Halina Czerny-Stefańska ( �xaˈlina t͡ʂɛrnɨ stɛˈfaj᷉ska31 December 19221 July 2001) was a Polish pianist.

Life

She studied piano under her father, Stanisław Szwarcenberg-Czerny, as well as with

Alfred Cortot Alfred Denis Cortot (; 26 September 187715 June 1962) was a French pianist, conductor, and teacher who was one of the most renowned classical musicians of the 20th century. A pianist of massive repertory, he was especially valued for his poeti ...

at the

École Normale de Musique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Sav ...

in Paris, and later with

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 ...

and

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 pianist ...

in Warsaw. She was a joint First Prize winner at the

IV International Chopin Piano Competition The IV International Chopin Piano Competition ( pl, IV Międzynarodowy Konkurs Pianistyczny im. Fryderyka Chopina) was held from 15 September to 15 October 1949 in Warsaw. The first competition after World War II, it was held in connection with ...

in Warsaw in 1949, sharing this prize with

Bella Davidovich Bella Mikhaylovna Davidovich (Бэлла Миха́йловна Давидо́вич; born July 16, 1928) is a Soviet-born American pianist. Biography Davidovich was born in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, into a Jewish family of musicians and began studyi ...

. Her repertoire was restricted to few composers other than

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 ...

and even her Chopin repertoire was not large. For example, she did not play the Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor live until 1951, and she never played the F minor concerto at all, as she did not like it. She was proven to be the real pianist in a recording of the E minor concerto that was misattributed to

Dinu Lipatti Constantin "Dinu" Lipatti (; 2 December 1950) was a Romanian classical pianist and composer whose career was cut short by his death from effects related to Hodgkin's disease at age 33. He was elected posthumously to the Romanian Academy. He comp ...

. The recording was released in 1966 by EMI, and on the 1971 British release was a note to the effect that, although the name of the conductor and orchestra were not known, there was no doubt the soloist was Lipatti. The BBC broadcast the recording in 1981, and a listener wrote in, noting the similarities between it and a Supraphon recording from the early 1950s with Czerny-Stefańska under Václav Smetáček. Tests revealed these were one and the same recording. The so-called Lipatti recording was withdrawn. Halina Czerny-Stefańska was a juror in many piano competitions including the

Leeds International Pianoforte Competition The Leeds International Piano Competition, informally known as The Leeds and formerly the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition, takes place every three years in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1961 by Marion, Countess ...

, the

International Tchaikovsky Competition The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia, for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 32 years of age and singers between 19 and 32 years of ...

, and the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition. She was also a juror at the International Chopin Piano Competition for many years. Her daughter, with husband Ludwik Stefański (1917–1982) is Elżbieta Stefańska-Łukowicz (b. 1943), is a harpsichordist and professor at the

Academy of Music in Kraków The Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków ( pl, Akademia Muzyczna im. Krzysztofa Pendereckiego w Krakowie) is a conservatory located in central Kraków, Poland. It is the '' alma mater'' of the renowned Polish contemporary composer Krz ...

, Poland. Halina Czerny-Stefańska died in Kraków on 1 July 2001.

Selected recordings

Halina Czerny-Stefańska's discography includes recordings done by the labels: Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, Emi Classics, His Master's Voice, Polskie Nagrania "Muza", Supraphon, Selene, Pony Cayon, RCA Records, RCA-Japan and Telefunken.Discography
Discogs. Retrieved 10 September 2017. She has recorded works by

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

, Chopin (a large selection),

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 Versail ...

, Grieg, Szymanowski, and Zarębski. *Frédéric Chopin, Piano Concerto in E minor Op. 11, Supraphon SUA 10130 (1955). *Frédéric Chopin, 24 preludes Op. 28, Ace of Diamonds SDD 2146 (Telefunken). *Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-Flat Major Op. 19; Edvard Grieg, Piano Concerto in A Minor Op. 16. Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jan Krenz, Conductor. Musical Heritage Society (MHS 1101, undated). *Frédéric Chopin, Complete set of the Polonaises, Polskie Nagrania. *Frédéric Chopin, Complete set of the Nocturnes, Japanese RCA (1985–87). *Frédéric Chopin, Complete set of the Mazurkas, Canyon Classics (1989–90). *Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488. Česká filharmonie (Czech Philharmonic), Karel Ančerl, Conductor. Supraphon (1952).

References

External links

Halina Czerny-Stefańska
at The Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw.

at the Naxos.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Czerny-Stefanska, Halina Polish classical pianists Polish women pianists Burials at Rakowicki Cemetery 1922 births 2001 deaths École Normale de Musique de Paris alumni Alumni of the Academy of Music in Kraków Polish music educators International Chopin Piano Competition winners 20th-century classical pianists Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Women classical pianists Recipients of the State Award Badge (Poland) Musicians from Kraków People from Kraków Voivodeship (1919–1939) 20th-century women pianists