Nono struggled greatly with " La lontananza nostalgica utopica futura ", literally delivering it on the eleventh hour to Gidon Kremer.
The composer expressed doubt about the pre-recorded material and his ability to communicate an almost inexpressible spirituality. Later, he expanded it's title and lengthened the work by about twenty minutes.
Kremer uses the earlier, shorter version and there's little doubt that is a more extrovert performance.
Arditti uses the revised,longer version and,frankly, there's both pluses and minuses.
While Kremer's star soloist version revels in brazen colors, the Arditti begins with a piercing silver which shrieks, then dies, only to re-emerge as a whispering white.
There's a truer sense of the work's madrigal quality here and a more pronounced realization of a wanderer's pathless travel.
While Arditti delivers a typically gutsy,thorny, bravo performance (with partnered sound projectionist Andre Richard delivering an equally zealous interpretation) there is,on first listen and in comparison to Kremer, reduced contrast and sagging tension,thus minimizing it's accessibility.
On repeated listens, it becomes apparent the Arditti/Richard team is meticulous in realizing Nono's wishes.
Struggling with this work is part of it's inevitable reward and this performance demands a focused concentration.
The Kremer version remains the ideal introductory work, while the Arditti/Richard performance is the next plateau and is an absolutely essential alternative.