Maria Wiłkomirska (3 April 1904 - 19 June 1995) was a Polish pianist. Born in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, Wiłkomirska was the daughter of violinist

Alfred Wiłkomirski Alfred Wiłkomirski (3 January 1873 - 31 July 1950) was a Polish violinist and pedagogue. Born in Azov, Wiłkomirski studied under Jan Hřímalý at the Moscow Conservatory before embarking on a teaching career. Moving to Poland in 1920, he hel ...

; her half-sister

Wanda Wanda is a female given name of Poland, Polish origin. It probably derives from the tribal name of the Wends.Campbell, Mike"Meaning, Origin, and History of the Name Wanda" ''Behind the Name.'' Retrieved August 12, 2010. The name has long been popu ...

was a violinist, her half-brother Józef was a conductor, and her brother

Kazimierz Kazimierz (; ; ) is a historical district of Kraków and Kraków Old Town, Poland. From its inception in the 14th century to the early 19th century, Kazimierz was an independent city, a royal city of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom, located sou ...

was a cellist. From 1913 until 1917 she studied at the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory () is a higher musical educational institution located in Moscow, Russia. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in musical performance and musical research. Th ...

under and

Boleslav Yavorsky Boleslav Leopoldovich Yavorsky (; 22 June 1877 – 26 November 1942) was a Soviet and Russian musicologist, music teacher, administrator, and piano, pianist. Through his teachings and editorial positions he heavily influenced Soviet music theor ...

; in 1920 she moved to

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

where she became a pupil of

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 20t ...

. She held positions as an instructor in

Kalisz Kalisz () is a city in central Poland, and the second-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship, with 97,905 residents (December 2021). It is the capital city of the Kalisz Region. Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of Gr ...

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

, and

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

, and in 1951 began teaching at the

Chopin University of Music The Chopin University of Music (, UMFC) is a musical conservatorium and academy located in central Warsaw, Poland. It is the oldest and largest music school in Poland, and one of the largest in Europe.piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in European classical music, classical chamber music. The term can also ...

with Wanda and Kazimierz and toured in Europe and Asia.

References

1904 births 1995 deaths 20th-century Polish musicians 20th-century Polish classical pianists Musicians from Moscow Academic staff of the Chopin University of Music 20th-century Polish women pianists Moscow Conservatory alumni Recipients of the Medal of the 10th Anniversary of the People's Republic of Poland {{pianist-stub