![Roman Statkowski (-1906)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Roman_Statkowski_%28-1906%29.jpg)
Roman Statkowski (24 December 1859 – 12 November 1925) was a Polish
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
, most notable for his
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
s and
chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...
.
Early life
Statkowski was born in
Szczypiorno
Szczypiorno is a municipal neighbourhood of the city of Kalisz, Poland, located in its south-western part. Formerly until 1976 a separate village at the outskirts of the city, it is best known as a seat of a World War I and Polish–Soviet War pr ...
, near
Kalisz
(The oldest city of Poland)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = ''Top:'' Town Hall, Former "Calisia" Piano Factory''Middle:'' Courthouse, "Gołębnik" tenement''Bottom:'' Aerial view of the Kalisz Old Town
, image_flag = POL Kalisz flag.svg ...
, and initially trained as a lawyer. When he deserted the law for a musical career, he studied with
Władysław Żeleński 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 ...
and then at the
Saint Petersburg Conservatory
The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory (russian: Санкт-Петербургская государственная консерватория имени Н. А. Римского-Корсакова) (formerly known as th ...
with Nikolai Soloviev and
Anton Rubinstein
Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein ( rus, Антон Григорьевич Рубинштейн, r=Anton Grigor'evič Rubinštejn; ) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who became a pivotal figure in Russian culture when he founded the Sai ...
, graduating at the age of 31 in 1890.
Musical influences
His musical influences were mainly
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n, specifically
Mussorgsky
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...
and
Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
, but he was also attracted to German music such as the
tone poems of
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...
and the operas of
Hans Pfitzner
Hans Erich Pfitzner (5 May 1869 – 22 May 1949) was a German composer, conductor and polemicist who was a self-described anti-modernist. His best known work is the post-Romantic opera ''Palestrina'' (1917), loosely based on the life of the s ...
. His work has been described as linking the post-
Moniuszko composers and the generation of
Szymanowski.
Operas
Statkowski's two operas were ''Philaenis'' (or ''Filenis'') (1897, first performed in 1904) and
''Maria'' (1903-4, first performed in 1906). The latter is based on a
novel of the same name by
Antoni Malczewski
Antoni Malczewski (3 June 1793 – 2 May 1826) was a Polish romantic poet, known for his only work, "a narrative poem of dire pessimism", ''Maria'' (1825).
At the times, prominent and scandalizing was his autodestructive romance with a married ...
. It has achieved some popularity in its native country and has been performed in various Polish cities between 1919 and 1965. It was staged by
Wexford Festival Opera
Wexford Festival Opera () is an opera festival that takes place in the town of Wexford in south-eastern Ireland during the months of October and November.
The festival began in 1951 under Tom Walsh and a group of opera lovers who quickly gener ...
in late 2011.
Other compositions
These include a set of piano Preludes (op. 37) and a
Krakowiak
The Krakowiak or Cracovienne is a fast, syncopated Polish folk dance in duple time from the region of Kraków and Lesser Poland. The folk outfit worn for the dance has become the national costume of Poland, most notably, the rogatywka peaked hat ...
for violin and piano, as well as six
string quartets
The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...
and a number of songs.
Later life
In 1909, Statkowski was appointed to succeed
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 ...
as professor of composition at the
Warsaw Conservatory
The Chopin University of Music ( pl, Uniwersytet Muzyczny Fryderyka Chopina, 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. .
[Blom (1971), pp.660-61.] His pupils there included
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 ...
,
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 Albe ...
,
Apolinary Szeluto
Apolinary Szeluto (23 July 1884 – 22 August 1966) was a Polish pianist and composer of the Mloda Polska style.
Life and career
Apolinary Szeluto was born in St. Petersburg, and began the study of piano at age nine. He studied music at the ...
,
Boleslaw Szabelski and
Victor Young
Albert Victor Young (August 8, 1899– November 10, 1956)"Victor Young, Composer, Dies of Heart Attack", ''Oakland Tribune'', November 12, 1956. was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor.
Biography
Young is commonly said to ...
. He died in Warsaw in 1925.
References
*
*
Discography
*2005 : Piano Works vol. 1 - Acte Préalable AP012
*2008 : Piano Works vol. 2 - Acte Préalable AP017
External links
*
Scores by Roman Statkowskiin digital library
Polona
Polona is a Polish digital library, which provides digitized books, magazines, graphics, maps, music, fliers and manuscripts from collections of the National Library of Poland and co-operating institutions. It began its operation in 2006.
Colle ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Statkowski, Roman
1859 births
1925 deaths
Musicians from Kalisz
People from Warsaw Governorate
Polish composers
Polish music educators
Polish opera composers
Polish male classical composers
Saint Petersburg Conservatory alumni