Réponse Lutosławski | Bryce Dessner

Co-commissioned by the National Audiovisual Institute of Poland and the Mexico National Orchestra and first performed by the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra at Teatr Wielki-Polish National Opera in Warsaw, Poland on November 29 2014.

Orchestration
strings (6.6.5.4.2)
Duration20 min

CategoryString Orchestra

Composer
Bryce Dessner

Performances
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Programme Note

Réponse Lutosławski was written as an homage to Witold Lutosławski’s amazing composition for string orchestra, Musique funèbre. I spent months studying the score and recordings of the work as well as many of his other pieces. This was an amazing process of discovering one of the 20th-centuries great musical minds and allowing his adventurous spirit to influence my own musical decisions. My Réponse Lutosławski is written in five movements, each of which is inspired either directly or indirectly by the Lutosławski score. I like to think that his music opened a window in a certain direction for me, or pushed open a door, through which I could then pass and take my journey with the music.

Programme note © 2014 Bryce Dessner

Performance note: The ideal string forces for this piece are (6.6.5.4.2). It is possible to perform it using forces of (3.3.3.2.1) if the full forces are not available.