Lutosławski Searching
Elements and Origins of His Early Work
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Lutosławski’s early work is marked by numerous influences. There are elements of twelve-tone music reminiscent of Schoenberg, while the sources of other works are to be found, as with Bela Bartok, in folk music. Other pieces recall neo-classicism, which is associated with Igor Stravinsky. The use of folk elements was construed as Lutosławski subordinating himself to Socialist Realism. The composer himself often steered musicologists on the wrong track by distancing himself from dodecaphony and discarding some of his works as “Stalinist botch”. But if one looks closer at Lutosławski’s compositions from before 1960, one gains insight into the workshop of a composer accommodating diverse traditions while searching for his own style.
(Osteuropa 11-12/2012, pp. 47–56)