The Chopin University of Music ( pl, Uniwersytet Muzyczny Fryderyka Chopina, UMFC) is a musical conservatorium and academy located in central

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 ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. It is the oldest and largest music school in Poland, and one of the largest in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

.Fryderyk Chopin University of Music
at the International Chopin Information Center

Encyklopedia WIEM WIEM Encyklopedia (full name in pl, Wielka Interaktywna Encyklopedia Multimedialna - "Great Interactive Multimedia Encyclopedia"; in Polish, ''wiem'' also means 'I know') is a Polish Internet encyclopedia. The first printed edition was released i ...

History

Konserwatorium Muzyczne w Warszawie przed 1939

Named for the Polish composer

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

(whose birth name was Fryderyk Chopin and who studied there from 1826 to 1829), the University dates from the Music School for singers and theatre actors that was founded in 1810 by

Wojciech Bogusławski Wojciech Romuald Bogusławski (9 April 1757 – 23 July 1829) was a Polish actor, theater director and playwright of the Polish Enlightenment. He was the director of the National Theatre, Warsaw, (''Teatr Narodowy''), during three distinct peri ...

. In 1820 it was transformed by Chopin's subsequent teacher,

Józef Elsner Józef Antoni Franciszek Elsner (sometimes ''Józef Ksawery Elsner''; baptismal name, ''Joseph Anton Franz Elsner''; 1 June 176918 April 1854) was a composer, music teacher, and music theoretician, active mainly in Warsaw. He was one of the firs ...

, into a more general school of music, the Institute of Music and Declamation; it was then affiliated with the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

and, together with the University, was dissolved by

Russian imperial The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. The ...

authorities during the repressions that followed the November 1830 Uprising. In 1861 it was revived as Warsaw's Institute of Music.The Fryderyk Chopin University of Music
at Culture.pl After Poland regained independence in 1918, the Institute was taken over by the Polish state and became known as the Warsaw Conservatory. The institution's old main building was destroyed during

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 ...

, in the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occ ...

. After the war, in 1946, the school was recreated as the Higher State School of Music. In 1979 the school assumed the name: Fryderyk Chopin Music Academy. In 2008 the school once again changed its name to the Chopin University of Music.

Buildings

The main building, at ''ulica Okólnik 2'' in Central Warsaw, was constructed between 1960 and 1966. It contains 62 sound-proof classrooms; a concert hall (486 seats), the Szymanowski Lecture Theater (adapted for film projection; 155 seats), the Melcer Chamber Music Hall (196 seats and a Walcker organ sampled by Piotr Grabowski), the Moniuszko Opera Hall (53 seats), a rhythmics room, three music-recording and sound-track studios, a tuner's studio, a library and reading room, rector's offices, deans' offices, management offices, guest rooms, the ''GAMA'' cafeteria, and doctor's and dentist's clinics. There is also a music book shop and antiquarian book shop. The University also has its own

dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

, ''Dziekanka'', at '' 58/60 Krakowskie Przedmieście''. The latter has its own 150-seat concert hall.

Structure

The University is divided into the following departments: * Department of Symphony and Orchestra Conducting * Department of Composition and Theory of Music * Department of Instrumental Studies * Department of Vocal and Acting Studies * Department of Choir Conducting and Choir Studies, Music Education and Rhythmics * Department of Sound Engineering * Department of Church Music * Department of Dance * Department of Jazz and Stage Music * Department of Instrumental and Educational Studies, Music Education and Vocal Studies in

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok Up ...

Directors and rectors

(1810–1814) *

Ludwik Osiński Ludwik Osiński (24 August 1775, Kock - 27 November 1838, Warsaw) was a Polish literary critic, historian, literary theorist, translator, poet, playwright and speaker, who also served as a minister in the government of Congress Poland. Biogra ...

(1814−1816) *

(1816–1830) *

Apolinary Kątski Apollinaire de Kontski (2 July 182429 June 1879) was a Polish violinist, teacher, and composer. He was born in Warsaw (some sources say incorrectly Kraków) as Apolinary Kątski, the youngest of five musical siblings who all used the name ''d ...

