This three-part orchestral piece was written between 1958 and 1960. It was original planned to be a four-part piece, but conceptual and compositional problems ended work on it. It represents a less than wholly successful stage on a transition between two style periods. Lutoslawski's biographer Charles Bodman Rae notes that by 1958 the composer had solidified the harmonic language he wanted to use in his "Musique funèbre," but was less secure when it came to organization of form, rhythm, and texture. He wrote the first postlude from 1958 to 1960, and the other two in 1960. In form, the first one is a rather simple matter of starting quietly and building to a climax, subsiding quickly to a conclusion. The second movement shows Lutoslawski working on the problem of time, giving different parts slightly altered versions of the same music to create a blurring effect. This sort of thing would become paramount in his later music. In the third postlude, recurrences of a single loud chord are a main feature, marking the boundaries between sections. However, when this sort of idea recurs in later pieces, these "boundary sounds" generally have the effect of initiating a step forward into the new. Here, the chords seem more like an abrupt command of "end of discussion."

Lutoslawski then set the work aside to composer 'Jeux vénetiens," the piece in which all these ideas coalesced and reached a breakthrough. There was no sense going back to these postludes. They were, nevertheless, premiered as a group in 1965, and are still fascinating music.



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