Composing Myself – A New Edition

Collected Writings, Volume One

Andrzej Panufnik

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English

Toccata Press
28 March 2023

Music; 20th century & contemporary classical music; Individual composers & musicians, bands & groups

Series: Musicians on Music

First volume of a gripping collection of the writings of one of the twentieth century's finest composers, the Anglo-Polish Sir Andrzej Panufnik (1914-91), consisting of a new edition of his 1984 autobiography Composing Myself, his complete programme notes on his own compositions, his essays and articles and his interviews.

Sir Andrzej

Panufnik used to say that he communicated in music, not words. But his

literary legacy is substantial, as this anthology demonstrates. Its first

volume consists of a fully annotated new edition of Composing Myself, the autobiography he wrote in 1985, long since

a collector's item. It provides a graphic account of an often dramatic life.

Panufnik's early success in pre-World War II Poland was soon eclipsed by the

horrors of the Nazi occupation. Composing

Myself documents in striking detail the desperate circumstances in which

Panufnik repeatedly found himself - and the personal courage with which he

responded.

Post-War Poland then progressed from the overt

terrors of Nazism to the deadening hand of Communism, and Panufnik charts the

methodical attempts of Party orthodoxy to stifle independent thought. In

spite of the success he enjoyed as a conductor, Panufnik was unable to

compose under such restrictions, feeling he was being suffocated. Though a

patriot to his bones, he boldly decided that escape to the west was the only

option, and his account of his defection - in 1954, at the height of the Cold

War - reads like a le Carre thriller. Safe in England, he was able to rebuild

his career, overcoming official neglect of his music to become one of

Britain's best-respected composers - and to be greeted as a national hero

when he finally managed to return to his beloved Poland, free at last.

By: Andrzej Panufnik
Imprint: Toccata Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Volume: v. 11
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 15mm
Weight: 1g
ISBN: 9780907689904
ISBN 10: 0907689906
Series: Musicians on Music
Pages: 478
Publication Date: 28 March 2023
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Reviews for Composing Myself – A New Edition: Collected Writings, Volume One

It is remarkable to be able to describe an autobiography as a real page turner, yet Andrzej Panufnik's memoir is such a work on so many levels. -- Andrew Lorenz * AUSTA * As Simon Callow readily admits in his fascinating and personal Preface, the book must rank as one of the most significant autobiographical writings by any composer, alongside Berlioz's Memoirs and Wagner's My Life. -- Gary Higginson * MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL *