Dutilleux: Tout Un Monde Lointain

Henri Dutilleux (1916-2013) is France’s greatest composer since Debussy and Ravel. His oeuvre is not large; he was satisfied only with masterpieces. His magnificent 1970 cello concerto, Tout Un Monde Lointain (“A Whole Distant World”), evokes visions of numinous mystery and unearthly grandeur in music of such ravishing beauty and dazzling invention that it casts a dream-like spell, its phantasmagoric vistas seeming to expand into infinite darkness. Other composers who’ve tried to impart such otherworldly revelations in their works seem clumsy and clichéd in comparison; Dutilleux’s purity and originality remain immaculate. There isn’t a more inspired marriage of virtuoso pyrotechnics and haunting emotional resonance in the symphonic repertoire. Hence the concerto has consistently attracted the most accomplished performers, and it certainly finds one in Emmanuelle Bertrand, who follows a long list of great cellists who’ve recorded it (beginning with Rostropovich, who gave the premiere). She plays with gorgeous tone, absolute mastery, and passionate conviction, ably assisted by the Lucerne Symphony under James Gaffigan. Harmonia Mundi’s sonics offer an ideal balance of clarity, detail, ambience, and impact, and the CD includes a free download card for hi-res files of the recording.