Publisher's Synopsis
Mieczys¬aw Kar¬owicz (1876-1909) is a crucial figure in the history of Polish music. Living through a period of political unrest, he challenged the notion that to be a Polish composer one had to subscribe to the prevailing sense of national identity. His innovative music reached beyond its national boundaries to identify with the progressive work of leading mainstream European composers, and responded to the fin-de-siecle atmosphere which informed so much music and literature of the period. - - This is the first study of the life and music of Kar¬owicz; describing his upbringing and the social, political and intellectual milieu in which he worked. It gives a detailed appraisal of the music he created, in particular the six symphonic poems composed between 1903-1906 which demonstate the influences of Wagner, Strauss, Grieg and Tchaikovsky.
