Preludes and Fugue and Double Concerto, works of maturity, though not yet of old age, are above all music for adults, whose appraisal requires thought, patience and restraint. One can fall in love at first sight at any age. Be discouraged – also. But to form a friendship at a mature age – one needs to ‘spend time’ with one’s object of interest. This I encourage. We should also remember that Lutosławski’s preferred approach to music was as if from a ‘bird’s-eye view’ allowing for an awareness of the form’s entirety and attention to its detail. I know today everyone is short of time, but perhaps sometimes important and interesting matters should not be postponed till later. (…’Why later, for God’s sake, why later?’ as Tadeusz Różewicz would say).

Rafał Augustyn
Translation: Anna Kaspszyk