• Altstaedt plays Lutosławski

A couple of hours ago I heard an electrifying performance of Lutosławski’s Cello Concerto (1970) on BBC Radio 3.  It was by Nicolas Altstaedt, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by the Polish conductor Michał Dworzyński.  After digging around on the web for further information, I believe that this recording was made on 26 October 2010 in the BBC Maida Vale studios.  The dynamism as well as sensitivity of Altstaedt’s approach to this work is already in evidence on a three-part YouTube upload (see my post of 4 December 2011), but unfortunately the second and third parts are marred by dislocation between sound and vision.

Today’s performance was a couple of minutes longer than Altstaedt’s YouTube recording, but it lost nothing in its immediacy and intimate understanding of the composer’s dramatic concept.  Catch it if you can: it’s available for the next seven days only, via http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01blr2y#synopsis (click on Listen Now).  It begins two hours in.

I hope that there are plans for Altstaedt to record the Lutosławski commercially.  That really would be something to look forward to.