I wrote earlier about the Polish composer Witold Lutosławski. This composition for an ensemble of 13 strings was written in the early 70s, right after he wrote his famous cello concerto. This first recording is from 1976, after its premiere at the hands of the Mario di Bonaventura, the American conductor who commissioned it.
After the Polish government released some of the restraints put on artists and composers in 1956, Lutosławski’s rather prolific output stopped, and it took him until the 60s to find his way again. It was after hearing John Cage’s piano concerto that he found a new direction. Lutosławski added aleatoric elements to his music. These are free elements of chance in the composition. However, in Lutosławski’s compositions they are more controlled. These 7 preludes and a rather lengthy fugue are full of them.