Rafael Kwiatkowski, Warsaw Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Antoni Wit - Lutoslawski: Cello Concerto & Concerto For Orchestra (2013)

Anyone who thinks of Witold Lutoslawski as "the academic composer's composer" has probably not heard his riveting Concerto for orchestra (1954), a work in three dramatic movements that brims with muscular themes, splendid orchestration, vibrant colors, exciting rhythms, and everything else that can be extolled in the best modern orchestral music. Unlike his later, more experimental works, Lutoslawski's Concerto for orchestra is recognizably tonal, solidly cast in traditional forms, and quite reminiscent of Bartók's famous work of the same name. The greatness of Lutoslawski's concerto shines through in this thrilling performance by Antoni Wit and the Warsaw Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, which is resolute, impassioned, and gripping, and so technically polished that a better rendition is hard to imagine. Less powerfully compelling is the single-movement Concerto for cello and orchestra (1970), a darker, more esoterically fragmented piece that twitters with the nervous gestures and violent outbursts associated with the avant-garde, post-serial style; it is simply less direct and therefore less immediately appealing than the Concerto for orchestra. Lutoslawski's writing for the cello is intricate and difficult, yet one wonders if cellist Rafal Kwiatkowski appreciates the myriad glissandi and choppy figures he has to play, in the absence of any themes, or the constant chattering from the brass that virtually drowns out his desultory part. Dux's sound quality is exceptional.