(1861−1879) *

Aleksander Zarzycki Aleksander Zarzycki (26 February 1834 in Lwów (Lemberg), Austria-Hungary (now Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative cent ...

(1879−1888) * Rudolf Strobl (1888−1891) *

Gustaw Roguski Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: *Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...

(1891−1903) *

Emil Młynarski Emil Szymon Młynarski (; 18 July 18705 April 1935) was a Polish conductor, violinist, composer, and pedagogue. Life Młynarski was born in Kibarty (Kybartai), Russian Empire, now in Lithuania. He studied violin with Leopold Auer and composit ...

(1903−1907) *

Stanisław Barcewicz Stanisław Barcewicz (16 April 18581 September 1929) was a noted Polish violinist, conductor and teacher. Although his repertoire included almost all of the classical and romantic violin literature, he was valued primarily for his interpretati ...

(1910−1918) * Emil Młynarski (1919−1922) *

Henryk Melcer-Szczawiński Henryk Melcer-Szczawiński (25 July 1869 – 18 April 1928) was a Polish composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher. Works Orchestral works * Piano Concerto in e minor (1892-4) * Piano Concerto in c minor (1898) * Symphony in c minor Stage Wo ...

(1922−1927) *

Karol Szymanowski Karol Maciej Szymanowski (; 6 October 188229 March 1937) was a Polish composer and pianist. He was a member of the modernist Young Poland movement that flourished in the late 19th and early 20th century. Szymanowski's early works show the inf ...

(1927−1929) *

Zbigniew Drzewiecki Zbigniew Drzewiecki (; 8 April 189011 April 1971) was a Polish pianist who was for most of his life a teacher of pianists. He was especially associated with the interpretation of Frédéric Chopin's works. His pupils include several famous pian ...

(1929−1930) *

(1930–1931) * Zbigniew Drzewiecki (1931–1932) * Eugeniusz Morawski-Dąbrowa (1932−1939) *

Kazimierz Sikorski Kazimierz Sikorski (June 28, 1895 – July 23, 1986) was a Polish composer. His arrangement of the " Mazurek Dąbrowskiego" is currently used as the Polish national anthem. Biography Sikorski was born in Zurich, but studied in Warsaw, first ...

(1940−1944) * Stanisław Kazuro (1945−1951) * Stanisław Szpinalski (1951−1957) * Kazimierz Sikorski (1957−1966) * Teodor Zalewski (1966−1969) * Tadeusz Paciorkiewicz (1969−1971) * Regina Smendzianka (1972−1973) * Tadeusz Wroński (1973−1975) * Tadeusz Maklakiewicz (1975−1978) * Bogusław Madey (1978−1981) * Andrzej Rakowski (1981−1987) * Kazimierz Gierżod (1987−1993) * Andrzej Chorosiński (1993−1999) * Ryszard Zimak (1999−2005) * Stanisław Moryto (2005−2012) * Ryszard Zimak (2012−2016) * Klaudiusz Baran (from 2016)

Doctors honoris causa

* Igor Bełza *

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 ...

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

Jan Ekier Jan Stanisław Ekier (29 August 1913 – 15 August 2014) was a Polish pianist and composer known for his authoritative edition of Chopin's music for the Chopin National Edition. Biography Ekier was born in Kraków, Poland. As a youth, he ...

* Joachim Grubich *

Andrzej Jasiński Andrzej Jasiński (born 23 October 1936 in Częstochowa) is a Polish pianist. In 1959 he graduated with honors from the University of Music in Katowice in the piano class of Władysława Markiewiczówna. The following year he won the Maria Cana ...

Witold Lutosławski Witold Roman Lutosławski (; 25 January 1913 – 7 February 1994) was a Polish composer and conductor. Among the major composers of 20th-century classical music, he is "generally regarded as the most significant Polish composer since Szyman ...

Andrzej Panufnik Sir Andrzej Panufnik (24 September 1914 – 27 October 1991) was a Poles, Polish composer and conductor. He became established as one of the leading Polish composers, and as a conductor he was instrumental in the re-establishment of the Warsaw ...

