Rhythm

Szymanowski’s notion of rhythm underwent change and development throughout his career, but remained sufficiently traditional for him to continue notating his works in conventional style. The earliest works reveal the influence of Late Romantic music’s rhythmic practices. The piano Preludes, Op. 1 and Études, Op. 4 make use of such devices as hetero-rhythm and the more usual forms of syncopation, but unlike composers such as Scriabin, Szymanowski was not usually inclined to go beyond the combination of twos against threes (e.g. no. 1, Op. 1; no. 4, Op. 4), although some more unusual combinations can be found (e.g. Variations on a Polish Folk Theme, Op. 10, Introduction, with fives against fours).