This document is a comprehensive study of Witold Lutoslawski’s Piano Concerto (1987-88), a masterpiece of the post-modern era. A biographical look into Lutoslawski’s fifty year gestation with the ideas for the music shows the inspirations, genesis, and processes of materials used in the piece, which straddles tradition and modernity in refreshing ways. An analysis of the work clarifies the many points of inspiration – from the pianism of Chopin to the woodwind timbres of Stravinsky, and his use of ad libitum sections to support his pragmatic approach to notation or his development of “chain form”. Following Lutoslawski’s ideas about music perception, this document includes performance observations from recordings including those by the work’s dedicatee and the composer himself. Finally, a practical guide for pianists to discern and approach the technical and musical difficulties of the piece is provided in Part Four.