The Divertimento - dedicated to his wife, Maria - was composed in 1978. It was written on commission from the Contemporary Music Editorial Board of Polish Radio and Television, for the Polish Chamber Orchestra. It was this ensemble, as well, under the direction of Jerzy Maksymiuk, which gave its premiere performance on 6 January 1979 in Warsaw. In the same year, the Divertimento received distinction at the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers in Paris. The work is built of four segments entitled: Sinfonia, Pezzo gioioso, Canzonetta notturna, Pezzo finale, combined into one whole. Adam Walaciński wrote about the Divertimento: Segments notated in an established meter are interwoven with free segments, executed ad libitum. It is a score perfectly written, full of life and vigor. In his commentary, the composer described his idea: My intent was to write a work alluding to the particular atmosphere which accompanied 18th-century divertimenti. The superficial triviality, lightness, dash of humor - these are the manifestations of that climate which attracted me the most. Obviously, I was least interested in the details of the sound language of that era, or in any kind of formal rigors. I scrupulously omitted anything that could lead to direct associations with the classic form of this genre.