• Most Respected Classical Music Platform
  • #classicalForever
TOP
ON THIS DAY | Composer and Pianist Karol Szymanowski Died in 1937 - image attachment

Composer and Pianist Karol Szymanowski Died in 1937

He is remembered as one of the eminent Polish composers of the twentieth century

 

Polish composer and pianist Karol Szymanowski died on this day in 1937 in Lausanne, aged 66.

His signature works include four symphonies, the ballets Harnasie and Mandragora, the operas Hagith and Krol Roger — plus two violin concertos, and the popular Three Myths for violin and piano.

Born in 1882 in Tymoszówka (now part of Ukraine), Szymanowski initially studied music with his father. He furthered his studies at the Warsaw State Conservatory, and he would later spend four years as the director of this institution.

The early part of Szymanowski's career was spent in Berlin, and accordingly, much of the works from this period were influenced by late Romantic German composers, such as Richard Strauss and Richard Wagner. The arrival of the First World War forced him to remain in Tymoszówka until his family home was destroyed, at which point he settled in Warsaw.

From this point on, Szymanowski began to experiment with a more impressionistic style, taking his cues from composers such as Debussy and Ravel, and he occasionally employed aspects of atonality. He developed a parallel interest in Polish folk music and incorporated these colors into a number of his works — including the Mazurkas for solo piano, which were inspired by his compatriot Frédéric Chopin.

After he had accepted the position of Director of the Warsaw Conservatory in 1929, Szymanowski began to suffer from tuberculosis. Despite undergoing treatment in Switzerland, he succumbed to the disease in a sanatorium in 1937.

 

SZYMANOWSKI | MYTHES OP. 30 'THE FOUNTAIN OF ARETHUSA' | VC ARTIST BOMSORI KIM & HANNA HOLEKSA | INTERNATIONAL WIENIAWSKI COMPETITION | 2016

upcoming events

july 2025

11julAll Day25Alice and Eleonore Schoenfeld International String Competition(All Day) Harbin Grand Theatre, China, Heilongjiang, Harbin, Songbei District, 滨水大道 邮政编码: 150010Event Type :competitions Event TagsAlice and Eleonore Schoenfeld International String Competition,competition

august 2025

22augAll Day30Tibor Varga International Junior Violin Competition(All Day) Ferme-Asile, Promenade des Pêcheurs 10 1950 Sion SuisseEvent Type :competitions Event Tagscompetition,Tibor Varga

25augAll Day31Banff International String Quartet Competition(All Day) The Banff Centre, 107 Tunnel Mountain Drive Box 1020 Banff T1L 1H5 Canada Event Type :competitions Event TagsBanff International String Quartet Competition,string quartet

27augAll Day07sepFerruccio Busoni International Piano Competition(All Day) Il Teatro Comunale di Bolzano | Das Stadttheater von Bozen, Piazza Giuseppe Verdi, Platz 40, 39100 Event Type :competitions Event TagsFerruccio Busoni International Piano Competition,Piano Competition

31augAll Day07sepArturo Toscanini International Conducting Competition(All Day) Teatro Regio, Str. Giuseppe Garibaldi, 16/a, 43121 Parma PR, ItalyEvent Type :competitions Event TagsArturo Toscanini International Conducting Competition,conducting competition

31augAll Day07sepBartok World Competition - Piano(All Day) Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, Budapest Liszt Ferenc tér 8, 1061 HungaryEvent Type :competitions Event TagsBartok World Competition

CONTACT US
x

Get ALL your latest classical music news conveniently by EMAIL

Free – and trusted by 2 million+ readers monthly