Dutilleux: Orchestral Works / Morlot, Seattle Symphony Reliable

In honor of what would have been Henri Dutilleux’s one-hundredth birthday, this commemorative box set is being released by The Seattle Symphony. This three-volume series is a critically acclaimed overview of all of Dutilleux’s major works for orchestra. This is an essential collector’s item for any lover of 20th century French music. The innavidual releases included in this box set have been nominated for a number of honors, included Grammy Award nominations for Best Orchestral Performance, Best Engineered Album, Classical, and received the Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo by Augustin Hadelich.

—–

REVIEW:

The defining recording project of Ludovic Morlot’s tenure as music director in Seattle, this luscious three-disc set is a compendium of the orchestral canvases of Henri Dutilleux, whose centenary has been celebrated this year. It’s all played with considerable refinement, but there are particularly special results when the poised violinist Augustin Hadelich joins in for “L’arbre des songes” and “Sur le même accord.”

­– New York Times (David Allen)