Programme Note
LUTOSLAWSKI – MI-PARTI (1976)
The title Mi-Parti (defined in the Quillet Dictionary as ‘comprising two parts which are equal but different’) refers not to the form of the piece but rather to the treatment of the musical content. The phrases are often composed of two parts, the second of which is a restatement of the first, with a new element. The first section of the work is based on a cycle of eight vertical complexes of twelve notes. In the course of the musical development this moves upwards in steps of minor seconds. The following section becomes more and more animated, as it leads to a climax. All movement stops on an icy ‘pianissimo’ chord played by the woodwind. Gradually, this iciness is thawed by successive entries of the solo violins. A cantilena of twelve violins playing ‘ ad libitum’ leads upwards and closes on a unison top C.
''For me, every new work is a new adventure, and everything in it is to some extent, although certain solutions, means and ways can, even must, be used again. One thing is certainly new for me here : a type of music where pastel sounds accompany the solo phrases. I don't remember using it in any other work.''
© Witold Lutoslawski