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, 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 Al ...

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 Statkowski
in 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 Composers from the Russian Empire