I’ve finished. The piece turned out to be about eighteen minutes long, in five movements (with alternating tempos, starting fast), for two violins (alternating with gęśle – traditional fiddle from Podhale), Podhale basses, and harpsichord, under the title Concerto Halny.

Halny — a treacherous wind, deceptively warm, hurricane-like. It excites, unsettles, awakens unclear longing, drives to madness, heralds change. It roars.

As it happened, I wrote the final bars in Zakopane. In the rising sun, under a cloudless sky.

I wrote to Krzysztof Trebunia-Tutka, asking whether he might be nearby and want to see how it turned out. He was, and he did. He seemed somewhat relieved. He expressed enthusiasm. He didn’t want to hit me in the face.