Esa-Pekka Salonen / Philharmonia Voices / Krystian Zimerman (PIANO)

Lutosławski, Musique funèbre

(14')

Lutosławski, Piano Concerto

(27')

-interval-

Ravel, Daphnis et Chloé (complete)

(50')

Tonight's concert opens the celebrations for the centenary of Lutosławski's birth, on 25 January 1913. What better, therefore, than to open proceedings with his Musique funèbre, which the composer himself described as 'my first word in a new language.' The Piano Concerto is, by comparison, one of Lutosławski's last completed works, a glorious summation of his creative achievement that belongs in the great tradition of Romantic piano concertos stretching all the way back to Chopin and Liszt. There is also a rare opportunity to hear Ravel's complete ballet score Daphnis et Chloé, which shares with Lutosławski's distinctive soundworlds a meticulous attention to detail that is ravishing and utterly magical.

Sponsored by: 80

Royal College of Music Chamber Series

Szymanowski, Quartet No. 1 in C Major (Op. 37)

(0')

Ligeti, String Quartet No. 1

(0')

Roussel, String Quartet in D (Op. 45)

(0')

Lutosławski, String Quartet

(0')

Part of the Philharmonia Orchestra’s Woven Words series celebrating the centenary of Lutosławski’s birth, this evening’s chamber programme brings together string quartets by some of the most significant musical voices of the twentieth century. Lutosławski’s own String Quartet, written in 1964, is one of the most significant examples of the compositional technique that he called 'controlled aleatorism', in which the rhythmic coordination of parts is subject to an element of chance. It is presented in this evening’s programme alongside quartets by his Polish compatriot Szymanowski, together with György Ligeti and Albert Roussel.

Franck Ollu

Lutosławski, Jeux vénitiens

(14')

Debussy, Three Nocturnes

(24')

Lutosławski, Symphony No. 3

(28')

Roussel, Bacchus et Ariane, Suite No. 2

(20')

Esa-Pekka Salonen / Leif Ove Andsnes (PIANO)

Lutosławski, Symphony No. 4

(22')

Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 4

(34')

-interval-

Beethoven, Symphony No. 7

(40')

Written at a turbulent time in the composer’s life, Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony is a brilliant example of the tragic yet otherworldly genius that has come to be associated with Beethoven’s music. Napoleonic wars, unrequited love, financial difficulties combine to create a melting pot for the work that resulted. Its highlight comes in the second movement – the Allegretto – where this unrest seems to pour out in a slow, dark, searingly beautiful form.

The première recording of Witold Lutosławski’s Fourth Symphony, the crowning achievement of the composer’s distinguished career, was conducted by the Philharmonia’s Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor Esa-Pekka Salonen just three months before Lutosławski passed away. The performance marks just one of a series of Philharmonia concerts throughout 2013 that celebrate Lutosławski’s Centenary year, and which will see his music performed in London, Japan, Spain and the composer’s native Poland.

Royal College of Music Chamber Series

Chopin, Études (selection)

(0')

Debussy, Études, L136

(0')

Lutosławski, Two Studies for Piano

(0')

Lutosławski, Bukoliki for Piano

(0')

Szymanowski, Mazurkas (Op. 50)

(0')

Ligeti, Études (sélection)

(0')

Royal College of Music Chamber Series

Lutosławski, Mini Overture for Brass Quintet

(0')

Lutosławski, Fanfare for CUBE for Brass Quintet and Percussion

(0')

Lutosławski, Partita for Violin and Piano

(0')

Lutosławski, Epitaph for Oboe and Piano

(0')

Lutosławski, Subito for Violin and Piano

(0')

Lutosławski, Grave (Metamorphoses for cello and piano)

(0')

Lutosławski, Dance Preludes for Clarinet in B flat and Piano

(0')

Esa-Pekka Salonen / Truls Mørk (CELLO)

Debussy, La mer

(24')

Lutosławski, Cello Concerto

(24')

-interval-

Lutosławski, Concerto for Orchestra

(29')

Our Lutosławski centenary celebrations continue with two major works of crucial importance. The virtuoso fast-reflexes of the Concerto for Orchestra form a blazing climax to his early period and mark a new fascination with Bartók and the musical potential of indigenous folksong, while the glorious Cello Concerto (1970), commissioned originally by the Royal Philharmonic Society which is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year, was composed during a time of great political unrest in Poland.

