Juliusz Zarębski (3 March 185415 September 1885) 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 def ...
and
pianist
A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...
active in the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
. Some of his manuscripts have been found in the
National Library of Poland (BN).
Life
Juliusz Zarębski was born on March 3, 1854, in
Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr ( ; see #Names, below for other names) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the Capital city, administrative center of Zhytomyr Oblast (Oblast, province), as well as the administrative center of the surrounding ...
, (now
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
; then former lands of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
and the
Polish Kingdom). He would die in the same city in 1885.
His mother was his first piano teacher. Later, he studied with
Lucja Rucinska.
In 1870, he completed his education at the gymnasium with honors and moved to Vienna to study composition with
Franz Krenn and piano with
Josef Dachs. Two years later, he graduated with two gold medals, even though his curriculum indicated a musical training of six years. The following year he moved to
St. Petersburg and studied there for three more years, passed his examination and obtained his diploma of "free artist." A year later, he moved to
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
and stayed there until 1875. In Rome, he studied piano with
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...
, his friend for some time. The Hungarian composer, who would orchestrate his ''Danses Galiciennes'' in 1881, greatly helped Zarębski, appearing with him in concerts and using his contacts to publicize the works of the Polish composer.
After the crowning triumph of his public career with a successful performance at the Grand Exhibition of Paris, 1878, of the duo-keyboarded piano, he assumed a professorship of piano at the Royal Consevatory in Brussels, but the progress of tuberculosis curtailed his public performances after 1883 (https://culture.pl/en/artist/juliusz-zarebski), before his death in Ukraine, in 1885, at the age of 31.
Zarębski's compositions evoke those of
Liszt and
Chopin. He set to music the writings of
Adam Mickiewicz and
Włodzimierz Wolski.
Career
His career as a virtuoso pianist began in spring 1874 with concerts in Odessa and Kiev. His performances in Rome, Naples, Constantinople, Warsaw, Paris, London and other European cities were a great success. He was interested in the two piano keyboards, a new invention of
Edouard Mangeot, which in two months mastered. He developed his repertoire in this new instrument and performed on it with great acclaim in the
1878 Paris Exhibition. He established himself in Brussels, where he served as teacher of piano master classes at the Royal Conservatory. Two years before his death he had to put an end to his career as a virtuoso as he was diagnosed with tuberculosis, throwing himself into teaching (he had been appointed professor at the
Royal Conservatory of Brussels in 1880) and composing pieces such as the five movements of ''Les roses et les épines'' based on a more advanced harmony. Though he continued composing nearly exclusively for the
piano
A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
, the summit of his output would be his cyclical ''Piano Quintet'' in G minor of 1885.
Compositions for piano
The parenthetical remarks indicate place and date of publication. "BN" indicates an unpublished manuscript found in the National Library of Poland.
* ''Andante ma non troppo,'' (BN)
* ''Romance sans paroles,'' in F minor, ca. 1870, (BN)
* ''Adieu,'' in F minor, ca. 1870, (BN)
* ''Maria,'' Piano 4-hands, 1871, (BN)
* ''March, pf 4 hands, 1875
* ''Grande fantaisie,'' 1876
* ''Menuet,'' Op. 1, ''3 danses galiciennes,'' piano 4-hands, Op. 2 (Berlin 1880)
* ''Concert étude,'' in G major, Op. 3 (Berlin 1879)
* ''4 Mazurkas,'' pf 4 hands, Op. 4 (Berlin 1880)
* ''2 morceaux en forme de mazurka,'' piano 4-hands, Op. 5 (Berlin 1881)
* ''Grande polonaise,'' in F major, Op. 6 (Berlin 1881)
* ''3 études de concert,'' Op. 7 (Mainz 1881)
* ''Concert-mazurka,'' in C minor, Op. 8 (Mainz 1882)
* ''Fantaisie polonaise,'' Op. 9, ca. 1877 (Mainz 1882)
* ''Polonaise mélancolique,'' Op. 10 (Mainz 1882)
* ''Polonaise triomphale,'' Piano 4-hands, Op. 11 (Mainz 1882)
* ''Divertissement à la polonaise,'' Piano 4-hands, Op. 12 (Mainz 1883)
* ''Les roses et les épines,'' Op. 13 (Mainz 1883)
* ''Impromptu-caprice,'' Op. 14 (Leipzig 1883)
* ''Mazurka de concert, No.2,'' G minor, Op. 15 (Leipzig 1883)
* ''Suite polonaise,'' Op. 16 (Leipzig 1883)
* ''Valse sentimentale,'' Op. 17 (Leipzig 1884)
* ''Ballade,'' in G minor, Op. 18 (Breslau 1884)
* ''Novellette-caprice,'' Op. 19 (Breslau 1884)
* ''Sérénade burlesque,'' Op. 20 (Breslau 1884)
* ''Berceuse,'' Op. 22 (Leipzig 1884)
* ''A travers Pologne,'' Piano 4-hands, Op. 23 (Breslau 1884)
* ''Valse-caprice,'' Op. 24 (Leipzig 1884)
* ''Tarantelle,'' Op. 25 (Leipzig 1885?)
* ''Sérénade espagnole,'' Op. 26 (Leipzig 1883)
* ''Etrennes,'' Op. 27 (Breslau 1885)
* ''Polonaise,'' Op. 28 (Leipzig 1885)
* ''Gavotte,'' Op. 29 (Leipzig 1885)
* ''Valse,'' Op. 30 (Leipzig 1885)
* ''Barcarolle,'' Op. 31 (Leipzig 1885)
* ''Menuet,'' Op. 32 (Mainz 1885)
* ''Piano Quintet,'' in G minor, for 2 violins, viola, cello and piano, Op. 34, 1885 (Warsaw 1931)
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
External links
*
* https://culture.pl/en/artist/juliusz-zarebski
Scores by Juliusz Zarębskiin digital library
Polona
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zarebski, Juliusz
1854 births
1885 deaths
19th-century Polish classical composers
19th-century Polish classical pianists
19th-century Polish male musicians
19th-century musicians
19th-century deaths from tuberculosis
Composers from the Russian Empire
Pianists from the Russian Empire
Academic staff of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels
Musicians from Zhytomyr
People from Zhitomirsky Uyezd
Tuberculosis deaths in the Russian Empire