" are perhaps the highlights of the disc -- resolutely modern music that, again, maintains the accessibility of Bartok or Stravinsky. I don't find the "Cello Concerto" of 1970 compelling, but the "Concerto for Oboe, Harp & Chamber Orchestra" of 1980 is brilliant.

"Symphony No. 3," finished in 1983, is widely considered to be Lutoslawski's masterpiece, but I am not convinced. Similar structurally to his "Symphony No. 2" (avoid!) and his "String Quartet," but better, most of the work is development, but it never seems to develop into anything very noteworthy. Lutoslawski was trying too hard to be radical in these works, while his strength was in carrying on in a less radical style with light touches of serialism and later developments. Though Lutoslawski himself was conducting the Berlin Philharmonic, the original recording of the Third Symphony included on this disc is nowhere near as good as the performance just a month later by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting. Look for the Sony disc of Lutoslawski's SYMPHONIES NO.s 3 & 4" (see my review). Another set worth checking out is called LUTOSLAWSKI: ORCHESTRAL WORKS, SONGS, STRING QUARTET, a recent 2-disc release in EMI's GEMINI series (see my review).

The range of fantastic music on this disc alone reveals Lutoslawski's level of accomplishment among the late 20th century greats.

Great.......2002-07-11

Lutoslawski is easily one of the best post-war composers I have yet to encounter. As other reviewers have commented, I did find it difficult to fully appreciate some of these works on the first listen. The entertaining and original "Variations on a Theme of Paganini" is probably the most accessible, but only vaguely hints at the drama and power of the later works. I was first drawn to the "Concerto for Orchestra", which, although mostly tonal, still provides ample evidence of Lutoslawski's originality.

Tracks:

Paganini Variations - Bernd Glemser
Paroles Tissees
Paroles Tissees
Paroles Tissees
Paroles Tissees
Les Espaces Du Sommeil - Adam Kruszewski
Symphony No. 3 - Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (Katowice)

Amazon.com

These pieces run the full length of Witold Lutoslawki's career. The Paganini Variations are based on the same theme that both Brahms and Rachmaninoff used in their Paganini variations (so did Boris Blacher and about a million other composers, including Paganini himself--it's a great tune). The Third Symphony was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and first performed by them under Sir Georg Solti. As with many of the composer's larger works, it falls naturally into two parts, an introduction and a main movement. The essence of the music is simple: nothing happens until the end, when the orchestra at last achieves an unbroken melody. The other two pieces are both song cycles that show the composer's sensitivity in setting words. The performances are very good indeed, and texts with translations are included. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

Half a loaf not always better.......2007-02-06

Lutoslawski's Paganini Variations is very engaging. His vocal music leaves me cold. His Symphony #3 is half annoying and half stunning. Why a talented composer writes a work in which the first section is intended to be unsatisfying--and obtains this result--is beyond me. The second section is stunning, but the composer simply wastes my time with the first section. Unfortunately, he does the same thing in several other of his so-called "mature" works. In sum, the "mature" Lutoslawski is not for me. Caveat Emptor!

Surrealism in music........2001-11-30

Few composers have come as close as Lutoslawski to achieving an aural equivalent to the Surrealist universe. In his epic setting of Robert Desnos' 'Les espaces du sommeil' (the spaces of Sleep), he creates a restless, nocturnal world, fraught and fragile with fragments of sound imploding and exploding, like a dreamer stumbling through a nightmare, fearful of what the next footstep will bring; a fluid world of metamorphoses - of the self, of the elusive object of desire, of the environment, of the atmosphere.

The delicious song-cycle 'Parole Tissees' (woven words), based on a poem by Jean-Francois Chabrun, is close to Ravel in its playful use of the orchestra to evoke sounds and colour, describing a very Ravelian world of screeching cats, shadows, spells, horses etc. - the representations aren't dully onomatopaeic, but disturbingly suggestive. The second movement, 'Quand le jour au revert les branches du jardin', has a precarious night stillness, a hush of wonder and imminent transformation, the equal of anything by the master. the use of Polish singers to sing French texts is inspired - not only signifying Lutoslawski's outsider status as a Pole working with a foreign language; but in dramatising that estrangement from one's very self that is the experience of these poems and settings.

