Witold Lutosławski

Composers / Witold Lutosławski / Routes

Trasa First performances

Witold Lutosławski’s early works were performed mainly in Warsaw. After 1945, when the war-time destruction meant that the principal current of Polish musical life continued outside the capital, his new chamber and pedagogic works were presented in Cracow, whilst the symphonic works were premiered in Katowice, to where the Polish Radio Orchestra had relocated. By way of exception, in 1949, the Overture for Strings was played in Prague, since it was composed to commission for Czechoslovakian Radio. That was the first real composition commission that Lutosławski had received, together with a guaranteed performance and fee.

The works from the 60s and early 70s were written for festivals and cycles of new music held outside Poland: for Venice, Zagreb, Stockholm, Hamburg, Hagen and Graz. The commission from the Royal Philharmonic Society in London for the Cello Concerto, in 1970, opened a new phase in the concert life of Lutosławski’s music, with slightly different addressees of first performances. New works, full of energy, expressive contrasts and diverse sonorities, and so containing what concert-goers traditionally associated with good music, were also commissioned from him by renowned orchestral ensembles, such as the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. They were performed in festivals in Lucerne and Salzburg and made it onto the programme of concerts given by the Berlin Philharmonic. During the last decade, several works were written to commission for American ensembles, including two symphonies written for orchestras in Chicago and Los Angeles.

The list of venues hosting first performances of works by Lutosławski comprises four cities in Poland and thirty in Europe and North America. Detailed information about the performers and dates can be found under those cities

Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center. (creative commons)
Baden-Baden, a television studio Südwestfunk in 1964. Bundesarchiv. (creative commons)
Benjamin Britten (1968). Phot. Hans Wild.
Birthplace of the river Danube. (creative commons)
Central courtyard of Lancaster University. Phot. Christoph Michels. (creative commons)
Champs-Elysées theater. (creative commons)
Chicago Symphony Center. (creative commons)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Phot. Jordan Fischer. (creative commons)
City hall of Hamburg. (creative commons)
Concertgebouw. Phot. Hans-Peter Harmsen. (creative commons)
Concert hall De Doelen. Phot. F.Eveleens. (creative commons)
Cover od Anne-Sophie Mutter’s album with two piano concertos by Igor Stravinski and Lutosławski.
Cover of Juliette Kang’s album with world premiere of Lutosławski’s Subito.
Cover of ”Witold Lutosławski och hans musik” by Ove Nordvall, Stockholm, 1969.
Esa-Pekka Salonen. Phot. Louisa Dedalus. (creative commons)
Gasteig – cultural center in Munich, opened in 1985, which hosts the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. Phot. Schlaier (creative commons)
Grammophone Award for The Third Symphony (1986). The Witold Lutosławski Society.
Grawemeyer Award.
Grzegorz Fitelberg. (creative commons)
Heinz Holliger. (creative commons)
Indiana State Capitol at the end of Market St, Indianapolis. Phot. Daniel Schwen. (creative commons)
Interior of Champs-Elysées theater. Phot. Pierre Lannes. (creative commons)
Interior of De Doelen hall. (creative commons)
Interior of San Francisco Philharmonic (Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall). (creative commons)
Interior of Teatro la Fenice. Phot. Pavel Krok. (creative commons)
Interior of Tonhalle. Phot. Adrian Michael. (creatuve commons)
Jan Krenz. Phot. Andrzej Świetlik (1993).
Jean-Claude Carrière. Phot. Roman Bonnefoy. (creative commons)
Józef Lutosławski. The Witold Lutosławski Society.
Kennedy Center. (creative commons)
Krystyna Szostek-Radkowa (1971). (creative commons)
Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. Phot. J. Ash Bowie. (creative commons)
Main hall in Concertbuow.
Mstislav Rostropovich. Phot. Mikhail Ozerskiy. (creative commons)
Mstislav Rostropovich. Phot. Vladimir Vyatkin. (creative commons)
Munich Philharmonic. Phot. Andreas Praefcke. (creative commons)
Music Academy in Wrocław
Old Town Salzburg across the Salzach river. Phot. Juguang Wang. (creative commons)
Opéra Bastille. (creative commons)
Panorama of Geneva and Lake. (creative commons)
Panorama of Hagen. (creative commons)
Paul Sacher, Anne-Sophie Mutter and Witold Lutosławski. The Witold Lutosławski Society.
Performance of Double Concerto for harp and oboe (24 August 1980). Collegium Musicum Zurich, Paul Sacher, Ursula Holliger, Heinz Holliger, phot. Peter A. Meyer, archive of ”Ruch Muzyczny”
Peter Pears singing ’Paroles tissées’ during the concert conducting by Witold Lutosławski. Phot. Andrzej Zborski/East News
Philharmonic orchestra of Hagen. (creative commons)
Philharmony in Berlin. Phot. Manfred Brückels (creative commons)
Plaque on Saska Kępa in Warsaw. Phot. Tadeusz Rudzki. (creative commons)
Plaque on Żoliborz in Warsaw. www.warszawa.wikia.com
Portrait of Queen Maria José by Albert Edwin Flury. (creative commons)
Rathaus (City Hall) in Graz. (creative commons)
Rolf Liebermann. Phot. Claude Truong-Ngoc. (creative commons)
Royal Swedish Academy of Music. (creative commons)
Rudolfinum in Prague. (creative commons)
Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Center. Phot. William Wesen. (creative commons)
Seat of Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice.
Sir Simon Rattle. The Witold Lutosławski Society.
Snape Maltings Concert Hall in Snape, Suffolk. Phot. Amanda Slater. (creative commons)
Stanisław Skrowaczewski. Phot. Steffen Wurzel. (creative commons)
Startup screen from application ”Witold Lutosławski. Guide to Warsaw” available for devices with systems: Adroid, iOS and Windows Phone.
Teatro la Fenice. Phot. Didier Descouens. (creative commons)
The interior of the Berlin Philharmonic. Phot. Josef Lehmkuhl. (creative commons)
The Komische Oper in Berlinie. Phot. Gryffindor (creative commons)
The river Reuss in the old part of Lucerne. Phot. Simon Koopmann. (creative commons)
The Walt Disney Concert Hall, home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Phot. Carol M. Highsmith.
The Wawel Castle and Cathedral in Krakow. (creative commons)
Tonhalle (concert hall). Phot. Adrian Michael. (creatuve commons)
University of Cambridge. Phot. Andrew Dunn. (creative commons)
University of Louisville. (creative commons)
University of Southern California. (creative commons)
Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall‎ in Zagreb. (creative commons)
Witold Lutosławski and Anne-Sophie Mutter during the rehearsal of Chain II in Salsburg festiwal (1988). Fot. Weber.
Witold Lutosławski and his wife Danuta before radio recording of Chain II in Katowice (19 February 1988). Private collections of Gabriela and Martin Bogusławski.
Witold Lutosławski and his wife Danuta in an interview with the Swedish royal couple (18.05.1993). Phot. Hans T. Dahlskog. From the archive of the ”Ruch Muzyczny”.
Witold Lutosławski and his wife Danuta in Great Britain. Private collections of Gabriela and Martin Bogusławski.
Witold Lutosławski and his wife Danuta in Prague (1957). Private collections of Gabriela and Martin Bogusławski in The Witold Lutosławski Society.
Witold Lutosławski and his wife Danuta on a walk with Heinz and Ursula Holliger. Private collections of Gabriela and Martin Bogusławski
Witold Lutosławski and his wife Danuta on Michigan Lake. The Witold Lutosławski Society.
Witold Lutosławski and Krystian Zimerman during the concert (1988). Fot. Andrzej Glanda.
Witold Lutosławski and Simon Rattle, Los Angeles, 31 I 1993. Phot. Betty Freeman/BE&W
Witold Lutosławski and Simon Rattle, Los Angeles, 31.I.1993. Phot. Betty Freeman/BE&W
Witold Lutosławski at the desk. Phot. Jan Styczyński. The Witold Lutosławski Society.
Witold Lutosławski in Great Britain. Private collections of Gabriela and Martin Bogusławski.
Witold Lutosławski on a rehearsal with Heinz and Ursula Holliger. The Witold Lutosławski Society.
Witold Lutosławski on Polar Music Prize ceremony (1993). Private collections of Gabriela and Martin Bogusławski.
Witold Lutosławski’s 80th birthday. Private collections of Gabriela and Martin Bogusławski.
Witold Lutosławski’s 80th birthday. Private collections of Gabriela and Martin Bogusławski.
Witold Lutosławski with Anne-Sophie Mutter and Krystian Zimerman (1998).
Witold Lutosławski with Georg Solti during the world premiere of The Third Symphony with Chicago Symphony Orchestra (29 IX 1983). Phot. CSO Archives Lebrecht Music&Arts/BE&W
Witold Lutosławski with grammophone. Phot. Jan Styczyński. The Witold Lutosławski Society.
Witold Lutosławski with Grzegorz Fitelberg, Regina Smendzianka, Henryk Sztompka. After world premiero of I Symphony. Katowice, 1 April 1948. Private collections of Gabriela Martin and Bogusławski in The Witold Lutosławski Society.
Witold Lutosławski with Krystian Zimerman during the rehearsal in Paris, 1988. Phot. Marion Kalter/AKG images/BE&W
Witold Lutosławski with Lynn Harrell, 9.VIII.1989. Phot. Betty Freeman/BE&W
Witold Lutosławski with Queen Elisabeth. Private collections of Gabriela and Martin Bogusławski.
Witold Lutosławski w towarzystwie with Mstislav Rostropovich and Anne Sophie Mutter in Royal Festival Hall, 1987. Phot. Suzie Maeder/BE&W
Yehudi Menuhin. Phot. Allan Warren. (creative commons)
Zubin Mehta (1980). PBS TV.

Route	Route type
Celebrations of Lutosławski’s music	Regional
Conductor	Regional
Cracow	Local
First performances	Regional
In lecture halls	Regional
London	Local
Munich	Local
Pianist	Regional
Trophy cabinet	Regional