WITOLD LUTOSŁAWSKI Witold Lutosławski, One of the Most
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WITOLD LUTOSŁAWSKI Witold Lutosławski, one of the most prominent Polish composers of all time, was born on January 25, 1913, in Warsaw, and learned the violin and piano in his youth. He engaged in composition studies under Witold Maliszewski, first privately, later at the Warsaw Conservatory (1932-1937), undergoing simulatenous training in piano performance under Jerzy Lefeld. The world premiere of Symphonic Variations directed by Grzegorz Fitelberg (1939) brought him the first great success. His career’s development was hampered by the war years, when he played with Andrzej Panufnik in Warsaw coffee houses and arranged some 200 pieces for two pianos. In these times he created the Variations on a Theme by Paganini, an immensely popular piece among performers. The period immediately following the war, in which he drew his inspiration from folk music, is crowned by the Concerto for Orchestra (1954), a masterly and the most frequently performed composition worldwide by Lutosławki. Throughout the succeeding years he forged his musical language while working, among others, on the technique of 12-tone harmony. His next masterwork was to be Funeral Music (1958), which fortified Lutosławski’s growing international fame and resulted in the first prize at the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers. A revolutionary change was wrought by Venetian Games (1961), in which he introduced the element of chance (in the area of rhythm and independence of individual parts) subsequently termed “controlled aleatoricism”, which from then on became one of his trademarks. Among the most prominent works of the following years are Trois poèmes d’Henri Michaux (1963), which initiated his intensive activity as the director of his own works, the String Quartet (1964), Livre pour orchestre (1968), and Preludes and fugue (1972). Inspired by the art of great performers, he often composed works such as the Cello Concerto for Mstislav Rostropovich, the Double Concerto for Heinz and Ursula Holliger, Chain II for Anne-Sophie Mutter, the Piano Concerto for Krystian Zimerman, Paroles tissées for Peter Pears, and Les espaces du sommeil for Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. The masterworks of the last period include the Third and Fourth Symphony and the vocal Chantefleurs et chantefables. Lutosławski’s growing international fame began as early as the 1950s, and found proof in invitations to participate in prestigious festivals and juries of composition competitions, as well as requests to give lectures and composition workshops. He received commissions for pieces from world-leading orchestras and institutions. His achievements won him numerous awards (which include the Jurzykowski, Siemens, Herder, and Queen Sophia awards, the Polar Music Prize and the Kyoto Prize), doctorates honoris causa of well over a dozen prestigious institutions of higher learning in Poland, Europe and North America (e.g. the University of Warsaw, Jagiellonian University, Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music, as well as universities in Cambridge, Glasgow, Strasbourg, Chicago, Montreal, and institutions of higher musical learning in Cleveland and Boston). He was an honorary member of many artistic and scholarly academies and musical societies (including the Royal Academy of Music in London, Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York). Witold Lutosławski died on February 7, 1994, in Warsaw. Lutosławski was sensitive to the needs of others, and strived as best he could to come to their help, seeking medication unavailable in Poland, financing therapy in foreign countries, and funding scholarships for young composers. He felt matters of social importance to be close to his heart. Although he used to say that he “didn’t feel predisposed to any kind of political activity”, the period of “Solidarity” in Poland saw him take part in the activities of the Communication Committe of Creative and Academic Societies and Associations, he appeared at the Congress of Polish Culture in Gdańsk, supported those who were wronged during martial law in Poland, and joined the boycott of the regime by artists. In 1983 he received the Independent Self-Governing Labour Union (NSZZ) “Solidarity” Artistic Award of the Committee for Independent Culture. In 1989 he entered the Citizens’ Committee by Accompaniment to the NSZZ “Solidarity” Leader, and in 1990 he became part of the Polish Council for Culture. Lutosławski’s works exerted an immense influence upon the development of music of the second half of the past century. While discovering new areas of music, he never severed the links with tradition. The strength of his creative individuality, consistency in making advances along his own chosen path, as well as the technical mastery and originality of his musical language have placed him firmly in the ranks of the most outstanding composers of the twentieth century. .