Szymanowski, Karol (b Tymoshovka, Ukraine, 1882; d Lausanne, 1937). Polish composer. Boyhood spent in Ukraine, where many Poles owned land. Showed early mus. promise and because of leg injury which compelled a sedentary life, studied much mus. and conceived lifelong enthusiasm for Chopin. Studied theory with Neuhaus and wrote 9 pf. preludes in 1900. In 1901 went to Warsaw to study comp. with Noskowski. Moved to Berlin 1905, attracted by brilliance of Strauss and others, and wrote first sym. there. With 3 compatriots ( Fitelberg, Rózycki, and Szeluta) formed ‘Young Poland in Music’ soc., the Berlin PO giving a concert of their works. Left Berlin 1908, returning to Tymoshovka, his mus. being championed by other Polish musicians, e.g. the pianist Arthur Rubinstein, the cond. Fitelberg, and his sister Stanislawa, for whose sop. v. he wrote many of his songs. Another Polish virtuoso, the violinist Paul Kochánsky, was inspiration of the 1st vn. conc. and other works. Family home was destroyed in 1917 and for four years Szymanowski abandoned music while he wrote a long novel Efebos (the manuscript was destroyed in Warsaw in 1939). Left Russia 1920 for Warsaw, but visited Paris, London, and NY, taking part in concerts of modern mus. Back in Poland, wrote several works inspired by folklore. Became dir., Warsaw Cons. 1927–9, revolutionizing teaching methods. F.p. in 1928 of his Stabat Mater was his first big Polish triumph. Resigned directorship 1929 because of tuberculosis but became rector of Warsaw Acad. (which replaced Cons.) in 1930, resigning in 1932 after a dispute. Completed 2nd vn. conc. 1933, f.p. being given by Kochánsky shortly before he died. In 1933–4, Szymanowski toured Europe as solo pianist in his Symphonie Concertante, but continued ill-health weakened him and he died in a sanatorium.

Szymanowski is typical of many 20th-cent. composers who searched for some key to the liberation of what they felt to be their individual characteristics. Through his works can be traced the influence of the Ger. school of Strauss, etc., from which he was released by admiration for Debussy and the Fr. ‘impressionist’ composers. From them he took what he needed, experimenting further with atonality, polytonality, microtones, elaborate rhythms, and declamatory passages. The return to Poland awakened his latent nationalism—inspired by Chopin—as he studied his native mus., particularly the songs and dances of the Tatra mountaineers, which led to the Mazurek for pf. and the colourful, exotic ballet Harnasie. His opera King Roger is among his best works, a notable example of modern romanticism, and the vn. concs. are particularly rewarding. The Stabat Mater is an especially beautiful setting. Prin. comps.:OPERAS: Hagith, Op.25 (1912–13); King Roger (Król Roger), Op.46 (1918–24).BALLETS: Mandragora, Op.43 (1920); Harnasie, Op.55 (1923–31).ORCH.: syms.: No.1 in F minor, Op.15 (1906–7), No.2 in B♭, Op.19 (1909–10, re-orch. 1936, rev. by Skrowaczewski 1967), No.3, ten. (or sop.), male ch., orch. (Song in the Night to Cz. trans. of 13th-cent. Persian text), Op.27 (1914–16), No.4, Symphonie Concertante, Op.60, pf., orch. (1931–2); vn. concs.: No.1, Op.35 (1916), No.2, Op.61 (1932–3); Concert Ov. in E, Op.12 (1904–5, rev. 1912, 1913).VOICE(S) & ORCH.: Penthesilea, sop., orch., Op.18 (1908, reorch. 1912); Love Songs of Hafiz, Op.26, v., orch. (1914, incl. orch. of Nos. 1, 4, and 5 of Op.24, 1911, v., pf.); Demeter, alto, women's ch., orch., Op.38 (1917, reorch. 1924); Agawa, sop., ch., orch., Op.39 (1917); Stabat Mater, sop., cont., bar., women's ch., orch., Op.53 (1925–6); Veni Creator, sop., ch., org., orch., Op.57 (1930); Litany of the Virgin Mary (Litania do Marii Panny), sop., women's ch., orch. (1930–3).CHAMBER MUSIC: vn. sonata in D minor, Op.9 (1904); str. qts.: No.1, Op.37 (1917), No.2, Op.56 (1927).VIOLIN & PIANO: Romance, Op.23 (1910); Notturno e Tarantella, Op.28 (1915); 3 Myths (Mity) (The Fountain of Arethusa, Narcissus, Dryads and Pan), Op.30 (1915); 3 Paganini Caprices, transcr., Op.40 (1918); Berceuse d'Aitacho Enia, Op.52 (1925).PIANO: 9 Preludes, Op.1 (1900); Variations in B♭ minor, Op.3 (1903); 4 Studies, Op.4 (1902); sonatas: No.1 in C minor, Op.8 (1904), No.2 in A minor, Op.21 (1911), No.3, Op.36 (1917); Variations on a Polish Theme, Op.10 (1904); Fantasy in F minor, Op.14 (1905); Métopes, 3 poems (The Sirens’ Isle, Calypso, Nausicaa), Op.29 (1915); 12 Studies, Op.33 (1916); 3 Masques (Maski), Op.34 (Shéhérazade, Tantris the clown, Don Juan's Serenade) (1916); Mazurek (1925); 4 Polish Dances, Op.47 (1926); 20 Mazurkas, Op.50 (1924–5); 2 Mazurkas, Op.62 (1934).VOICE & PIANO: 12 Songs, Op.17 (1907); 6 Songs, Op.20 (1909); Love Songs of Hafiz, 1st cycle of 6, Op.24 (1911); 6 Songs of the Fairy Princess, Op.31 (1915); 4 Songs to poems by Tagore, Op.41 (1918), 6 Songs of the Infatuated Muezzin, Op.42 (1918); 2 Basque Songs, Op.44 (1921); Slopiewnie, 5 songs, Op.45 (1921); 3 Lullabies, Op.48 (1922); 20 Children's Rhymes (Rymy dzieciece), Op.49 (1923); 4 Songs to words by Joyce, Op.54 (1926); 12 Kurpian Songs, Op.58 (1930–3).