Arvo Pärt Arvo Pärt (; born 11 September 1935) is an Estonian composer of contemporary classical music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs tintinnabuli, a compositional technique he invented. Pärt's music is in pa ...

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best known works include ''Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', ''Polish Requiem'', ''A ...

Jean-Pierre Rampal Jean-Pierre Louis Rampal (7 January 1922 – 20 May 2000) was a French flautist. He has been personally "credited with returning to the flute the popularity as a solo classical instrument it had not held since the 18th century." Biography Ea ...

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian cellist and conductor. He is considered by many to be the greatest cellist of the 20th century. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was wel ...

Arthur Rubinstein Arthur Rubinstein ( pl, Artur Rubinstein; 28 January 188720 December 1982) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American pianist.

Witold Rudziński Witold Rudziński (14 March 1913, in Sebezh, Russian Empire – 29 February 2004) was a Polish composer, conductor, and author. He studied composition at the Mieczysław Karlowicz Conservatory of Music in Vilnius, and later at the Gregorian In ...

Jerzy Semkow Jerzy Semkow (12 October 1928 – 23 December 2014) was a Polish conductor. Semkow was born in Radomsko, Poland, later took French citizenship and resided in Paris. He studied in Cracow and Leningrad. His conducting mentors included Erich Kleib ...

* Stefan Śledziński * Regina Smendzianka * Stefan Sutkowski * Tadeusz Wroński

Notable professors

Tadeusz Baird Tadeusz Baird (26 July 19282 September 1981) was a Polish composer. Biography Baird was born in Grodzisk Mazowiecki, in Poland. His father Edward was Scottish, while his mother Maria (née Popov) was Russian. In 1944 at the age of 16 he was dep ...

* Henryk Czyż *

* Irena Dubiska * Paweł Łukaszewski *

Witold Maliszewski Witold Maliszewski (russian: Витольд Осипович Малишевский, uk, Вітольд Йосифович Малішевський; 20 July 1873 – 18 July 1939) was a Polish composer, founder of Odessa Conservatory, and a profe ...

Aleksander Michałowski Aleksander Michałowski (17 October 1938) was a Polish pianist, pedagogue and composer who, in addition to his own immense technique, had a profound influence upon the teaching of pianoforte technique, especially in relation to the works of Chopi ...

Stanisław Moniuszko Stanisław Moniuszko (; May 5, 1819 – June 4, 1872) was a Polish composer, conductor and teacher. He wrote many popular art songs and operas, and his music is filled with patriotic folk themes of the peoples of the former Polish–Lithuania ...

Ada Sari Ada Sari (29 June 1886 – 12 July 1968) was a Polish opera singer, actress, and educator. One of the leading coloratura sopranos of her generation, she possessed a large, resonant voice with a clear timbre. Her career took her to the stages of th ...

* Tadeusz Szeligowski *

Józef Turczyński Jozéf Turczyński (18841953) was a Polish pianist, pedagogue and musicologist who exercised a powerful influence over the development of piano teaching and performance, especially in the works of Frédéric Chopin, during the first half of the 20th ...

Kazimierz Wiłkomirski Kazimierz Wiłkomirski; (September 1, 1900, Moscow - March 7, 1995, Warsaw) was a Polish cellist, composer and conductor. Son of Alfred Wiłkomirski, brother of Maria Wiłkomirska, Wanda Wiłkomirska and violinist Michael Wilkomirski. Graduate of ...

Stanisław Wisłocki Stanisław Wisłocki (July 7, 1921May 31, 1998) was a Polish conductor of classical music who performed and recorded with many internationally renowned orchestras, ensembles and virtuoso musicians and is highly regarded for his interpretation ...

* Władysław Żeleński

Notable students

Kari Amirian Karolina Amirian (born in Świnoujście) is a Polish pop and alternative singer and music producer. In 2013, she was nominated for the Polish music award Fryderyk in the category Debut of the Year. Career Kari moved to Warsaw at the age of 13 ...

Grażyna Bacewicz Grażyna Bacewicz Biernacka (; 5 February 1909 – 17 January 1969) was a Polish composer and violinist. She is the second Polish female composer to have achieved national and international recognition, the first being Maria Szymanowska in the ...

