Bacewicz, Grażyna

Bacewicz, Grażyna, notable Polish composer and violinist; b. Łódź, Feb. 5, 1909; d. Warsaw, Jan. 17, 1969. She learned to play the violin in her youth and began to compose at age 13. She then was a student of Józef Jarzebski (violin), Józef Turczýnski (piano), and Sikorski (composition) at the Warsaw Cons., graduating in 1932. She also studied philosophy at the Univ. of Warsaw. A scholarship from Paderewski enabled her to study violin with André Touret and composition with Boulanger at the École Normale de Musique in Paris (1932–33). After teaching at the Łódź Cons. (1933–34), she returned to Paris to study violin with Flesch. In 1935 she received honorable mention at the first Wieniawski violin competition in Warsaw, and then played in the Polish Radio Sym. Orch. there (1936–38). From 1945 to 1955 she was active as a concert violinist. From 1966 until her death, she taught at the Warsaw State Coll. of Music. In 1949 she won the Warsaw Prize, and in 1950 and 1952 the National Prize for composition. Bacewicz’s large catalog of works generally adhered to neoclassical principles. After the rise of the new Polish school of composition, she pursued more adventuresome paths.

Works

DRAMATIC: Z chopa król (The Peasant King), ballet (1953); Przygody króla Artura (The Adventures of King Arthur), radio comic opera (1959); Esik w Ostendzie (Esik in Ostend), ballet (1964); Pozqdanie (Desire), ballet (1968); incidental music. ORCH.: Suite for Strings (1931); Sinfonietta (1932); 3 Caricatures (1932); Convoi de Joie (1933); 7 violin concertos (1937, 1945, 1948, 1951, 1954, 1957, 1965); 2 unnumbered syms. (1938; Sym. for Strings, 1946); 4 numbered syms. (1942–45; 1951; 1952; 1953); Overture (1943); Introduction and Caprice (1947); Concerto for Strings (1948); Piano Concerto (1949); Polish Rhapsody for Violin and Orch. (1949); 2 cello concertos (1951, 1963); Polish Overture (1954); Partita (1955); Symphonic Variations (1957); Music for Strings, Trumpets, and Percussion (1958); Pensieri Notturni for Chamber Orch. (1961); Concerto for Orchestra (1962); Musica Sinfonica in Tre Movimenti (1965); Divertimento for Strings (1965); Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orch. (1966); Contradizione for Chamber Orch. (1966); In una Parte (1967); Viola Concerto (1968). CHAMBER: Double Fugue for String Quartet (1928); 2 unnumbered sonatas for Solo Violin (1929, 1932); 2 numbered sonatas for Solo Violin (1941, 1958); 1 unnumbered violin sonata (1929); 5 numbered violin sonatas (Sonata da camera, 1945; 1946; 1947; 1949; 1951); 2 unnumbered string quartets (1930, 1931); 7 numbered string quartets (1938, 1943, 1947, 1951, 1955, 1960, 1965); Wind Quintet (1932); Trio for Oboe, Violin, and Cello (1935); Suite for 2 Violins (1949); Trio for Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon (1948); Quartet for 4 Violins (1949); 2 piano quintets (1952, 1965); Quartet for 4 Cellos (1964); Incrustations for Horn and Chamber Ensemble (1965); Trio for Oboe, Harp, and Percussion (1965); etc. keyboard: piano: 6 sonatas (1930, 1935, 1938, 1942, 1949, 1953); 2 sonatinas (1933, 1955); 10 Études (1956); many other pieces. Organ: Esquisse (1966). VOCAL: De Profundis, cantata for Soloists, Chorus, and Orch. (1932); 3 Songs for Tenor and Orch. (1938); Olympic Cantata for Chorus and Orch. (1948); Acropolis, cantata for Chorus and Orch. (1964); other songs.

Bibliography

S. Kisielewski, G. B. i jej czasy (G. B. and Her Times; Kraków, 1963); J. Rosen, G. B.: Her Life and Works (Los Angeles, 1984); S. Shafer, The Contribution of G. B. (1909–1969) to Polish Music (Lewston, N.Y., 1992).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire