Politics

Szymanowski’s adult years coincided with the first decades of the twentieth century, a time of numerous events of global importance: the Russian–Japanese war and the revolution of 1905, the First World War, both revolutions of 1917, civil war in Russia from 1917 to 1919, restitution of Polish independence in 1918 and, finally, the Polish–Bolshevik war in 1920. These events ultimately devastated the political, social, spiritual and moral order of Europe, and also annihilated the world in which Szymanowski had lived for the first three decades of his life. In his journal and letter-writing during those times Szymanowski, personally afflicted by the horrors of wars and revolutions, was able to write with remarkable restraint and dignity. He accepted the loss of his family house as the inevitable effect of the historical drama taking place. He was always, above all, interested in observing and analysing the events and processes at hand, and motivated by the desire to understand the forces driving these processes. ‘Imagine that I underwent quite an interesting evolution as far as the surrounding events are concerned. I achieved a complete peace with myself, which explains my comparatively good humour and a certain internal calm.’ ¹