Thomas Böttger Thomas Böttger (born 1957 in Neustrelitz, Bezirk Neubrandenburg) is a German composer and pianist. Life From 1975 to 1980, Böttger studied composition and piano at the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler", Berlin College of Music "Hanns Eisle ...

Elisabeth Chojnacka Elisabeth Chojnacka (born Elżbieta Ukraińczyk; 10 September 1939 – 28 May 2017) was a Polish harpsichordist living in France. She was one of the world's foremost harpsichordists specializing in the performance of contemporary harpsichord mus ...

Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis ( pl, Mikołaj Konstanty Czurlanis – ) was a Lithuanian painter, composer and writer. Čiurlionis contributed to symbolism and art nouveau, and was representative of the fin de siècle epoch. He has been ...

Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński (15 February 1807 – 9 October 1867) was a Polish pianist and composer. He was the son of Ignacy Dobrzyński, the brother of Edward Dobrzyński, and the father of Bronisław Dobrzyński. Life Dobrzyński was born o ...

* Marian Filar *

Grzegorz Fitelberg Grzegorz Fitelberg (18 October 1879 – 10 June 1953) was a Polish conductor, violinist and composer. He was a member of the Young Poland group, together with artists such as Karol Szymanowski, Ludomir Różycki and Mieczysław Karłowicz. Li ...

Mieczysław Karłowicz Mieczysław Karłowicz (, 11 December 18768 February 1909) was a Polish composer and conductor. Life Mieczysław Karłowicz was born in Vishneva, in the Vilna Governorate of the Russian Empire (now in Belarus) into a noble family belonging to ...

Stefan Kisielewski Stefan Kisielewski (7 March 1911 in Warsaw – 27 September 1991 in Warsaw, Poland), nicknames Kisiel, Julia Hołyńska, Teodor Klon, Tomasz Staliński, was a Polish writer, publicist, composer and politician, and one of the members of Znak, one ...

* Paweł Klecki *

Tomasz Konieczny Tomasz Konieczny (; born 10 January 1972) is a Polish bass-baritone. Life and work He was born on 10 January 1972 in Łódź, Poland. He commenced his studies as an actor at the Film, TV and Theatre Academy in Łódź. Following this he studied ...

Hilary Koprowski Hilary Koprowski (5 December 191611 April 2013) was a Polish virologist and immunologist active in the United States who demonstrated the world's first effective live polio vaccine. He authored or co-authored over 875 scientific papers and co ...

* Bernard Ładysz *

Wanda Landowska Wanda Aleksandra Landowska (5 July 1879 – 16 August 1959) was a Polish harpsichordist and pianist whose performances, teaching, writings and especially her many recordings played a large role in reviving the popularity of the harpsichord in ...

* Jerzy Lefeld *

Maciej Łukaszczyk Maciej Łukaszczyk (11 March 1934, Warsaw – 4 June 2014, Poznań) was a Polish pianist. Life Łukaszczyk was born in the capital city of Poland, Warsaw, in March 1934. During the German occupation of Poland during the Second World War, he and ...

Jan Maklakiewicz Jan Adam Maklakiewicz (24 November 1899, Chojnata, Congress Poland – 8 February 1954, Warsaw) was a Polish composer, conductor, critic, and music educator. His most known compositions belong to the choral music. Selected filmography * ''Pan ...

* Maciej Małecki *

Zygmunt Noskowski Zygmunt Noskowski (2 May 1846 – 23 July 1909) was a Polish composer, conductor, and teacher. Biography Noskowski was born in Warsaw and was originally trained at the Warsaw Conservatory studying violin and composition with Stanisław Moni ...

Jakub Józef Orliński Jakub Józef Orliński (; born 8 December 1990) is a Polish operatic countertenor singer and breakdancer. He has performed leading roles with many opera companies, including Carnegie Hall, Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Warsaw Grand Thea ...

Ignacy Jan Paderewski Ignacy Jan Paderewski (; – 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist and composer who became a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the new nation's Prime Minister and foreign minister during which he signed the Treaty of Versaill ...

