A Classic Composer of the Avant-Garde
Witold Lutosławski: His Life and Work
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Witold Lutosławski (1913–1994) is one of the 20th century’s great composers. He He was born at outset of Modernism at the birth of Modernism and nonetheless maintained an ambivalent relationship to the musical avant-garde throughout his life. In the 1950s, he used folk melodies in the tradition of Bartók, which was construed as his way of adapting to Socialist Realism. In the 1950s, he used folk melodies in the tradition of Bartók, which was construed as adapting to Socialist Realism. In the 1960s, he made a name for himself with techniques such as controlled aleatoric. Later, he tried to rehabilitate harmony and melody as the foundations of classical music.
(Osteuropa 11-12/2012, pp. 5–20)