Antoni Szałowski (21 April 1907, in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

– 21 March 1973, in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

) was a Polish composer. In his youth he studied violin but soon became more interested in piano, conducting, and composition. Szałowski studied with Paweł Lewiecki and Kazimierz Sikorski at the Warsaw Conservatoire. In 1930 he received a government grant which enabled him to study in Paris. He was a student of

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

at the École Normale de Musique de Paris. He composed three string quartets; his later ''Overture'' for Orchestra (1936) was his first well-known work. During the occupation of Poland by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he lived in hiding and with financial difficulties, and was sought by the Nazis, but managed to compose several works. Most of his works were written for strings. Szałowski suffered a heart attack and died shortly after trying to lift his wife after she slipped and fell. Szałowski is mostly known today for his ''Sonatina'' for Clarinet (1936) and other chamber wind pieces, with occasional performances of his ''Overture''.

References

* Maciejewski, B.M. ''Twelve Polish Composers'' * * * 1907 births 1973 deaths 20th-century composers Polish composers École Normale de Musique de Paris alumni Polish emigrants to France {{poland-composer-stub