One of Lutosławski’s final works, Subito was commissioned in 1992 by Joseph Gingold for the 1994 Indianapolis International Violin Competition. He had learned to play the violin as a child, something that served him in good stead when composing for strings throughout his life. Lutosławski believed the piece to be a “functional” challenge that would show off a competitor’s virtuosity, with a refrain from the opening bars being used to form four episodes that come together to create a story of violinistic excellence. This commission arrived shortly after Lutosławski was diagnosed with cancer, putting on hold a violin concerto that he had been writing for acclaimed violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter. Fragments of this concerto were only discovered posthumously, making Subito his final published work for violin before his death.