It’s a pity Lutos?awki isn’t a household name, was my immediate reaction after hearing his Symphony No. 3.
It came at the end of this stunning CBSO concert with principal guest conductor Edward Gardner, in a programme that inventively paired Lutos?awki with Sibelius to reveal some remarkable similarities.
Form and genre were obvious enough – two symphonies and two vocal works – but a more subtle one was how both composers fashioned their music by using timbre and instrumental textures to produce dramatic effect.
Lutostawki’s Chantefleurs et Chantefables may not have sounded quite as charming and amusing as intended – Lucy Crowe, who sang them impeccably, was perhaps a little too serious – but Gardner’s handling of the kaleidoscopic scoring could not be faulted.
In the symphony’s even headier brew of intoxicating sounds and orchestral effects Gardner often conducted like one demented, though always fully in charge of the controlled improvisations and apparent mayhem.
Played by everyone with tremendous virtuosic flair, it was a thrilling listening experience and, as far as one could tell, frighteningly accurate.
Like Lutostawki’s angular songs Sibelius’s ‘tone poem for soprano and orchestra’ Luonnotar is equally challenging, but vocally much more rewarding. Lucy Crowe’s lustrous tone, formidable projection and emotional commitment made one wonder why this dark-hued tale of the mythical Daughter of Nature is not heard more often.
Although containing totally different elements the Third Symphony of Sibelius was just as impressive as Lutostawki’s, and brilliantly played by a fired-up CBSO raring to go.
And what a cogent discourse Gardner made of it, beautifully structured and balanced in a coherent musical progression that at times hardly seemed to draw breath.
