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 ), commonly referred to as the Chopin National Edition or the Polish National Edition, is an urtext edition of the complete works by Frédéric Chopin, aiming to present his output in its authentic form. Started by Jan Ekier in 1959, the entirety o ...

Biography

Ekier was born in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, Poland. As a youth, he studied piano with Olga Stolfowa, and later composition with Bernardino Rizzi at the Władysław Żeleński School of Music. He continued formal music studies at the Warsaw Conservatory, where his teachers included

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 ...

(piano) and

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 ...

(composition). He was awarded the

III International Chopin Piano Competition The III International Chopin Piano Competition ( pl, III Międzynarodowy Konkurs Pianistyczny im. Fryderyka Chopina) was held from 21 February to 13 March 1937 in Warsaw. It was the last competition before the outbreak of World War II, and the ...

's 8th prize in 1937. He was later an organ student with Bronisław Rutkowski. In 1959, he started the project of a new critical edition of Chopin's works that later became the

. From 1967 to 2010, the entirety of Chopin's known works were published in 37 volumes, accompanied by source and performance commentaries. In 2004, he received a special award from the Minister of Culture of Poland, "in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the preservation and popularization of the legacy of Fryderyk Chopin, in particular for the monumental edition of the National Edition of the Works of Fryderyk Chopin, restoring to European culture the art of the great Polish composer in a form closest to its historical original." On 17 April 2000, Ekier was awarded the Commander's Cross with Star of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on al ...

. On 21 October 2010, he received the Order of the White Eagle. His first wife was the Polish actress

Danuta Szaflarska Danuta Szaflarska (; 6 February 1915 – 19 February 2017) was a Polish film and stage actress. In 2008 she was awarded the Złota Kaczka for the best Polish actress of the century. Szaflarska participated in the Warsaw Uprising as a liaison. Sz ...

. Ekier died 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 ...

, two weeks short of his 101st birthday. Among his students are Bronisława Kawalla,

Piotr Paleczny Piotr Paleczny (born 10 May 1946 in Rybnik, Poland) is a Polish classical pianist, winner of the 3rd prize of the VIII International Chopin Piano Competition in 1970. In 1990 he served on the jury of the Paloma O'Shea Santander International Pia ...

, Alicja Paleta-Bugaj and Yuko Kawai.Rzeczpospolita, August 22, 2014, Edyta Borkowska: "Prof. Jan Ekier spocznie na Cmentarzu Powązkowskim w Warszawie"
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References

External links

The Fryderyk Chopin Institute, profile of Jan Ekier

Biography

References

External links

See also