List of Polish composers
Encyclopedia
This is a list of notable and representative Polish
composer
s.
Note: This list should contain notable composers, best with an existing article on Wikipedia. If a notable Polish composer is missing and without an article, please add the name here.
Middle Ages
Renaissance
Baroque
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
s.
Note: This list should contain notable composers, best with an existing article on Wikipedia. If a notable Polish composer is missing and without an article, please add the name here.
Middle AgesMiddle AgesThe Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
- Wincenty z KielczyWincenty z KielczyWincenty of Kielcza born in the village of Kielcza, Silesia, was a Polish canon in Cracow, a poet writing in Latin, composer, member of the Dominican Order. He is famous for writing the popular hymn Gaude mater Polonia....
(before 1200-ca. 1261) - Mikołaj z Radomia (15th Century)
- Piotr z GrudziądzaPiotr z GrudziadzaPetrus Wilhelmi de Grudencz or Piotr of Grudziądz was a medieval composer from Graudenz , the author of songs and motets. His music represents the culture of Central Europe from the Middle Ages...
(ca. 1400-ca. 1480)
RenaissanceRenaissanceThe Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
- Nicolaus CracoviensisNicolaus CracoviensisNicolaus Cracoviensis was a 16th-century Polish composer.Not much is known about his life. His name appears in the Kraków University archives as organist at the Kraków court. The biggest part of his compositions is contained in two great Polish organ tablatures: by Jan z Lublina and the Cracow...
(1st half of the 16th Century) - Wacław z Szamotuł (ca. 1526-1560)
- Mikołaj Gomółka (1535–1591)
- Cyprian BazylikCyprian BazylikCyprian Bazylik was a Polish composer, usually designated as C.B. or C.S. . Besides writing music, he was also a writer, poet, and printer....
(ca.1535-ca. 1600) - Jan z LublinaJan z LublinaJan z Lublina, or Joannis de Lublin, was a Polish composer and organist who lived in the first half of the 16th century. Not much is known about his life - he was a member of the Order of Canons Regular of the Lateran, circa 1540 he was possibly the organist at the convent in Kraśnik, near Lublin...
(ca. 1537–1540) - Jakub PolakJakub PolakJakub Polak , also known as Jakub Reys and Jacques le Polonois, was a Polish lutenist and composer. He was notable for his service as court lutenist to Henry III of Poland and France. Initially Polak served as one of the court musicians at Kraków, and after Henry III fled Poland, Polak joined him...
(1540–1605) - Sebastian KlonowicSebastian KlonowicSebastian Fabian Klonowic was a Polish poet writer and composer.-Biography:He studied at the University of Krakow. He was also known by his Latin name, Acernus, and wrote in both Polish and Latin. He first lived in Lviv, in Ukraine, then he settled in Lublin. While in Lublin, he became mayor.He...
(ca. 1545-1602) - Krzysztof KlabonKrzysztof KlabonKrzysztof Klabon was a Polish Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer. He was one the most renowned instrumentalists of his time in Poland. His extant works are: a cycle of lute songs entitled Pieśni Kalliopy Slowienskiey...
(ca. 1550-after 1616) - Wojciech Długoraj (1557–1619)
- Diomedes CatoDiomedes CatoDiomedes Cato was an Italian-born composer and lute player, who lived and worked entirely in Poland. He is known mainly for his instrumental music...
(ca. 1570-ca. 1603)
BaroqueBaroqueThe Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
- Mikołaj Zieleński (1st half of the 17th Century)
- Adam JarzębskiAdam JarzebskiAdam Jarzębski was an early baroque Polish composer, violinist, poet, and writer. The first documented mention of Jarzębski was in 1612, when he became a member of the chapel of Johann Siegmund Hohenzollern in Berlin...
(ca. 1590 -1649) - Franciszek LiliusFranciszek LiliusFranciszek Lilius was a Polish composer, a descendant of the Italian Giglis family. He significantly contributed to the musical culture of Warsaw in the 17th century...
