Izabella Jadwiga Zielińska (née Ostaszewska; 10 December 1910 – 20 November 2017) was a Polish pianist and pedagogue with one of the longest artistic biographies in Poland, starting back in 1935.

Life

Izabella Jadwiga Ostaszewska was born in Klimkówka, Podkarpackie Voivodeship and attended primary school in

Sanok Sanok (in full the Royal Free City of Sanok — , , ''Sanok'', , ''Sianok'' or ''Sianik'', , , ''Sūnik'' or ''Sonik'') is a town in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of southeastern Poland with 38,397 inhabitants, as of June 2016. Located on the San ...

and at the Lyceum of the Ursuline Convent in

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, graduating in 1929. She took piano lessons from Klaudia Rylska. In 1930 she went to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

to continue her education in the Ursulines Institute at Wavre-Notre-Dame, where she studied French and music. In 1931 she passed her music examination with a gold medal before the panel of the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp and the

Royal Conservatory of Brussels The Royal Conservatory of Brussels (, ) is a historic conservatory in Brussels, Belgium. Starting its activities in 1813, it received its official name in 1832. Providing performing music and drama courses, the institution became renowned par ...

. She returned to

for further piano study with Professor Bronisław Poźniak, and followed him when he moved to the city of Breslau. From 1935 onwards she performed in public under the name Iza Ostoia. Her concerts included compositions of

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

, Chopin, Szymanowski, Paderewski. Having completed her studies with Poźniak in Breslau in the summer of 1939, she had returned home to Klimklówka in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

just weeks before the

German invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

and the outbreak of the War in 1939. In 1942 she married Bogdan Zieliński and moved to

Kościan Kościan () () is a town on the Obra, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Obra canal in west-central Poland, with a population of 23,952 inhabitants as of June 2014. Situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship, it is the capital of Kościan County. History ...

, on the Polish territories incorporated directly to the

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, in 1939. There the Nazis enforced a clampdown on all Polish culture. Zielińska was forbidden from pursuing music and was forced into physical labour. Despite her ban, she had managed to teach some music in secret. After the War she resumed her concert career giving piano recitals and continued as a piano teacher. With five children to bring up, however, her concert career effectively had to take a back seat. She concentrated on her teaching, in which she became increasingly involved. She was a descendant of the Polish composer

Michał Kleofas Ogiński Michał Kleofas Ogiński (25 September 1765 – 15 October 1833) was a Polish diplomat and politician, Grand Treasurer of Lithuania, and a senator of Tsar Alexander I. He was also a composer of late Classical and early Romantic music. Early ...

and mother-in-law of the contemporary composer Lidia Zielińska. In 2016 she celebrated her 106th birthday. Zielińska died on 20 November 2017, at age 106. She was closely related to Jerzy Pajączkowski-Dydyński, a Polish officer, who died aged 111.http://www.sejm-wielki.pl
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Awards

* Gold Cross of Merit *Silver Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis

References

Sources

* pp. 272, 297-304, 312-13, 327 * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zielinska, Izabella 1910 births 2017 deaths Polish music educators 20th-century Polish classical pianists Piano educators Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland) Recipients of the Silver Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis Polish women centenarians Polish women music educators Women classical pianists People from Krosno County 20th-century Polish women pianists