Lutoslawski on Music

After an introductory autobiography, the writings, grouped in five parts, illustrate various aspects of the composers creativity, and discuss musical form, compositional technique, and perception. Lutoslawski examines his own works as well as those of other composers, and expresses his views on crucial aspects of twentieth-century music, including the role of Schoenberg and Debussy and the impact of the western avant-garde of the 1950s. The book also contains Lutoslawskis Artistic Diary, his notebook of ideas written from 1959 to 1984 containing intensely personal reflections that do not appear in his public speeches and writings. Concluding with a select bibliography, this collection will give readers a unique and comprehensive overview of the man and his music, encouraging a full appreciation of Lutoslawskis compositional technique and aesthetic views, as well as his position in the history of twentieth-century music.