(c. 1600 - 1657) - Marcin MielczewskiMarcin MielczewskiMarcin Mielczewski was, together with his tutor Franciszek Lilius and Bartłomiej Pękiel, among the most notable Polish composers in the 17th century....
(1600–1651)
- Bartłomiej Pękiel (d. 1670)
- Jacek RóżyckiJacek RóżyckiJacek Hyancithus Różycki was a Polish composer of Baroque music. He began his musical career in the court orchestra of Władysław IV. Eventually he took over the function of the director of the court musical ensemble...
(1625/35-1703/04) - Stanisław Sylwester Szarzyński (prob. 2nd half of the 17th Century)
- Grzegorz Gerwazy GorczyckiGrzegorz Gerwazy GorczyckiGrzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki was a Polish Baroque composer.-Life:Born in Rossberg near Beuthen in Silesia around 1665, little is known of his early life...
(1665/67-1734)
18th and 19th Century
- Marcin Józef Żebrowski (ca. 1702–1770)
- Michał Kazimierz Ogiński (1728–1800)
- Michał Kleofas Ogiński (1765–1833)
- Józef Ksawery Elsner (1769–1854)
- Franciszek LesselFranciszek LesselFranciszek Lessel was a Polish composer.Lessel was born in Puławy. His father, Wincenty Ferdynand Lessel, was a pianist and composer of Czech origin who served as his first teacher. In 1799 Franciszek Lessel went to study with Joseph Haydn and continued to do until the man's death...
(1780–1838) - Karol KurpińskiKarol KurpinskiKarol Kazimierz Kurpiński was a Polish composer, conductor and pedagogue.Karol began his studies under his father, Marcin Kurpiński, an organist. At the age of 12, he became organist at a church in Sarnowa near Rawicz, where his uncle Karol Wański was a parish priest...
(1785–1857) - Maria Szymanowska (1789–1831)
- Karol LipińskiKarol LipinskiKarol Józef Lipiński was a Polish virtuoso violinist and composer.-Life:Lipiński was born in Radzyń Podlaski. In 1810 he became the first violin and two years later the conductor of the opera orchestra at Lwów . In 1817 he went to Italy in the hope of hearing Niccolò Paganini...
(1790–1861) - Ignacy Feliks DobrzyńskiIgnacy Feliks DobrzynskiIgnacy Feliks Dobrzyński was a Polish pianist and composer.-Life:Dobrzyński was born in Romanów, in Volhynia, now Dserschynsk, Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine....
(1807–1867) - Julian FontanaJulian FontanaJulian Fontana was a Polish pianist, composer, lawyer, author, translator, and entrepreneur, best remembered as a close friend and musical executor of Frédéric Chopin.-Biography:...
(1810-1869) - Paul Wraniztky (1756-1808)
- Fryderyk Chopin (1810–1849)
- Stanisław MoniuszkoStanisław MoniuszkoStanisław Moniuszko was a Polish composer, conductor and teacher. His output includes many songs and operas, and his musical style is filled with patriotic folk themes of the peoples of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...
(1819–1872) - Tekla Bądarzewska-BaranowskaTekla Badarzewska-BaranowskaTekla Bądarzewska-Baranowska was a Polish composer.Bądarzewska was born in 1834 in Warsaw. She married Jan Baranowski and they had five children in their nine years of marriage. Bądarzewska-Baranowska died on 29 September 1861 at the age of 27. Her grave in the Powązki Cemetery features a young...
(1834-1861) - Henryk WieniawskiHenryk WieniawskiHenryk Wieniawski was a Polish violinist and composer.-Biography:Henryk Wieniawski was born in Lublin, Congress Poland, Russian Empire. His father, Tobiasz Pietruszka, had converted to Catholicism. His talent for playing the violin was recognized early, and in 1843 he entered the Paris...
(1835–1880) - Władysław Żeleński (1837–1921)
- Zygmunt NoskowskiZygmunt NoskowskiZygmunt Noskowski , Polish composer, conductor and teacher.-Biography:Zygmunt Noskowski was born in Warsaw and was originally trained at the Warsaw Conservatory studying violin and composition. A scholarship enabled him to travel to Berlin where between 1864 and 1867, he studied with Friedrich...
