Witold Lutosławski in Conversation with Krzysztof Zanussi

Documentary about life and work of Witold Lutosławski. 1990. A coproduction of the BBC with Roem, Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), La Sept, STV, Norsk Rikskringkasting (NRK), Nederlandse Omroepstichting (NOS) and Eurofilm/Antelope.

[@Blauwhoed]

Fantastic! I knew Lutoslawski very well and met him during many occassions. A great man, very human. A real aristocrat in the best sense of this word

[@jdiwkall]

I never thought I can enjoy dissonant 20th Century music like i enjoy romantic era music until i discovered Lutoslawski. Undisputed genius who is a top 50 greatest composers.

[@Racosz]

Excellent documentary. Love the way how Lutoslawski combines avant-garde techniques and traditional ways in his own music, music which is modern and balanced, daring and beautiful at the same time. The best of both two worlds.

[@isolateddemon9438]

As a metalhead I really enjoy this stuff!!!

[@slateflash]

I was not expecting him to sound like that

[@pawdaw]

His English is amazing! (he spoke French too)

[@ukaszsurzycki845]

Great Composer documentary of thoughts about Music

[@TolgaBedirVideos]

When I listen his composes during my concervatory years I was shocked in 2002. But because of I'm Turkish, my some of teachers worried about and they tryed to avoid him. But it was too late. I started to search everything about him and my composition teacher helped me a lot. sometime we used to discuss which orchestra records much better which is not. Funny things is some of teachers fought each other if I copied parts from his score. It happens in 2003. One of crayz teacher (who doest like him) he checked almost all my scores part if I copied from Lutoslawski. I releazed that some teachers jealous Funny but it happens. Of course he couldn't find and he was very pisst of. Of course there is a lot a lot of great composers from Poland or around. But for me: Witold Lutoslawsky is the composer who changed the orchestration and classical music forms forever.

[@jobebrian]

@ 50:39 (in the midst of the 3rd Symphony) there is a nice précis of the changing role of melody in modern music. Imho, it puts the lie to the idea that (in the wake of Schoenberg, Weber, et al.) western music has somehow played itself out. @ 55:05 Lutoslawski response to a question about the long arc of his career, which he uses to make a powerful statement about creativity in general.

[@nandoflorestan]

Well, Bartók was a contemporary of Schoenberg who always used the power of a melody, and it to a large extent it was already the kind of 12-tone melody meant by Lutoslawski.

[@jobebrian]

Right, I would never claim that Bartok didn’t write melodic music-his immersion in folk music would itself have made this difficult, I think. I just meant to follow up on Lutoslawski’s own comment about the need “to come back to melody” after the reaction against it earlier in the 20th century (which I do take as a reference to Schoenberg, Webern, et al.). I’m not a musicologist, but it does seem to me that Lutoslawski’s development of melody in the 12 tone system goes beyond what Bartok accomplished, which I certainly do not wish to minimize. I do think Bartok’s melodies owe more to the tradition (and of course folk music, vid. Microcosmos), as do Schoenberg and Webern, while Lutoslawski used tone rows as an opportunity to compose music that sounds more spontaneous than anything since Beethoven. To my ears, anyway. Another way of putting it would be to say that for Hauer, Schoenberg, Webern, and even Strauss before them, tone rows served a theoretical and even destructive purpose, while Lutoslawski used it to create melodies more nimble than anything ever composed before. And in turn opened the door for the aleatoric and “chain” forms.

[@bc4315]

Zanussi being a weirdo - let the orchestra musicians and children off the hook while you interview! 😂 Thanks for posting!

[@edwardlewandowski7830]

Starsi wiedzą✋🌷młodzi🤔kiszka😈👋

[@szczurekpl7945]

Są tacy młodsi, którzy wiedzą;)

[@PKWysocki]

It wasn't such a bad idea for them to talk in English - you have no idea how much gets lots in translation. It's not just lack of ability on the part of the interpreter (although that certainly happens as well), but also due to the fact that a number of important nuances can't really be translated well into another language.

[@rohansrinivasan2162]

I doubt they're actually speaking English... if you look at Lutosławski's interview in Polish, this looks like a dubbing.

[@misscameroon8062]

@@rohansrinivasan2162 Hay Rohan,I believe you`re right;their English too perfect,normally when Poles speak English you can detect the Polish inflection,but the idea of dubbing it makes sense allowing wider audience enjoy this outstanding program.

[@rowanbelt3612]

@@rohansrinivasan2162 Respectfully, I disagree. Look at his lips around 17:20 and tell me what you think.

[@nandoflorestan]

There is no dubbing! Both Poles speak nearly perfect English! Nothing is lost in translation! It's a sign of the times that we today find it hard to believe that they spoke English that well!

[@Komentarz1234]

Dwóch Polaków rozmawia ze sobą po amerykańsku 🤔

[@WaldemarSkakankaRozwodnik]

bo umio, a ty nie umisz

[@Komentarz1234]

@@WaldemarSkakankaRozwodnik Polacy (niektórzy) nie 🪿 gęsi , też swój język mają

[@josephniepce7887]

What I see here is two Polish intellectuals discussing complex and sophisticated subjects in English. It is disgusting. Why not speaking Polish and THEN let the discussion to be translated, by adding subtitles for example? Obviously these two could express themselves wider and more accurate within their motherlanguage, yet they chose differently ; and for whose sake they did it? For documentary producer's sake. As if his willing and convenience would be more important than the conversation they both had... sick. Intellectuals should be aware of nuances, especially when a nuance becomes an obstacle, like here.

[@PeterLunowPL]

+Joseph Niepce a beautiful documentary with one of the great composers of the 20th century and a wonderful filmmaker. You totally miss the point and please keep your condescending and stupid narrow minded comment to yourself. Implying that these men can not sufficiently express themselves in English is an insult.

[@josephniepce7887]

+Peter Lunow It is not an insult, it is a tribute to the subject which they discuss. You can deal with these things only if you dig deep. And they are sliding on superficial level here, as that is the only level they could reach in - once again I underline - foreign language. btw You can accuse me of few things, yes, but narrow minded is my comment not. Really poor choice of words. I guess English is not mother language for you, is it? :)

[@vaspers]

Joseph Niepce -- You are so disgusting and arrogant as to condemn one of the greatest composers in music history, for not conducting an interview in his native tongue? You must be God Himself, you are so All Knowing and Perfect. You publicly display your conceited ignorance in your feeble, uneducated opinions. Go troll a Britney Spears video. That's more your speed.

[@josephniepce7887]

Steven Streight His interlocutor was also a Pole. You forgot to mention. But I guess you dont mention what doesnt fit to your opinion. So dont be angry at me if I say I dont give damn about your opinion, because you obviously dont respect FACTS. And its always very artificial, when two people from one country speak with each other using another language. Precisely this artificiality I found disgusting. I know Americans think they rule the world and that everybody should speak English, but guess what. FVCK you, hamburgers.

[@vaspers]

Calm down. The world's not going to end just because you hate what language a great composer decided to use. You find what the composer did to be "disgusting"? What is disgusting is your infantile arrogance and uneducated hysteria. There's nothing you can do about it, dude. The deed is done. So keep on hating and screaming what your ego wishes would have happened. You just look pathetic and ridiculous.