Lutoslawski: Orchestral Works Vol. 2, Symphonic Variations / Little Suite / Symphony No. 2 / Piano Concerto
Another fine disc in what is surely to become the definitive digital  Witold Lutoslawski edition--and at budget price, too. The two major works are  the Second Symphony, one of the composer's most challenging pieces, and the  Romantic Piano Concerto--which has been described as the greatest piano concerto  that Berg never wrote. The Second Symphony falls into two movements, labeled  "Hesitant" and "Direct," and it makes extensive use of "controlled randomness,"  where the composer directs the players to repeat a phrase however many times  they please within a specified amount of time. The other two works are early and  very approachable.--David Hurwitz