Throughout this series the music of Lutosławski is paired with that of Debussy and Ravel, both composers whom meant so much to Lutosławski; and whose delight in colour inspired him throughout his life. Debussy's principal aim in La mer was 'to create a mysterious harmony between nature and the imagination'; something that clearly had a vital impact on Lutosławski's own creative thinking.

Sponsored by: 80

Esa-Pekka Salonen / Truls Mørk (CELLO)

Lutosławski, Musique funèbre

(14')

Lutosławski, Cello Concerto

(24')

-interval-

Ravel, Suite, Ma mère l'oye

(17')

Lutosławski, Symphony No. 4

(22')

As part of the Lutosławski centenary celebrations, Salonen conducts the composers crowning achievement, the Fourth Symphony, and the glorious Cello Concerto which was composed during a time of great political unrest in Poland.

Lutosławski and the interior drama: the spaces of dream
Philharmonia Orchestra Study Day
St Paul's Roof Pavilion

A day of talks and music as part of the Philharmonia Orchestra’s Woven Words series celebrating the centenary of Lutosławski’s birth. Steven Stucky, Series Advisor, will be joined by other leading musicologists and specialists in the life and music of Witold Lutosławski.

10.00 Arrival and coffee
10.30 Glimpsing an ideal world - Steven Stucky, ‘Woven Words’ Series Consultant
11.15 The spaces of dream: Lutosławski and surrealism - Adrian Thomas, Emeritus Professor, Cardiff University
12.00 Lunch break
1.30 Individual utterance and collective emotion: constructing the Lutosławski String Quartet - Jubilee String Quartet and Steven Stucky
2.45 The sense of an ending: late music, enduring concerns - Nicholas Reyland, Senior Lecturer, Keele University
3.45 Panel discussion - Steven Stucky with Nicholas Reyland and Adrian Thomas

Sponsored by: 80

Esa-Pekka Salonen

Lutosławski, Concerto for Orchestra

(29')

-interval-

Ravel, Suite, Ma mère l'oye

(17')

Debussy, La mer

(24')

Esa-Pekka Salonen

Ravel, Suite, Ma mère l'oye

(17')

Lutosławski, Symphony No. 4

(22')

-interval-

Debussy, La mer

(24')

Ravel, La valse

(12')

Showcasing the gigantic Symphony No. 7, Beethoven portrays the tumultuous times of the symphony's composition during the Napoleonic wars. Followed by the themes of Ravel's Ma mère l’oye, his fairytale pieces introduce Sleeping Beauty, Tom Thumb, Beauty and the Beast and the magical grandeur of The Fairy Garden.

Esa-Pekka Salonen

Lutosławski, Concerto for Orchestra

(29')

-interval-

Ravel, Suite, Ma mère l'oye

(17')

Debussy, La mer

(24')

Esa-Pekka Salonen / Matthias Goerne (BARITONE) / Jennifer Koh (VIOLIN)

Ravel, Suite, Ma mère l'oye

(17')

Lutosławski, Symphony No. 4

(22')

-interval-

Lutosławski, Les espaces du sommeil

(15')

Lutosławski, Chain 2: Dialogue for Violin and Orchestra

(18')

Ravel, La valse

(12')

The meticulously fashioned soundscapes of Ravel form the perfect musical backdrop to this final tribute to Lutosławski in the composer's centenary year. Les espaces du sommeil ('The Spaces of Sleep') is a mesmerising setting of a poem by French surrealist Robert Desnos in which Lutosławski imaged 'the singer is telling us about his dreams', while Chain 2 continues to explore the element of 'chance' that had been an important part of Lutosławski's music since the 1960s. Esa-Pekka Salonen conducted the première recording of the Fourth Symphony, the crowning achievement of the composer's distinguished career, just three months before he passed away.

