“… The BBC is a great orchestra, recorded in superb sound … if you are looking for this piece [Symphony No 1] , it would be hard to top this. The Partita (1988) I an arrangement of the piece for violin and piano, scored with orchestra. The piece is generally devoid of the composer’s famous 60’s avant-gardisms…. Ms Little plays it skilfully and convincingly… The Dance Preludes (1955), for clarinet, percussion, harp, piano and strings, are built on folk materials. The outer dances are affable and the more introspective pieces quiet beautiful. To no one’s surprise, Mr Collins is exemplary… most listeners would not automatically associate much of this with the experimental language that made this composer famous, but new listeners unfamiliar with or offended by 60s wildness will find all of this stimulating and enjoyable.” 

“A fine conclusion to a distinguished series” 

"Lutoslawski always regarded its [Symphony No 1] brash and brassy energy as positive. Edward Gardner’s effervescent, propulsive reading makes a brilliant case for the symphony, the aggressive swagger always offset by a beguiling splash of colour. Lutoslawski’s gifts as an orchestrator were already fully developed, and the work is a brilliant precursor to the better known Concerto for Orchestra. Among the couplings are the five Dance Preludes in the arrangement for solo clarinet and orchestra. They’re irresistible, folk-influenced miniatures, teeming with invention and wittily delivered by Michael Collins.The standout work here is the 1988 Partita – an orchestration of a 1984 work for violin and piano, which brilliantly fuses this composer’s early and mature styles. Three brief interludes remain scored for piano accompaniment. The central Largo is the highlight, and the work’s abrupt coda sounds both triumphant and disquieting. Tasmin Little is a big-hearted soloist, and she also gives us Lutoslawski’s Chain 2. Both pieces are stunners, and excellent entry points into this composer’s deeply personal, accessible brand of musical modernism."

" ... Michael Collins is both incisive and poetic in a work whose brevity must be the only reason why it has not established itself in the modern repertoire - though it has been decently served on disc, with this account ranking among the finest Any doubt as to Tasmin Little’s identification with this music is quickly banished as she responds with some of her most insightful as well as virtuosic playing on disc. The spacious yet immediate sound is on a par with earlier discs in the series ..." 

***** 

Performance ****      Recording **** 

“This is the centenary year for the composer, and it is praiseworthy that Chandos has been a steady champion of Lutoslawski, whose works are a landmark of 20th century composition. This disc is a rich and varied collection taken from 3 different periods of the composer’s life, and it is recommended both for the performance and the sonics.”     **** 

Gramophone Choice

“Highly recommended.” 

"...this fifth and final Lutoslawski volume rounds out the series in great style. The composer’s Symphony No. 1 (composed between 1941 and 1947) is a lively and energetic piece in the composer’s most listener-friendly mode. The selections here supply a rounded portrait of the composer – and even if (frankly) some of the modish pieces in this survey may languish unplayed, the wealth of striking and individual music decisively outweighs the more cryptic pieces. The surround sound, as ever with Chandos, is superb." 

“The latest in the Chandos orchestral series featuring the BBC Symphony under Edward Gardner comprises two substantial works from the Stalinist era and two late works written for violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter – all radiating the composer’s characteristic poise. The CD opens with the robust and purposeful First Symphony, well worth hearing in this vibrant reading. Then come Partita and Chain 2, two 1980s violin concertos notable for their expressive intensity, a quality matched by Tasmin Little’s performances ” **** 

"Witold Lutoslawski (1913-94) wrote much of his First Symphony during the second world war. The opening has an angular, witty quality mirrored in the last movement, with no hint at the turbulence of the times. In contrast, the inner sections have a strange melancholy – in the Adagio, a sorrowful string tune and mawkish oboe solo, in the Allegretto a subdued waltz. The BBCSO and Edward Gardner, in the latest of this excellent series, capture the range of moods eloquently. They’re joined by clarinettist Michael Collins for the brief, cheerful Preludia taneczne (1955), and by Tasmin Little, a powerful soloist in Partita and Chain 2. The Polish composer, neglected of late, wholly deserves this attention in his centenary year."