Lutosławski, Witold (Roman)
- Charles Bodman Rae
Extract
(Roman)
(b Warsaw, Jan 25, 1913; d Warsaw, Feb 9, 1994). Polish composer.
He was born into a distinguished family of the Polish landed gentry which had its estates in and around Drozdowo, on the river Narew, north-east of Warsaw. He was the youngest son of Józef Lutosławski (1881–1918), an accomplished amateur pianist who had taken lessons with Eugene d'Albert. Together with four of his brothers, Józef was active in the politics of the National Democracy Party, Endecja, which sought to align Poland with Imperial Russia in order to counter the expansionism of Imperial Germany. On the outbreak of World War I, many Poles associated with Endecja sought refuge in Russia. The Lutosławski family, who found themselves directly in the path of the invading army, left for Moscow, where Witold spent his next three years of childhood: he later recalled witnessing the commotion in the streets at the time of the ...
