The Many Masks of Karol Szymanowski

This book provides a biographical sketch of Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) and explores the relationship between his two piano triptychs - Métopes op. 29 and Masques op. 34 - and the literary characters evoked by each of their movements: the Sirens Calypso and Nausicaa (from Homer's Odyssey) Sheherazade (from The Arabian Nights) Tristan (from Ernst Hardt's play Tantris der Narr) and Don Juan (not associated to a specific source) discussing the multiple strategies used by the composer to convey his subject matter.