Krzysztof Meyer, a composer, pianist and theorist, ranks among the most versatile figures of 20th-century Polish musical life. His 24 Preludes op. 43, composed in 1977-78, are a summa of his achievements in the field of piano music. These miniatures were intended for à vista playing practice for Cracow’s piano students. They nevertheless turned out to be a remarkably coherent, extremely interesting cycle, a synthesis of traditional and modern ways of musical thinking. Each prelude is based on an unequivocal musical idea, which is further developed and transformed. Each prelude presents one particular problem of technique, texture or sound. For instance, Prelude no. 4 can be described as a prelude of thirds; Prelude no. 12 utilises mostly the low registers, no. 14 - polyphonic techniques (canon, inversion, retrograde motion, diminution), no. 15 - complex metrorhythmic structures (based on Messiaen’s "valeur ajoutée").