Stanisław Wiechowicz (; 27 November 1893 – 12 May 1963) was a Polish composer, music conductor, music educator and music critic.

Biography

Stanisław Wiechowicz was born in Kroszyce, near

Kielce Kielce (, yi, קעלץ, Keltz) is a city in southern Poland, and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the bank ...

, Poland. He studied organ at the Conservatory of Music 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 ...

and composition at the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze near Dresden. He continued his studies 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 ...

, but his education was interrupted by military service. After demobilization, he worked from 1921 to 1939 as a music teacher and choral conductor in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

. From 1926 to 1927 he continued his musical studies at

Schola Cantorum The Schola Cantorum de Paris is a private conservatory in Paris. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant and Vincent d'Indy as a counterbalance to the Paris Conservatoire's emphasis on opera. History La Schola was founded i ...

in Paris. From 1920 to 1926 and from 1930 to 1939, he was a professor at the Conservatory in Poznań. After 1945, Wiechowicz held the Composition Chair at the State Higher School of Music (now the Academy of Music) in Kraków. Wiechowicz authored a number of works on vocal pedagogy, and wrote for publications including ''Przegląd Muzyczny'' and ''Muzyka Polska''. He received a number of composition prizes, and was awarded the

Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland The Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Order Zasługi Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) is a Polish order of merit created in 1974, awarded to persons who have rendered great service to Poland. It is granted to foreigners or Poles resident ab ...

in 1952. His work was also part of the music event in the art competition at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

. Wiechowicz married Valentina Szaposznikow, and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he worked as a lawyer. He died in Kraków.

Works

Wiechowicz was a prominent composer of choral music, and often drew inspiration from Polish folk music. Selected works include: *''Babie lato'' (1922) *''Chmiel na orkiestrę'' (1927) *''Pastorałki'' (1927) *''Dzień słowiański'' (1929) *''Kantata romantyczna'' (1930) *''Ulęgałki'' (1944) *''Kasia'' (1946) *''Na glinianym wazoniku'' (1947) *''Kantata żniwna'' (1948) *''Kantata mickiewiczowska'' (1950) *''Koncert staromiejski'' (1954) *''Passacaglia i fuga'' (1960) *''List do Marc Chagalla'' (1961)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiechowicz, Stanislaw 1893 births 1963 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century male musicians Commanders with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta Olympic competitors in art competitions Polish composers Polish male classical composers