Karol Szymanowski
Subtitle: His Life and Work
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing; Routledge
Published: November 1999
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 492
ISBN-13: 9781859283912
Subjects: Biography: film, television & music; Composers & musicians; Romantic music (c 1830 to c 1900); Music Of The 20th Century; Music; Biography / Autobiography; General; Composers & Musicians - General; Genres & Styles - Classical; 1882-1937; Biography; Composers; Poland; Szymanowski, Karol,
Description: "In this full-scale study of Karol Szymanowski's life and music, Alistair Wightman explores the composer's position as a constant outsider in his own country, yet a 'good European' in the ways in which he responded positively to a diverse range of musical talents, in particular Stravinsky, Strauss, Berg, Hindemith, Prokofiev and Ravel. The book throws light on Szymanowski's relationship to the Polish musical establishment, the reception of his works at home and abroad, his work as an educationalist, and the essentially European dimension of his art, drawing on letters, polemical writings, verse, theatrical sketches and the memoirs of family, friends and contemporaries."--Jacket.

"All of Szymanowski's significant works are discussed, illustrated with nearly 140 music examples. Evaluation is made of the close links existing between the composer's musical and literary works from the earliest stages of his career, as well as the various ideological strands which went together to form the unique, humanistic synthesis characteristic of his mature work."--Jacket.