The music of the Polish composer Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) has enjoyed a resurgence of interest in recent years. Despite wide recognition in his own lifetime, Szymanowski’s works were somewhat overlooked in the decades following his death. Outside Poland, changing fashions militated against acceptance of his achievement, and subsequent generations of Polish composers regarded his music as too reactionary to provide a basis on which to found a national musical identity. In this full-scale study of Karol Szymanowski’s life and music, Alistair Wightman explores the composer’s position as a constant outsider in his own country, yet a ’good European’ in the ways in which he responded positively to a diverse range of musical talents, in particular as Stravinsky, Strauss, Berg, Hindemith, Prokofiev and Ravel. The book throws light on Szymanowski’s relationship to the Polish musical establishment, the reception of his works at home and abroad, his work as an educationalist, and the essentially European dimension of his art, drawing on letters, polemical writings, verse, theatrical sketches and the memoirs of family, friends and contemporaries. All of Szymanowski’s significant works are discussed, illustrated with nearly 140 music examples. Evaluation is made of the close links existing between the composer’s musical and literary works from the earliest stages of his career, as well as the various ideological strands that went together to form the unique, humanistic synthesis, characteristic of his mature work.

Jiabao Yi, PhD, is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia. Before he came to UNSW, he was a prestigious Lee Kuan Yew postdoctoral fellow at the National University of Singapore. He joined UNSW in 2011 after he was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II fellowship. He obtained his PhD degree in 2008 from the National University of Singapore. His research areas include oxide-based diluted magnetic semiconductors, two-dimensional materials, and soft and hard magnetic materials. He has published 120 papers with citations over 4,500 times.

Sean Li, PhD, is currently leading a research group that consists of more than 40 researchers who work in the areas of advanced multifunctional materials at the University of New South Wales, Kensington, Australia. Their research activities have been funded by approximately $42 million from the Australian Research Council, the Australian Solar Institute, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization (ANSTO), the Commonwealth Science Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), and various industries. Professor Li's laboratory is equipped with a number of unique world-class research facilities, which are specially designed and fully geared toward the development of advanced multifunctional and energy materials with a total value of AUD$12 million. It is one of the key research infrastructures at UNSW. Professor Li has published three textbooks, one edited book, 12 book chapters, and more than 325 scientific articles in international peer-reviewed journals.