Founding of the Society, management board, goals

The Society was founded in 1999 by a group of artists and other persons associated with Lutosławski, a group that included Andrzej Bauer, Michał Bristiger, Julia Hartwig, Ryszard Kapuściński, Kazimierz Kord, Zygmunt Krauze, Jan Krenz, Józef Patkowski, Ewa Pobłocka, Jerzy Tchórzewski, Andrzej Wajda and Antoni Wit.

The Society's first president was Jan Krenz, who was replaced in 2003 by Zygmunt Krauze. In 2006 he was replaced by Jadwiga Rappé, then, in 2009, she was replaced by the current president, Grzegorz Michalski. At the moment, the members of the Board of the Society are: Dorota Żórawska-Dobrowolska, Katarzyna Naliwajek-Mazurek and Zbigniew Wilma.

Currently the Society has 75 members, including 15 honorary members: Mario di Bonaventura, Henri Dutilleux, Heinz Holliger, Ryszard Kapuściński, Kazimierz Kord, Jan Krenz, Anne Sophie Mutter, Arne Nordheim, Mstislav Rostropovich, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Heinrich Schiff, Andrzej Wajda, Antoni Wit, Krzysztof Zanussi and Krystian Zimerman.

The goal of the Society is to care for Witold Lutosławski’s artistic and spiritual legacy and to promote his work. The Society pursues that goal by publishing various works and inspiring scholarly papers, by organising concerts, exhibitions, lectures, etc., by supporting the actions of various centres associated with Witold Lutosławski in Poland and abroad, and by granting the Witold Lutosławski Award.

The Society members work on a voluntary basis, but the Society may also employ paid personnel to carry out its activities. In 2006 the Society was granted a right to conduct business activities in pursuance of its statutory goals. Since the beginning of 2006 the Society has had its own offices which it rents from the city of Warsaw on preferential terms and which it renovated on its own expense and adapted to its needs.