The work was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic for the soprano Dawn Upshaw and is set to the poetry of the Polish writer Czesław Miłosz.
[1][2] Milosz Songs was Harbison's first commissioned work for the New York Philharmonic and his fourth piece composed for the soprano Dawn Upshaw.
Harbison described its purpose in the score program notes, writing, "This concertino plays an important, varied role in every song.
[3][4] Milosz Songs has a duration of roughly 30 minutes and consists of a prologue, eight movements, an epilogue, and a post-epilogue.
Those who prefer the brasher kinds of contemporary music may find Mr. Harbison's score, with its audible textures and essentially tonal harmonic language, rather well mannered and soft-spoken.