WITOLD LUTOSŁAWSKI
(born 1913 in Warsaw; died 1994 in Warsaw)

Subito (1992)

Witold Lutosławski is one of the great Polish composers together with Chopin and Szymanowski, yet his creative contribution is like no other and offers a distinctive voice in the language of anti-Romanticism.

Lutosławski's life spanned two World Wars, Stalin's Communist takeover of Poland, and the fall of Communism that ended the Cold War. He grew up in a politically-active Polish family that faced constant political turbulence, tensions, and tragedy. Lutosławski himself escaped from a POW camp during World War II, and his father and brothers lost their lives in military action.

Lutosławski began learning music when he was very young. He began on the piano, and later studied composition and the violin. It was only in 1984 at the age of 71 that he began composing intensely for the violin after being introduced to the artistry of the German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter. The violin pieces written during the composer's last years are substantial works championed by contemporary violinists, first and foremost by Mutter. Subito, the final work for violin and indeed his last completed composition, dates from 1992, the same year Lutosławski wrote his Fourth Symphony. The piece was commissioned by the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. The composer was in the midst of writing another important work for violin, a concerto for Mutter, at the time of his death.

During the years of political oppression in Poland, Lutosławski secretly continued to explore and invent new techniques of composition. Though he was not able to publicly pursue or introduce them, due to the threat of political-cultural silencing, he kept refining these methods, some of which are evident in Subito. Stylistically, this piece is based on his refrain-episode.

Subito opens with a set of gestures that become a refrain for the rest of the piece. The refrain returns four times, separated by four episodes. The refrains are easily recognizable by their declamatory boldness. The episodes, on the other hand, are different each and every time, and are, for the most part, in distinct contrast to the refrains.

Lutosławski makes chromaticism in the violin the defining characteristic of the refrains. The piano has two vertically symmetrical chords. They are symmetrical because when the distances between the consecutive pitches of the chords are measured, one gets a numerical pattern that remains the same, whether measured from the top to bottom or the reverse.

The episodes contain the developments and the transitions of the entire piece. In comparison to most of the refrains, which sound complete and self-contained, the episodes, or ideas, are developed and therefore are more transitory, i.e., more things happen. Moreover, the episodes are longer and more varied than the refrains.

However, it is also important and intriguing to note that the initial ideas introduced in the opening refrain are indeed the ones that are expanded upon later in the episodes. These include the afore-mentioned symmetrical chords, which return, played either simultaneously or broken, and the motivic chromaticism of the violin, which reappears in various guises. A final large-scale example of chromatic motion would be that the final note of the piece on the violin is the D-flat, a half-step away from the initial pitch.

This brief analysis simply hints at the complexity of Subito's logic and form. Such craftsmanship of composition and symmetry is a work of the greatest of masters. A continuous and diligent study of the technique only increases the awe of the performer. Most importantly, however, is that even without thorough knowledge of the mechanics of the work, Subito has an unsurpassed freshness and power, an impact that alone is indicative of the strength of the piece.