Zofia Helman (born 8 March 1937) is a Polish

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

and an honorary member of the Polish Composers' Union.

Life

Zofia Helman was born in

Radom Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been the seat of a separate Radom Voivodeship (1975–1 ...

and studied musicology at the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

from 1954-59. In 1967 she defended her doctoral dissertation on the sound techniques of

Karol Szymanowski Karol Maciej Szymanowski (; 6 October 188229 March 1937) was a Polish composer and pianist. He was a member of the modernist Young Poland movement that flourished in the late 19th and early 20th century. Szymanowski's early works show the inf ...

. Helman took a position at the Institute of Musicology at the University of Warsaw in 1959, and served as director of the Institute from 1991-1996. In 1991 she was appointed professor. She has also served as guest lecturer at the Department of Musicology at the Jagiellonian University, the Adam Mickiewicz University 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 ...

, the

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 ...

Academy of Music, at the

Hochschule für Musik Mainz The Hochschule für Musik Mainz (HfMM, Mainz School of Music) is a university of music, part of the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz. It is the only such institution in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. History The institution was ...

at the University of Mainz, the

University of Ljubljana The University of Ljubljana ( sl, Univerza v Ljubljani, , la, Universitas Labacensis), often referred to as UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 39,000 enrolled students. History Beginnings Although certain ...

, and the Geneva Conservatory in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. Helman has been a member of the Committee on Art, Academy of Sciences since 1981, and has sat on the Board of the Karol Szymanowski Foundation since 1996. She has served on the editorial boards of ''Polish Art Studies'', ''Theatre, Opera, Ballet'' (Paris), ''Musicological Review'' and the ''PWM Music Encyclopedia''. She is a member of musical and musicological associations including the International Musicological Society, the Robert-

Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

-Gesellschaft Düsseldorf,

Gesellschaft für Musikforschung The ''Gesellschaft für Musikforschung'' (GfM) is a professional association of musicologists and institutes active in study, research and teaching in Germany. It has over 1600 members. The association is based in Kassel, Hesse. History The soc ...

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

, the Société Internationale d'Histoire Comparée du Théâtre de l'Opéra et du Ballet, the Polish Society of Composers, the Frédéric Chopin in Warsaw Music Society and the Karol Szymanowski Musical Society in

Zakopane Zakopane ( Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the extreme south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has been par ...

Awards and honors

For her research work, Helman has been honored with the Golden Cross of Merit (1983), Award of the Ministry of Secondary Education (1986), Award of the Association of Polish Komozytorów (1988), Clio Award of the Department of History at the University of Warsaw (2000), the Karol Szymanowski Prize (2002), Annual Award of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage (2008) and an honorary membership in the Association of Polish Composers (2009).

Books

Helman is the author of texts including: *''Neoclassicism in Polish music of the twentieth century'', Kraków: PWM 1985 *''

Roman Palester Roman Palester (28 December 1907 – 25 August 1989) was a Polish composer of classical music. Palester composed his most significant work during the 1960s and was the first Polish musician to be awarded the Alfred Jurzykowski Prize in 1964. ...

: An Artist and His Work'', London: Musica Iagellonica 1999 *'' Chopin letters (Vol. I, Warsaw 2010)'', co-author of new edition

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helman, Zofia 1937 births Living people University of Warsaw alumni People from Radom Polish musicologists Women musicologists Polish music educators Women music educators