Although the monumental Symphony no.3 has no direct basis in Surrealist literature, it carries over this unsettling world-view from the previous works in its vast and terrifying soundscape, its ringing clash of modes and sounds, its lurching from the grotesque and carnivalesque to the lush and melodic. You emerge from it convinced you've voyaged through another world. The CD begins, incongruously perhaps, with yet another variation on Paganini's over-familiar theme, but the composer's very defamiliarising of this piece, his darkening and reworking and reconfiguring it until it sounds new and strange, is itself Surrealist.

Antoni Wit and his Polish National Symphony Orchestra may not agree with what I've just written, but they extract maximum imaginative thought and feeling from these works.

Magnificent Lutoslawski at a bargain price!.......2000-01-31

This disc is an absolute must for anyone that enjoys the music of Lutoslawski. Considering that these pieces cannot be found on very many recordings, there isn't a lot to compare them to, but in this case, they don't have to be compared to anything - they simply stand wonderfully on their own. The 'Paganini Variations' are superbly performed by Wit and Bernd Glemser. Piotr Kusiewicz makes 'Paroles Tissees' sound like it was written for him. 'Les Espaces du Sommeil' is almost entracing in its beauty, and thrilling in its climax. And, of course, the 3rd Symphony. From the opening and closing Beethovenesque notes to all of the majesty that falls in between, this Symphony is certainly among the top five written in the last quarter-century. And this recording gives an electrifying account of it; maybe even better than the great one with Esa-Pekka Salonen.

The best "Third" and sensational Paganini Var........1999-01-10

After listening with great enthusiasm to Salonen's recording of the 3rd (as well as that of the composer conducting), I always skipped that portion of this disc, on the assumption that I already knew the third in excellent performances. What a revelation the Wit performance is. And the Polish RSO has the deepest possible identification with this music. The intensity is almost terrifying but exhilerating. I simply couldn't believe how compelling this reading is. The other performances are equal to most other readings of these pieces and the bargain price makes it a must.

One of the great symphonic works of the century........1998-12-25

The Amazon.Com reviewer is misleading about the 3d Symphony. Nothing much happens until the end, he says. I suppose you could say that, if for you something happening has to mean the old, conventional symphonic gestures. But with Lut. everything happens between these gestures, as if he's noticing everything that the traditional symphony left out. And what he notices and conveys is magic and delight. In fact, the 3d Symphony is probably Lutoslawski's masterpiece (though there are a number of contenders), and certainly one of the greatest symphonies of the century.

Average customer rating:

For the classical generalist.

Polish Heart

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00004R7NB
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Polonaise No.3 in A, Op.40 No.1 'Military' - Idil Biret
Etude in b Flat, Op.4 No.3 - Polish State PO/Karol Stryja
Fant On Polish Airs, Op.13: Air: Juz Miesiac Zeszedt: Andantino - Idil Biret
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Ste in Modo Polonico: Kujawiak Mazurka: Lento - Marc Regnier
Krakowiak, Op.14: Rondo: Allegro Non Troppo - Idil Biret
Little Ste: Piosenka (Song) - Polish NRSO/Antoni Wit
Mazurka Op.12 No.2: Polish Song - Marat Bisengaliev/John Lenehan
Ste in Modo Polonico: Kotysanka No.1 (Berceuse D'Orient): Adagio Cantabile - Marc Regnier
Sym No.3 Op.36 (Sym Of Sorrowful Songs) 2nd Movt: Lento E Largo: Tranquillisimo - Zofia Kilanowicz
Nocturne No.2 in E Flat, Op.9 No.2 - Idil Biret

Customer Reviews:

For the classical generalist........2000-09-25

If you are looking to stock your classical musical shelves with a broad range of recognizable pieces, then this disc is for you. Otherwise, this album is not that great. Essentially it consists of the overplayed classical standards that happen to be Polish. If you are looking for a better introduction to modern Polish classical then try "The Varsovia Quartet play string quartets from Poland" (OLYMPIA OCD 328). And hey, if you find it let me know. That particular gem is out of print.

