Symphony No. 3 (fragment)

Symphony No. 3 is a completely exceptional work within Lutosławski's oeuvre. Commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1974, its composition period was, even for such a slow working composer, very long.  Aware of the importance and responsibility of the commission, the composer worked on his composition with exceptional care. But because the period of composition of Symphony No. 3 was so long it spanned the change between two periods in the works of Lutosławski.  In 1979 he composed Epitaph which, according to the composer himself, marks the border of the period of ”thin texture” which is also evident in the Double Concerto of 1980.  This is why it is difficult to say today how many of the initial ideas for the work are to be found in the final form of the composition.

As a long gestated work the Symphony contains a richness of ideas that almost represents a catalogue of Lutosławski's musical language. Here we meet aleatoric textures shimmering like light on falling drops of dew, perceived by us, above all, as charming sound. We find motives of orientation, organisinf the structure - there is a repeated e establishing the effect of a  Beethovenian ”fate motif”. We also find framing two-movement form, opposing the introductory movement, made up of short and developmentally interrupted fragments with the closing movement, developing in broad arches to the climax. The composer also made use in the main movement of motivic construction which he had not used for a very long time in his compositions.

Although harmony from on 12-tone chords dominates here, more and more often we hear episodes of a very ”fragile” texture. There also appear clear melodic lines, signifying the new period whose first manifestation was the Epitaph.

The work begins with a short introduction formed of two episodes. These are divided by a repeated e which his the role of a motto for the entire work. The first movement falls into three sections. Each of these contains contrasted episodes (according to the composer's own nomenclature) as well as similar static refrains assigned to the woodwinds. Successive segments are each longer than the next and the tempo of the episodes successively slower. In this way the composer prepares us for the entry of the main movement.

Two main formal elements appear here: a dynamic theme based on the initial motoric motif and a singing theme marked cantando by the composer. This presents an allusion to the sonata form, allegro, which has suggested by the composer himself. Even if they are only suggested the motivic development and the employment of clear melodic lines are connected to the tradition of the classical symphony. After the culmination there is an unusually long epilogue in which a type of melodic line typical of Lutosławski's late style dominates, often with added acciaccaturas. The development of the structure leads to a second climax where the repetitive motif of the opening returns.

The time of the completion of the work (1983) also leads to a particular interpretation connected with the martial law and the situation in Poland. Lutosławski did not distance himself from this as unequivocally as in the case of other works. Questioned during the London ”Prom” festival about whether the situation in Poland had influenced his music he first replied: ”I cannot reply to such a question in one word”, and then, upon further thought: ”our inner world and our experience of life must probably interfere with our ideal world”. It is therefore by no accident that this particular work won for Lutosławski not only the Grawemeyer Award but also the Artistic Prize of the Committee of Independent Culture of NSZZ Solidarność.

The first performance of Symphony No. 3 was conducted by Georg Solti on 29th September 1983.