(1846–1909) - Maurycy MoszkowskiMoritz MoszkowskiMoritz Moszkowski was a German Jewish composer, pianist, and teacher of Polish descent. Ignacy Paderewski said, "After Chopin, Moszkowski best understands how to write for the piano"...
(1854–1925) - Juliusz ZarębskiJuliusz ZarebskiJuliusz Zarębski was a Polish composer and pianist, pupil of Franz Liszt.In his works, Zarębski referred to Franz Liszt and Fryderyk Chopin...
(1854–1885) - Tadeusz SzeligowskiTadeusz SzeligowskiTadeusz Szeligowski was a Polish composer, educator, lawyer and music organizer. His works include the operas The Rise of the Scholars, Krakatuk and Theodor Gentlemen, the ballets The Peacock and the Girl and Mazepa ballets, two violin concertos, chamber and choral works.As a music teacher he was...
(1896-1963)
20th Century and Contemporary
- Konstanty GorskiKonstanty GorskiKonstanty Antoni Gorski was a Polish composer, violinist, organist and music teacher.-Life:...
(1859–1924) - Roman StatkowskiRoman StatkowskiRoman Statkowski was a Polish composer, most notable for his operas and chamber music.-Early life:Statkowski was born in Szczypiorno, near Kalisz, and initially trained as a lawyer...
(1859–1925) - Ignacy Jan PaderewskiIgnacy Jan PaderewskiIgnacy Jan Paderewski GBE was a Polish pianist, composer, diplomat, politician, and the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland.-Biography:...
(1864–1941) - Zygmunt Denis Antoni Jordan de StojowskiZygmunt StojowskiZygmunt Denis Antoni Jordan de Stojowski was a Polish pianist and composer.-Life:Born near the city of Kielce, Stojowski began his musical training with his mother, and with Polish composer Władysław Żeleński. In Kraków, as a seventeen-year-old student, he made his debut as a concert pianist...
(1870–1946) - Emil Młynarski (1870–1935)
- Leopold GodowskyLeopold GodowskyLeopold Godowsky was a famed Polish American pianist, composer, and teacher. One of the most highly regarded performers of his time, he became known for his theories concerning the application of relaxed weight and economy of motion in piano playing, principles later propagated by Godowsky's...
(1870-1938) - Mieczysław Karłowicz (1876–1909)
- Feliks NowowiejskiFeliks NowowiejskiFeliks Nowowiejski was a Polish composer, conductor, concert organist, and music teacher. Nowowiejski was born in Wartenburg in East Prussia, German Empire...
(1877–1946) - Karol SzymanowskiKarol SzymanowskiKarol Maciej Szymanowski was a Polish composer and pianist.-Life:Szymanowski was born into a wealthy land-owning Polish gentry family in Tymoszówka, then in the Russian Empire, now in Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine. He studied music privately with his father before going to Gustav Neuhaus'...
(1882–1937) - Ludomir RóżyckiLudomir RozyckiLudomir Różycki was a Polish composer and conductor. He was, with Mieczysław Karłowicz, Karol Szymanowski and Grzegorz Fitelberg, a member of the group of composers known as Young Poland, the intention of which was to invigorate the musical culture of their generation in their mother country.He...
(1884–1953) - Józef KofflerJózef KofflerJózef Koffler was a Polish composer, music teacher, musicologist and musical columnist.He was the first Polish composer living before the Second World War to apply the twelve tone composition technique .- Biography :...
(1896–1944) - Bolesław Szabelski (1896–1979)
- Alexandre TansmanAlexandre TansmanAlexandre Tansman was a Polish-born composer and virtuoso pianist. He spent his early years in his native Poland, but lived in France for most of his life...
(1897–1986) - Kazimierz Wiłkomirski (1900–1995)
- Bronisław Kaper (1902–1983)
- Roman PalesterRoman PalesterRoman Palester was a Polish composer of classical music. Palester composed his most significant work during the 1960s, and in 1964 was the first Polish musician to be awarded the Alfred Jurzykowski Prize. His work was individual in style, and not noticeably Polish in character.Palester was born in...
(1907-1989) - Zbigniew TurskiZbigniew TurskiZbigniew Turski was a Polish composer.He was born in Konstancin and died in Warsaw.In 1948 he won a gold medal in the art competitions of the Olympic Games for his Symfonia Olimpijska ....
(1908–1979) - Grażyna BacewiczGrazyna BacewiczGrażyna Bacewicz was a Polish composer and violinist. She is only the second Polish female composer to have achieved national and international recognition, the first being Maria Szymanowska in the early 19th century.- Life :Bacewicz was born in Łódź...
(1909–1969) - Roman MaciejewskiRoman MaciejewskiRoman Maciejewski , Polish composer.Studied in Julius Stern Conservatorium in Berlin, later with Stanisław Wiechowicz and Kazimierz Sikorski in Poznań Conservatory, then continued with Kazimierz Sikorski in Warsaw Conservatory. In his early years highly acclaimed by Karol Szymanowski...
(1910–1998) - Stefan KisielewskiStefan KisielewskiStefan Kisielewski , nicknames Kisiel, Julia Hołyńska, Teodor Klon, Tomasz Staliński, was a Polish writer, publicist, composer and politician, and one of the members of Znak, one of the founders of the UPR, the polish libertarian and conservative political party.Kisielewski was born to a Polish...
(1911–1991) - Władysław Szpilman (1911–2000)
- Witold Lutosławski (1913–1994)
- Witold RudzińskiWitold RudzinskiWitold Rudziński was a Polish composer, conductor, and author.-External links:**...
(1913–2004) - Andrzej PanufnikAndrzej PanufnikSir Andrzej Panufnik was a Polish composer, pianist, conductor and pedagogue. He became established as one of the leading Polish composers, and as a conductor he was instrumental in the re-establishment of the Warsaw Philharmonic orchestra after World War II...
(1914–1991) - Edward OlearczykEdward OlearczykEdward Olearczyk was a Polish composer. He was born in Rawa Ruska and studied with Zbigniew Drzewiecki at the conservatory in Warsaw. From 1939-1945 he worked in the USSR, and after returning to Poland, worked in Warsaw as a stage director in the Polish Army.Olearczyk was known primarily as a...
(1915-1994) - Mieczysław Weinberg (1919–1996)
- Kazimierz SerockiKazimierz SerockiKazimierz Serocki was a Polish composer and one of the founders of the Warsaw Autumn contemporary music festival.-Life:...
(1922–1981) - Tadeusz BairdTadeusz BairdTadeusz Baird was a Polish composer.He was born in Grodzisk Mazowiecki, to Scottish immigrant parents. He studied composition, piano and musicology in Warsaw with, among others, Kazimierz Sikorski. In 1956, with Serocki, he founded the Warsaw Autumn international contemporary music festival...
(1928–1981)
- Bogusław Schaeffer (born 1929)
- Krzysztof KomedaKrzysztof KomedaKrzysztof Komeda was a Polish film music composer and jazz pianist. Perhaps best-known for his work in film scores, Komeda wrote the scores for Roman Polanski’s films Rosemary’s Baby, The Fearless Vampire Killers, Knife in the Water and Cul-de-sac...
(1931–1969) - Wojciech KilarWojciech KilarWojciech Kilar ; b. 17 July 1932 in Lwów, Poland) is a Polish classical and film music composer.-Biography:Wojciech Kilar is one of Poland’s esteemed composers. Born in 1932 in Lwów . His father was a gynecologist and his mother was a theater actress...
(born 1932) - Henryk GóreckiHenryk GóreckiHenryk Mikołaj Górecki was a composer of contemporary classical music. He studied at the State Higher School of Music in Katowice between 1955 and 1960. In 1968, he joined the faculty and rose to provost before resigning in 1979. Górecki became a leading figure of the Polish avant-garde during...
(1933–2010) - Krzysztof PendereckiKrzysztof PendereckiKrzysztof Penderecki , born November 23, 1933 in Dębica) is a Polish composer and conductor. His 1960 avant-garde Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima for string orchestra brought him to international attention, and this success was followed by acclaim for his choral St. Luke Passion. Both these...