Lutoslawski: Concerto For Orchestra; Symphony No. 3

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Lutoslawski: Concerto For Orchestra; Symphony No. 3
Barenboim , and Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Manufacturer: Elatus
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000071WEE
Release Date: 2006-05-17

Tracks:

Concerto For Orchestra
Symphony No.3

Messiaen: Turangalila-Symphonie; Lutoslawski: Symphony No. 3

Average customer rating:

Unraveling the Mysteries and Joys of Messiaen + Lutoslawski

Messiaen: Turangalila-Symphonie; Lutoslawski: Symphony No. 3

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Esa Pekka Salonen: Wing on Wing

ASIN: B0000026FH
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Turangalila Symphonie: I. Introduction; Modere, un peu vif - Messiaen, Oliver
Turangalila Symphonie: II. Chant d'amour I; Modere, lourd - Messiaen, Oliver
Turangalila Symphonie: III. Turangalila I; Preque lent, reveur - Messiaen, Oliver
Turangalila Symphonie: IV. Chant d'amour II; Bien modere - Messiaen, Oliver
Turangalila Symphonie: V. Joie du song des etoiles; Vif, passionne, avec joie - Messiaen, Oliver
Turangalila Symphonie: VI. Jardin du sommeil d'amour; Tres modere, tres tendre - Messiaen, Oliver
Turangalila Symphonie: VII. Turangalila II; Un peu vif, bien modere - Messiaen, Oliver
Turangalila Symphonie: VIII. Developpement de l'amour; Bien modere - Messiaen, Oliver

Tracks:

Turangalila Symphonie: IX. Turangalila III; Bien modere - Hn Austb
Turangalila Symphonie: X. Final;Modere, presque vif, avec une grande joie - Hn Austb
Les Espaces du Sommeil - Hn Austb
Symphony No. 3 - Hn Austb

Customer Reviews:

Unraveling the Mysteries and Joys of Messiaen + Lutoslawski .......2005-05-16

Olivier Messiaen monumental ten movement, seventy-five minute opus TURANGALILA-SYMPHONIE is increasingly being accepted as one of the most important orchestral compositions of the twentieth century and spending time with this performance with Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra underlines that precis. Messiaen approaches music, whether orchestral, opera, chamber, or vocal, as a spiritual creation. Not that other composers do not enter this realm on occasion: Messiaen remains in the realm of nature, mysticism, spatial investigation and that most mysterious atmosphere of all - love.

Composed in the 1940s TURANGALILA explores the limits of the color palette and range of all of the standard orchestral instruments and then adds the Ondes Martenot and Piano to the mix. The result is a richly diverse panoply of aural experience that flows from cacophonous percussive sections to the barely audible gentle movements that include duets or echoes between piano and Ondes Martenot. Salonen unravels these mysterious threads better than anyone on record and the result is a work that is comprehensible and begs for repeated hearings. Paul Crossley sensitive renders the piano portions and Tristan Murail balances the fragile vagaries of the Ondes Martenot with grace and expressivity.

For a work so many concertgoers feel is too cerebral for tolerance there are a significant number of recordings - around ten at last count! While many will have their favorites among those, this reading by Salonen is the most intuitively compatible with the compositional ideas of Messiaen. The other reason for selecting this recording over others is the welcome inclusion of the hauntingly beautiful 'Les espace du sommeil' ('Sleep's Spaces'), Witold Lutoslawski's 1978 song for baritone and orchestra based on the poetry of WW II concentration camp poet Robert Desnos here recreated by the intelligent and musical John Shirley-Quirk. It is a moody and reverent work that explores despair and hope and those poetic verses find the perfect foil for musical expression in Lutoslawski's hands.

AND to top it off, this CD contains the world premiere recording of Lutoslawski's Symphony No. 3, a work Esa-Pekka Salonen and his Los Angeles Philharmonic know so well they make it sound like the masterwork it truly is. Set in two movements Lutoslawski writes 'The first movement is meant barely to interest, to attract, to involve, but never to satisfy the listener....the second movement appears and presents the main idea of the work'. Yet so integrated are the two movements that they are played without interruption and the result is a kaleidoscope of sound and rhythms and innovations that make Lutoslawski so approachable. The performance here is simply splendid. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, May 05

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The Best of Lutoslawski

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Binding: Audio CD

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The Best of Bartók
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The Best of Paganini

ASIN: B00005MFH2
Release Date: 2001-08-21

Tracks:

Sym Vars - Polish National RSO (Katowice)/Antoni Wit
Ovt - Polish National RSO/Antoni Wit
Little Ste: Song - Polish National RSO (Katowice)/Antoni Wit
Con: I. Intrada - Polish National RSO/Antoni Wit
Con: II. Capriccio Notturno Ed Arioso - Polish National RSO/Antoni Wit
Funeral Music: Epilogue - Polish National RSO (Katowice)/Antoni Wit
Jeux Venitiens: Part III - Polish National RSO (Katowice)/Antoni Wit
Jeux Venitiens: Part IV - Polish National RSO (Katowice)/Antoni Wit
Vc Con: Cantilena & Finale - Andrzej Bauer
Paganini Vars - Polish National RSO (Katowice)/Antoni Wit v
Chain II: III. Ad Libitum - Krzysztof Bakowski
Pno Con: IV - Piotr Paleczny

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Orchestra!

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Witold Lutoslawski: Concerto For Orchestra/Symphony No. 3

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colossal performance of Lutoslawski's 3rd Symphony

Witold Lutoslawski: Concerto For Orchestra/Symphony No. 3

Manufacturer: Elektra / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000005EAI
Release Date: 1993-06-08

Tracks:

Con For Orch: Intrada-Allegro maestoso
Con For Orch: Cappricio notturno e Arioso Vivace
Con For Orch: Passacaglia Toccata e Corale Andante con moto
Sym No.3: Vivo-Lento
Sym No.3: Vivo-Stesso movimento
Sym No.3: Vivo-Stesso movimento
Sym No.3: Vivo-Stesso movimento
Sym No.3: Adagio
Sym No.3: Vivo
Sym No.3: Tempo I
Sym No.3: Meno mosso
Sym No.3: Vivo-Poco ritenuto
Sym No.3: Poco lento

Customer Reviews:

colossal performance of Lutoslawski's 3rd Symphony.......2002-03-22

Witold Lutoslawski ( 1913-1994 ) wrote many great works, particularly for orchestra, but if I had to choose just one piece as being fully representative of his brilliance, it would be his Symphony #3. Started in 1972 as a result of a commission by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the music was not completed until 1983. In the interim, Lutoslawski finished several shorter works ( "Mi-Parti", "Les Espaces du Sommeil" ) which influenced the form and orchestral details of the ( approx ) 30 minute Symphony. Of course my words won't do proper justice to the piece; my best "bare bones" description would be to mention that the composer unites the beauty of instrumental color with a classical ( "goal oriented" ) dynamism and cohesion.

This work will most likely be best appreciated by those with a working knowledge of earlier masters ( Stravinsky, Debussy, Bartok ) who themselves had such great influence on Lutoslawski. In fact, the companion piece on the compact disc under review is the much earlier ( 1954 ) "Concerto for Orchestra", directly modeled on Bartok's famous work of the same title. Lutoslawski's "Concerto" is an instrumental tour de force but for all its undoubted viral exuberance, is more of a pure "showpiece" than anything else the composer would conceive until his bravura Piano Concerto in 1987.

Customer Reviews:

Marvellous cello concertos.......2005-08-28

This is a terrific set of cello recordings, with Pieter Wispelwey as the cellist. The first disc (of four) has the two famous Haydn cello concertos. We're treated to Wispelwey's fine candenzas for all three movements of the D major concerto and the first movement of the C major one. The final movement of the C major is a test for any cellist: can one play it fast and cleanly? Before I heard Wispelwey, my favorite was the recording by du Pre. But I now prefer this recording, which has an unbelievably fast tempo.

The first disc includes an unusual recording of Haydn's final symphony transcribed for flute, piano, and string quartet.

There is a fine selection of cello works on the remaining discs. The most famous ones are the cello concertos by Schumann, Dvorak, and Elgar. But there are also works by Hindemith, Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky, Arensky, Davidov, and Lutoslawski. Throughout, Wispelwey's technique is superb, and I also enjoyed his interpretations and his very lively tempos.

I highly recommend this set of cello works.

Music Review:

Music Review

music review

Music Review

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