Sponsored by: 80

Esa-Pekka Salonen

Lutosławski, Musique funèbre

(14')

Beethoven, Symphony No. 7

(40')

-interval-

Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring

(33')

The Lutosławski centenary celebrations continue in Madrid with Lutosławski's Musique funèbre, a work which the composer himself described as 'my first word in a new language'. The concert continues with Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 and Stravinsky's groundbreaking The Rite of Spring.

Esa-Pekka Salonen

Lutosławski, Musique funèbre

(14')

Beethoven, Symphony No. 7

(40')

-interval-

Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring

(33')

 

Continuing the centenary celebrations of the birth of Lutosławski, one of the century's most influential musical voices,the concert opens Musique funèbre. Described by the composer as 'my first word in a new language', the programme continues with  Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 and Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring.

Inspired by a primordial vision of an ancient ritual, The Rite of Spring evokes the exhilarating spectacle of a pagan ceremony, in which a young girl dances herself to death as a sacrifice to the God of Spring. This is just one of a number of performances celebrating 100-years since the work’s debut, which will see Maestro Salonen conduct the piece in numerous concert halls around the world.

Esa-Pekka Salonen

Lutosławski, Musique funèbre

(14')

Beethoven, Symphony No. 7

(40')

-interval-

Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring

(33')

 

Continuing the centenary celebrations of the birth of Lutosławski, one of the century's most influential musical voices,the concert opens Musique funèbre. Described by the composer as 'my first word in a new language', the programme continues with  Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 and Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring.

Inspired by a primordial vision of an ancient ritual, The Rite of Spring evokes the exhilarating spectacle of a pagan ceremony, in which a young girl dances herself to death as a sacrifice to the God of Spring. This is just one of a number of performances celebrating 100-years since the work’s debut, which will see Maestro Salonen conduct the piece in numerous concert halls around the world.

Esa-Pekka Salonen

Lutosławski, Musique funèbre

(14')

Beethoven, Symphony No. 7

(40')

-interval-

Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring

(33')

Continuing the centenary celebrations of the birth of Lutosławski, one of the century's most influential musical voices,the concert opens Musique funèbre. Described by the composer as 'my first word in a new language', the programme continues with  Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 and Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring.

Inspired by a primordial vision of an ancient ritual, The Rite of Spring evokes the exhilarating spectacle of a pagan ceremony, in which a young girl dances herself to death as a sacrifice to the God of Spring. This is just one of a number of performances celebrating 100-years since the work’s debut, which will see Maestro Salonen conduct the piece in numerous concert halls around the world.

Esa-Pekka Salonen / Helene Grimaud (PIANO)

Lutosławski, Musique funèbre

(14')

Ravel, Piano Concerto in G

(19')

-interval-

Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring

(33')

Continuing the centenary celebrations of the birth of Lutosławski, one of the century's most influential musical voices,the concert opens Musique funèbre. Described by the composer as 'my first word in a new language', the programme continues with Ravel's Piano Concerto in G and Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring.

Inspired by a primordial vision of an ancient ritual, The Rite of Spring evokes the exhilarating spectacle of a pagan ceremony, in which a young girl dances herself to death as a sacrifice to the God of Spring. This is just one of a number of performances celebrating 100-years since the work’s debut, which will see Maestro Salonen conduct the piece in numerous concert halls around the world.

Esa-Pekka Salonen / Matthias Goerne (BARITONE)

Debussy, Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune

(10')

Lutosławski, Les espaces du sommeil

(15')

-interval-

Ravel, Suite, Ma mère l'oye

(17')

Lutosławski, Symphony No. 3

(28')