(born 1933) - Andrzej Czajkowski (1935–1982)
- Marian SawaMarian SawaMarian Sawa was a Polish composer, organist, improviser, musicologist, and pedagogue.-Biography:...
(1937–2005) - Aleksander SzeligowskiAleksander SzeligowskiAleksander Robert Szeligowski was a Polish composer, conductor, organist and pedagogue. He studied in Poznań and Warsaw, later working as assistant conductor for the Poznań Philharmonic...
(1934-1963) - Zygmunt KoniecznyZygmunt KoniecznyZygmunt Konieczny — Polish composer of theatre music and film music.Zygmunt Konieczny spent his childhood in the village of Szczyrzyc. He debuted in the 1950s in the cabaret Piwnica pod Baranami in Kraków. Since then Konieczny composed many pieces for film, theater performances and singers such as...
(born 1937) - Zygmunt KrauzeZygmunt Krauze- Biography :Polish composer and pianist , who studied composition and piano at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. He is known as a composer of unistic music, based on the theory of unistic art adopted from the painting of Wladyslaw Strzeminski...
(born 1938) - Czesław Niemen (1939–2004)
- Krzysztof MeyerKrzysztof MeyerKrzysztof Meyer is a Polish composer, pianist and music scholar.-Biography:Meyer was born in Cracow. As a boy he played piano and organ. He began his composition study early – in 1954, with Stanisław Wiechowicz...
(born 1943) - Marta PtaszyńskaMarta PtaszynskaMarta Ptaszyńska is a composer, percussionist and professor of music at the University of Chicago. She has been described as "one of the best known Polish woman composers" as well as "a virtuoso percussionist specializing in performances of contemporary music."-Orchestral music:-Vocal and...
(born 1943) - Elżbieta Sikora (born 1943)
- Marek GrechutaMarek GrechutaMarek Grechuta was a Polish singer, songwriter, composer, and lyricist.-Biography:...
(1945–2006) - Jan A. P. KaczmarekJan A. P. KaczmarekJan Andrzej Paweł Kaczmarek is a Polish composer who has lived and worked in the United States since 1989. He has written the scores for more than 50 feature films and documentaries, including Finding Neverland , for which score he won an Academy Award and National Board of Review award...
(born 1953) - Paweł Szymański (born 1954)
- Zbigniew PreisnerZbigniew PreisnerZbigniew Preisner is a Polish film score composer, best known for his work with film director Krzysztof Kieślowski.-Life:Zbigniew Preisner studied history and philosophy in Kraków. Never having received formal music lessons, he taught himself music by listening and transcribing parts from records....
(born 1955) - Hanna KulentyHanna KulentyHanna Kulenty is a Polish composer of contemporary classical music. Since 1992, she has worked and lived both in Warsaw and in Arnhem .- Musical education :...
(born 1961) - Cezary OstrowskiCezary OstrowskiCezary Maciej Ostrowski is a Polish composer, musician, songwriter, author, visual artist and journalist....
(born 1962) - Paweł Łukaszewski (born 1963)
- Grzegorz TurnauGrzegorz TurnauGrzegorz Turnau is a Polish composer, pianist, poet and singer.He was born on 31 July 1967 in Kraków, Poland. At age seventeen he won First Prize at The Student Song Festival in Kraków in 1984...
(born 1967) - Piotr RubikPiotr RubikPiotr Rubik is a Polish composer of symphonic pop music for orchestra, films and theatre.-Biography:He learned to play the cello from the age of 7, went on to a musical secondary school, and then studied at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw. Later he became a member of the...
(born 1968) - Paweł Mykietyn (born 1971)
- Krzysztof Aleksander JanczakKrzysztof Aleksander JanczakKrzysztof Aleksander Janczak is a polish composer of film, classical and TV music, sound designer and musicologist.- Biography :...
(born 1983)
External links
- Professor Adrian Thomas: Before Chopin (lecture)
- The Briefest History of Polish Music by Maria Anna Harley (Maja Trochimczyk)