Witold Lutoslawski was one of the foremost composers of the 20th Century. His early life was marred by the loss of his father and eldest brother at the hands of the Bolsheviks and his own brush with death at the hands of Nazis in the Second World War. Thankfully Lutoslawski escaped the clutches of the Germans and found his way back to Warsaw where he forged a living playing in cafés with his friend the composer Andrzek Panufnik. After the war Lutoslawski struggled, like many composer of serious art music, to express himself through his music in a way that was acceptable to the socialist realism ideology of the Eastern bloc countries under Soviet control. Nationalistic pieces steeped in folklore were expected and Lutoslawski spent much of the 1950s trying to safely toe the line. 

in 1954 he was commissioned to write a  cycle of pieces based on the folk traditions of Poland. Eventually he penned the Dance Preludes for clarinet and piano that were an instant success and became one of his most celebrated works. They remain firm favourites to this day. Join me as I explore these fantastic miniature snapshots of Polish folk-dance rhythms seen through Lutoslawski's eyes; slick, modern and endlessly inventive.