* Olha Pasichnyk *

Piotr Perkowski Piotr Perkowski (17 March 1901 in Oweczacze (Овечаче, Ovechache, now Druzhne), Vinnytsia Oblast, now in Ukraine – 12 August 1990 in Otwock) was a Polish composer. Perkowski studied at the Music Academy in Warsaw, and in Paris with Al ...

* Sergiusz Pinkwart * Hania Rani *

Ludomir Różycki Ludomir Różycki (; 18 September 1883 Warsaw – 1 January 1953 Katowice) was a Polish composer and conductor. He was, with Mieczysław Karłowicz, Karol Szymanowski and Grzegorz Fitelberg, a member of the group of composers known as ''Y ...

* Sanah *

Antoni Szalowski Antoni Szałowski (21 April 1907, in Warsaw – 21 March 1973, in Paris) 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 Kazim ...

* Stanisław Szpinalski *

Adam Sztaba Adam Sztaba (Polish pronunciation: ; born 15 February 1975 in Koszalin, Poland) is a Polish composer, music producer, conductor, arranger, pianist and television personality. Career He was born in 1975 in Koszalin. He studied at the Musical High ...

Tomasz Szukalski Tomasz Szukalski, born December 25, 1947, in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, registered by Soviet authorities January 8, 1948 – died August 2, 2012, in Piaseczno, Poland, was a Polish jazz saxophonist, composer and improviser. Szukalski worke ...

Alexandre Tansman Alexander Tansman ( pl, Aleksander Tansman, link=no, French: Alexandre Tansman; 12 June 1897 – 15 November 1986) was a Polish composer, pianist and conductor who became a naturalized French citizen in 1938. One of the earliest representatives of ...

* Piotr Tomaszewski *

Zbigniew Turski Zbigniew Turski (21 July 1908 – 6 January 1979) was a Polish composer. He was born in Konstancin and died in Warsaw. In 1948 he won a gold medal in the art competitions of the Olympic Games for his ''Symfonia Olimpijska'' ("Olympic Symp ...

Eugenia Umińska Eugenia Umińska (4 October 1910, Warsaw – 20 November 1980, Kraków) was a Polish violinist. Student of the Chopin University of Music, Warsaw Conservatory. From 1915 to 1918, she was a member of the Warsaw Music Society, where she was a stud ...

Moshe Vilenski Moshe Wilensky ( he, משה וילנסקי, also, "Vilensky"; 17 April 1910 – 2 January 1997) was a Polish-Israeli composer, lyricist, and pianist. He is considered a "pioneer of Israeli song" and one of Israel's leading composers, and was a wi ...

* Małgorzata Walewska *

Mieczysław Weinberg Mieczysław Weinberg (8 December 1919 – 26 February 1996) was a Polish-born Soviet composer and pianist. Names Much confusion has been caused by different renditions of the composer's names. In official Polish documents made before he mov ...

Roger Woodward Roger Woodward (born 20 December 1942) is an Australian classical pianist, composer, conductor and teacher. Life and career Early life The youngest of four children, Roger Woodward was born in Sydney where he received first piano lessons ...

Competitions

The University organizes the following music competitions: * the Tadeusz Wronski International Solo Violin Competition (''Międzynarodowy Konkurs T. Wrońskiego na Skrzypce Solo'') * an International Organ Competition (''Międzynarodowy Konkurs Organowy'') * the Wanda Landowska Harpsichord Competition (''Międzynarodowy Konkurs Klawesynowy im. W. Landowskiej'') * the Witold Lutoslawski International Cello Competition (''Międzynarodowy Konkurs Wiolonczelowy im. W. Lutosławskiego'')

Orchestras

The University has two orchestras: a symphony orchestra, and the Chopin University Orchestra, as well as a choir.

Notes

a Since at that time the Warsaw Conservatory was affiliated with

Warsaw University The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

's Art Department, Chopin is also counted among the University's alumni.

Citations

References

*
Home page
*

{{authority control University of Music Buildings and structures completed in 1966 Educational institutions established in 1810 Music schools in Poland Universities and colleges in Warsaw * 1810 establishments in Poland