Karlowicz, Young Poland, and the musical fin-de-siècle

Mieczyslaw Karlowicz (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.

Karlowicz, Young Poland and the Musical Fin-de-siecle is the first study in English of the life and music of this hitherto neglected composer. Alistair Wightman describes Karlowicz's upbringing and the social, political and intellectual milieu in which he worked. The book gives a detailed appraisal of the music he created, in particular the six symphonic poems composed between 1903 and 1909 which demonstrate the influences of Wagner, Strauss, Grieg and Tchaikovsky.

Karlowicz died when he was just 33 years old in a tragic ski-ing accident. Nevertheless his achievement was significant. 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.