SZYMANOWSKI – LUTOSŁAWSKI – RAVEL

The concert will open with Karol Szymanowski’s Étude in B minor, a work of captivating lyricism and expression. The most famous of the four études that make up Op. 4 from 1902 will be heard in an orchestral arrangement by Grzegorz Fitelberg. In one of the earliest preserved compositions by Szymanowski, one can discern inspiration from Chopin’s idiom as well as echoes of the works of Scriabin.

On the other hand, it was the poetry of the French surrealist Robert Desnos (1900–1945) that must have had a particular impact on Witold Lutosławski’s imagination, for several years after composing Les espaces du sommeil for baritone and orchestra (1975), he returned to his texts. For his cycle Chantefleurs et chantefables for soprano and orchestra (1989–1990), he chose nine charming and, at times, humorous poems intended for children. And yet, the intricacy of their construction and the refined melodic and harmonic solutions make the cycle much more suitable for adults – both performers and listeners. It is as if the composer were seeking a way to crack open the door to a world of childlike imagination – natural, whimsical, and almost inaccessible to the adult mind.

Marta Dziewanowska-Pachowska

PROGRAM

Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) – Étude in B minor, Op. 4 No. 3 (orchestration: Grzegorz Fitelberg)

Witold Lutosławski (1913-1994) – Chantefleurs et chantefables, a song cycle for soprano and orchestra set to the poems of Robert Desnos

La Belle-de-Nuit
La Sauterelle
La Véronique
L’Eglantine, l’Aubépine et la Glycine
La Tortue
La Rose
L’Alligator
L’Angélique
Le Papillon

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) – Ma mère l’Oye, ballet

Prélude
Danse du rouet et scène. Allegro
Pavane de la Belle au bois dormant. Lent
Les entretiens de la Belle et de la Bête
Petit poucet
Laideronnette, impératrice des pagodes
Apothéose. Le jardin féerique

PERFORMERS

OLGA PASIECZNIK SOPRANO

THE ORCHESTRA OF THE POLISH ROYAL OPERA

PRZEMYSŁAW FIUGAJSKI CONDUCTOR

Czas trwania: approx. 1h 5 mins (no intermission)