Up Close With Lutosławski

Zofia Owińska’s conversations with Witold Lutosławski, published here for the first time in English, are of an exceptional character, which results from the particularly close, almost familial, relations between the two interlocutors.

So the unique documental – and for some also sentimental – value of the interviews published here is undeniable. They are also important as a source for the maestro’s biography. This is perhaps the only instance of Witold Lutosławski talking so openly about his family, describing its customs, musical interests and intellectual atmosphere, and finally also his own place in this world.

The immediacy and pointedness of the accounts also lend a new sense to themes familiar from elsewhere, such as the account of his search for his own musical language. That question was never set forth so clearly, and at the same time with unfeigned modesty, as it is here.

It is worth pointing out, however, that Zofia Owińska is a highly distinguished musician and music journalist, who worked for many years at Polish Radio in Wrocław. In 1992, she was at the peak of her professional career, and since she was young enough to have been a late daughter of Witold Lutosławski, the pleasure he derived from his encounters with her is perfectly natural. One may hope that a little of that pleasure will also be experienced by the readers of this book.