Composer: Karol Szymanowski
Performer: Steve Davislim, Volkhard Steude, Christian Tetzlaff, Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde
Orchestra: Wiener Philharmoniker
Conductor: Pierre Boulez
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Catalogue: E4790068
Release: 2013
Size: 230 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 35
01. Vivace assai
02. Cadenza
Symphony No. 3 ‘The Song of the Night’, Op. 27
03. Moderato assai…
04. Vivace scherzando…
05. Largo…
t the end of his brilliant career as a conductor, Pierre Boulez developed a passion for composers he had previously ignored, if he didn’t despise them. The young Boulez had discovered Karol Szymanowski’s music during his formative years in Lyon. At the age of seventeen, he had been lastingly impressed by the originality of this music during an audition of La Fontaine d’Aréthuse, an extract from Mythes for violin and piano. While this took a long time to grow, it produced a beautiful result with this 2009 recording, one of Pierre Boulez’s finest, performed in perfect harmony with the violinist Christian Tetzlaff and the musicians of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
By choosing two masterpieces composed in 1916, Boulez knew better than anyone how to make the Polish composer’s particular music, so strongly tinged with Orientalism, shine. Written in verses by the famous 13th century Persian poet Djalâl ad-Dîn Rûmi, the Troisième Symphonie, subtitled “Le Chant de la nuit”, features a solo tenor, a mixed choir and a large orchestra. It’s a kind of vast symphonic poem in which the vocal part occupies a modest but vital place in its expression. It’s undoubtedly one of the Polish composer’s masterpieces, as much for its instrumental mastery as it is for his sense of narrative.
According to the musicologist Didier van Moere, the Concerto pour violon n° 1 is a kind of “twin brother of this symphony in length, style and structure”.
Boulez is perfectly at ease in these two works, to which he gives great sound luxury thanks to his analytical mind and the splendid tones of the Viennese musicians. This grand orchestra is a worthy accompaniment to the great violinist Christian Tetzlaff, who is also at his prime as a performer here.