It takes more than talent to pull off Witold Lutoslawski's Chain compositions — it takes huevos. The Polish composer wrote three independent works, Chain 1, Chain 2 and Chain 3, from 1983 to 1986, describing them as a new musical form “which consists of two structurally independent strands. Sections within each strand begin and end at different times. This is the premise on which the term Chain was selected.” Chain 2 , a four-movement work for violin and orchestra, slides back and forth between structure and free interpretation, or, in musical terms, “a battuta” (with the beat) and “ad libitum.” There are sections where the conductor basically relinquishes control, merely presiding over musical improvisation. As Lutoslawski warned, “Any coordination is undesirable.” Which could induce either ecstasy or a violent chain reaction, depending on who's in the driver's seat. This week it should be the former, when the consummate violin virtuoso Martin Chalifour (pictured) performs Chain 2 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the intrepid baton of Russian conductor Andrey Boreyko. Also on the program: selections from Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty; Stravinsky's “Divertimento” from Le Baiser de la Fee; and Ravel's La Valse.

Fri., Oct. 23, 8 p.m.; Sat., Oct. 24, 8 p.m.; Sun., Oct. 25, 2 p.m., 2009

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