Karol Szymanowski

The Polish composer Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) treated national subjects in an original and highly effective manner.

On Oct. 6, 1882, Karol Szymanowski was born at Timoshovka in the Ukraine to a wealthy, highly cultured Polish family that encouraged his obvious musical talent. While still in his teens he wrote elegant pieces for the piano obviously inspired by Frédéric Chopin. In 1901 he entered the Warsaw Conservatory, and after graduation he went to Berlin in 1905. There he and three other young Polish composers founded a society called Young Poland in Music. In 1908 Szymanowski returned to Timoshovka. He spent the years 1912-1914 in Vienna.

Compositions of this early period are numerous piano pieces—Preludes (1901, 1905), Etudes (1902), and Variations (1901, 1904)—introduced by Artur Rubinstein in his concerts; and violin pieces—a Sonata (1904), Romance (1909), and Notturn e tarantella (1914)—introduced by Paul Kochanski. The Love Songs of Hafiz (1910, 1914) and the opera Hagith (1912-1913) reflect Szymanowski's interest in Oriental mysticism and philosophy.

Szymanowski's Mythes (1915) is a set of three pieces for violin and piano. The second of these, the Fountain of Arethusa, became his best-known and most frequently performed composition. Over a shimmering, dissonant piano part the violin soars in arabesque-filled melody. The harmonies are dissonant but are treated in the impressionist manner, not for their tension but for their color.

The Szymanowski family estate was lost in the 1917 Revolution, and the composer's affluent position changed overnight. In 1920 he went to Warsaw, where he lived until 1935.

During the 1920s Szymanowski's compositions became known to a wider audience through their inclusion in the annual programs sponsored by the International Society of Contemporary Music, and he emerged as Poland's most eminent composer. He became director of the Warsaw Conservatory in 1926. At this time Szymanowski's works began to reflect his national heritage. Harnassie (1926) is a ballet-opera based on Polish peasant music and traditions, similar to Igor Stravinsky's treatment of Russian folklore in Les Noces and Bohuslav Martinu's use of Czech themes in Spalicek. Szymanowski's Stabat Mater (1928) for solo voices, mixed chorus, and orchestra reconciles Palestrina counterpoint with Slavic melodies. A cycle of 12 songs (1930) was inspired by the folk music of the Kurpie region of Poland. Other important compositions are the Second Violin Concerto (1930) and the Symphonie Concertante for piano and orchestra (1932), both distinctly Polish in character.

Szymanowski died of tuberculosis in Lausanne, Switzerland, on March 28, 1937.

Further Reading

Stefan Jarocinski, ed., Polish Music (1965), contains a chapter on Szymanowski's life and music. See also Homer Ulrich and Paul A. Pisk, A History of Music and Musical Style (1963).

Additional Sources

Chylianska, Teresa, Karol Szymanowski: his life and works, Los Angeles: University of Southern California, School of Music, 1993.

Chylianska, Teresa, Szymanowski, Cracow: Polskie Wydawn. Muzyczne, 1981.

Karol Szymanowski: an anthology, Warszawa: Interpress, 1986. □

Szymanowski, Karol (1882–1937) Polish post-romantic composer who did much to promote the nationalist cause in Poland. From 1906–08 he studied the works of Wagner and Richard Strauss in Germany. His works include two violin concertos (1917, 1933) and the opera King Roger (1926).

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