Nothing special, just Thomas Ades conducting Lutoslawski’s cello concerto.
I’m in absolute awe of this piece. We’re talking about me holding back from gushing of a biblical variety. If you were to give me a blog and say to me, “Say something interesting about Beethoven and Lutoslaski and try not to resort to desperate internet ploys for attention – like kittens”, then I would say the following:
“Lutoslawski and Beethoven seem to have stitched a similar britch in that they’ve gone to a place in long form music making where you take a very simple element – almost simple to the point of being a clown – and spinning a whole piece from it.”
With Beethoven, you have one of the most popular hooks in existence: “Duh duh duh duuuuuuhhh!!!!”, in the fifth symphony; with Lutoslaski’s Cello Concerto the composer takes an enormous step forward by taking an enormous and ill-advised leap backwards: he takes out the first three notes of Beethoven’s memorable motto. He eliminates them. They are excessive baggage. In the words of an oft-forgotten character in a famous film: “His majesty says that there are too many notes”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se-S8iEMWI8
And if you don’t believe me, listen to the first ten seconds followed by the last ten seconds and tell me the parallels are a fluke. I DARE YOU.
Chris Sivak | Composer 