Issues of how artistic freedom was exercised and how well-known figures (Lutoslawski, Górecki, Penderecki) and unduly neglected composers (Baird, Serocki, Krauze) reacted to political upheavals form the core of this study of an incredibly rich musical history. Since the death of Szymanowski in 1937, Poland's music has been influenced by violent political upheavals--World War II, the Stalinism of the Cold War, the "thaw" of the late 1950s and 60s, the election of the Polish Pope and the rise and fall of the Solidarity Trade Union.