This decade has seen the emergence of Dutilleux (b. 1916) as the most important French composer after Messiaen. Like Messiaen, Dutilleux works in a defiant atonality that sometimes embraces twelve-tone music, but at other times does not. The works on this excellent disc are all masterpieces, especially "Metaboles" (1964) and "Mystere de instant" (1989), which have been recorded a number of times. "Tout un Monde Lointain" (1970) is a cello concerto that's quite graceful, if just as doggedly postmodern. If you like the postmodernism of Witold Lutoslawski, György Ligeti, and Alfred Schnittke, you'll really go for Dutilleux.

Product Dimensions4.92 x 5.71 x 0.39 inches; 3.57 Ounces
Manufacturer   Alliance
Original Release Date  1997
SPARS Code   DDD
Date First Available   January 5, 2007
Label  Alliance
The number of discs   1.1 Metaboles: I. Incantatoire 1.2 Metaboles: II. Lineaire 1.3 Metaboles: III. Obsessionnel 1.4 Metaboles: IV. Torpide 1.5 Metaboles: V. Flamboyant 1.6 Tout Un Monde Lointain (Concerto for Cello and Orchestra): I. Enigme 1.7 Tout Un Monde Lointain (Concerto for Cello and Orchestra): II. Regard 1.8 Tout Un Monde Lointain (Concerto for Cello and Orchestra): III. Houles 1.9 Tout Un Monde Lointain (Concerto for Cello and Orchestra): IV. Miroirs 1.10 Tout Un Monde Lointain (Concerto for Cello and Orchestra): V. Hymne 1.11 Mystere de L'instant (Grande Formation): I. Appels 1.12 Mystere de L'instant (Grande Formation): II. Echos 1.13 Mystere de L'instant (Grande Formation): III. Prismes 1.14 Mystere de L'instant (Grande Formation): IV. Espaces Lointains 1.15 Mystere de L'instant (Grande Formation): V. Litanies 1.16 Mystere de L'instant (Grande Formation): VI. Choral 1.17 Mystere de L'instant (Grande Formation): VII. Rumeurs 1.18 Mystere de L'instant (Grande Formation): VIII. Soliloques 1.19 Mystere de L'instant (Grande Formation): IX. Metamophoses (Sur Le Nom Sacher) 1.20 Mystere de L'instant (Grande Formation): X. Embrasement