Witold Lutosławski’s Artistic Collaboration with the Polish Theatre in Warsaw (1948–1958)

Wioleta Muras

Abstract

Witold Lutosławski’s collaboration with the Polish theatre in Warsaw coincided with a special period in Poland’s post-war history: the revival of theatrical life after the Second World War, the practical implementation of the artistic doctrine of socialist realism and the post-Stalin ‘thaw’. Apart from buildings razed to the ground, the war had claimed the lives of many people involved in theatre work. trained actors, directors and stage designers were scarce, and the state supervision of theatres disrupted their work. repertoires and the style of every production came under scrutiny, repertoire plans had to be submitted in advance, and frequent changes of personnel hampered the work of theatres. the circumstances surrounding the revival of two plays with Lutosławski’s music, Le Cid and Fantasy, reflect the struggles that theatre artists faced at that time.

In the years 1948–58, Lutosławski wrote music to seven plays performed at the Polish theatre. Four of them were directed by edmund Wierciński, the remaining three by Leon Schiller, ryszard ordyński and Bohdan Korzeniewski. The archived scores reveal a variety of composition techniques. The character of Lutosławski’s music varied according to the subject matter of the play. Mediaeval- style music is found in the score to the play God, Caesar and Peasant, and a renaissance stylisation in Lorenzaccio. The artistic level of the music composed by Lutosławski to the seven plays is uneven. the least stimulating scores are those dominated by songs (Horsztyński, Fantasy). In his settings, the composer often uses variation technique, thus achieving consistency throughout a work. the music usually performs an ancillary role in relation to the other elements of a production, functioning as an interlude or illustrating the locations and the events unfolding on the stage. From the perspective of Lutosławski’s artistic explorations, the most interesting is the score for The Madwoman of Chaillot, in which the composer employs a new musical idiom, characterised by a departure from central tonality in favour of experimenting with harmonies and sonorities. Lutosławski stopped working for the stage primarily due to a lack of time, as demand for his autonomous work was increasing. On the other hand, he always regarded writing music for the theatre as a mere side-job to supplement his income during the harsh post-war years.