Witold Małcużyński (August 10, 1914The National Frédéric Chopin Institute - Witold Małcużyński
/ref>July 17, 1977) was a Polish pianist who specialized in the works of

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

Biography

Małcużyński was born in 1914 in Koziczyn (

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...

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). He was the older brother of Karol Małcużyński, a Polish politician and journalist. He began playing piano at the age of 5, starting regular lessons four years later. Originally, he intended to study law but his innate love of music overcame his initial decision and he switched to music and enrolled at the Warsaw Conservatory from which he graduated with high honours, studying under Józef Turczyński. In 1936, he received an invitation to study under Marguerite Long and Isidor Philipp in Paris. He won the third prize at the III International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1937. At the same time, he met his future wife, the French pianist Colette Gaveau. Witold Malcuzynski monument

When

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

began, he was in France. There, he joined the artistic-propaganda section of the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...

and visited military camps. After the capitulation of France, he and his new wife escaped in a sealed traincar to Portugal, where he met the conductor Grzegorz Fitelberg, who offered him a tour of South America. Małcużyński went to Argentina in October 1940. In April 1942 he relocated to the United States. Essential to his American career was the violinist

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...

, who initially helped him with management issues. After the war, he moved to Switzerland. He was a member of the jury of the International Chopin Competition in 1960 and 1970, the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition (Belgium) in 1960, and the Paloma O'Shea International Piano Competition in 1976."Winners, Juries, Orchestras and Guest Artists
Santander Piano Competition He was conferred an Officer's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

. He died in 1977 in

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, Spain, and was buried in the Powązki Cemetery, Poland.

Selected discography (CD)

* 1989 ''Witold Małcużyński Plays Chopin'' (Polskie Nagrania) * 1993 ''Witold Małcużyński - Fantasies-Nocturnes-Scherzos'' (Allegro Corporation) * 1993 ''Malcuzynski Plays Chopin - Grand Polonaise, Volume 2'' (Allegro Corporation) * 1994 ''Malcuzynski: Artist Profile (Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2/Piano Sonata No. 3/Waltzes/Mazurkas)'' (EMI Classic) * 1999 ''Witold Małcuzynski - Chopin-Rachmaninov'' (Dante) * 2000 ''Witold Malcuzynski Plays Chopin, Liszt and Szymanowski'' (Piano Masters) (Pearl) * 2001 ''Witold Malcuzynski - Brahms-Beethoven-Chopin'' (Aura Classics) * 2001 ''Witold Malcuzynski Plays Great Romantic Piano Music'' (2CD) (Royal Long Players) * 2003 ''Witold Małcużyński Brahms-Franck-Bach-Busoni'' (Polskie Nagrania) * 2006 ''Witold Małcużyński - Johannes Brahms Piano Concerto No.1 in D minor op.15'' (Polskie Nagrania) * 2007 ''Witold Małcużyński - Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2; Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3'' (nagr. 1946-1949) (Guild) * 2007 ''Witold Malcuzynski Intermezzo'' (Fabula Classica) * 2010 ''Witold Małcużyński - Chopin'' (digipack) (Polskie Radio)

References

Sources

* Roger Hauert & Bernard Gavoty. "Malcuzynski", Great Concert Artists Series, Kister, Genève, 1957. * Skarbowski, Jerzy. "Witold Małcużyński - pianista potężny", ''Poradnik Muzyczny'', n° 7/8, 1989. * * Jeżewski, Krzysztof. "Witold Małcużyński - W trzydziestą rocznicę śmierci", ''Głos Katolicki'', n° 26, Paris, 15-22.7.2007
Narodowy Instytut Fryderyka Chopina - Witold Małcużyński
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malcuzynski, Witold Polish male classical pianists 1914 births 1977 deaths Chopin University of Music alumni Polish expatriates in Switzerland Prize-winners of the International Chopin Piano Competition Burials at Powązki Cemetery 20th-century Polish classical pianists 20th-century Polish composers 20th-century male musicians Polish expatriates in the United States