"The Best of All Possible Worlds: Grażyna Bacewicz’s Music & the Conflicting Forces in Post-War Poland, 1948-1956," by Sam Spetalnick
After World War II, Poland was torn between worlds -- forced to kowtow to the USSR's leadership, but refusing to let go of its own Catholic identity. The Socialist government brought strict rules about what art and music could be produced, violators were guilty of "crimes against the people." Grazyna Bacewicz's music combines the conflicting forces of East and West, offering us a window into Poland's Cold War art world and giving us some of the century's best music to boot.
Sam Spetalnick spent four years at UT studying music theory, Eastern European culture, and everywhere they intersect. Now he works at TechShop, where people come to play with power tools.
