Witold Lutosławski

Since the 1960s, Witold Lutosławski has indeed greatly expanded the range of what can be expressed in music. But in the process, his music has not become any less attractive to the senses or any less understandable in formal terms. The complexity of composition has not triumphed over the act of listening.

The main reason for this is surely that Lutosławski himself listens attentively and can easily visualise what he writes down. His late works, in particular, take on a crystalline form that is not only a challenge to grasp but also a pleasure. These works can give us courage in a time that makes things difficult for both the composer and the honest listener. We can be sure that we are dealing with an artist who is unwilling and unable to relinquish his own responsibilities. We hear in his music that he dares to tackle the unformable, the limits of human imagination… In the face of this refined yet vital music, no one can come to us and say that in today’s situation of composing, transparent music is no longer possible. No one can prevent us from loving new music in all its complexity. The wall between modern music and the modern contemporary audience—here it falls, through the sheer force of invention and inspiration.