Roman Statkowski
Encyclopedia
Roman Statkowski was a Polish
composer
, most notable for his opera
s and chamber music
.
, near Kalisz
, and initially trained as a lawyer. When he deserted the law for a musical career, he studied with Władysław Żeleński in Warsaw
and then at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory
with Nikolai Soloviev and Anton Rubinstein
, graduating at the age of 31 in 1890.
n, specifically Mussorgsky
and Tchaikovsky
, but he was also attracted to German music such as the tone poems
of Richard Strauss
and the operas of Hans Pfitzner
. His work has been described as linking the post-Moniuszko
composers and the generation of Szymanowski
.
. It has achieved some popularity in its native country and has been performed in various Polish cities between 1919 and 1965. It was staged by Wexford Festival Opera
in late 2011.
for violin and piano, as well as six string quartets and a number of songs.
as professor of composition at the Warsaw Conservatory. His pupils there included Jan Maklakiewicz
, Piotr Perkowski
and Boleslaw Szabelski
. He died in Warsaw in 1925.
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...
, most notable for his opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s and chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
.
Early life
Statkowski was born in SzczypiornoSzczypiorno
Szczypiorno is a municipal neighbourhood of the city of Kalisz, Poland. Formerly until 1976 a separate village at the outskirts of the city, it is best known as a seat of a World War I and Polish-Bolshevist War prisoner of war camp and the name-sake for szczypiorniak, the Polish language name for...
, near Kalisz
Kalisz
Kalisz is a city in central Poland with 106,857 inhabitants , the capital city of the Kalisz Region. Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship, the city forms a conurbation with the nearby towns of Ostrów Wielkopolski and Nowe Skalmierzyce...
, and initially trained as a lawyer. When he deserted the law for a musical career, he studied with Władysław Żeleński in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
and then at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory
Saint Petersburg Conservatory
The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory is a music school in Saint Petersburg. In 2004, the conservatory had around 275 faculty members and 1,400 students.-History:...
with Nikolai Soloviev and Anton Rubinstein
Anton Rubinstein
Anton Grigorevich Rubinstein was a Russian-Jewish pianist, composer and conductor. As a pianist he was regarded as a rival of Franz Liszt, and he ranks amongst the great keyboard virtuosos...
, graduating at the age of 31 in 1890.
Musical influences
His musical influences were mainly RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n, specifically Mussorgsky
Modest Mussorgsky
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky was a Russian composer, one of the group known as 'The Five'. He was an innovator of Russian music in the romantic period...
and Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
, but he was also attracted to German music such as the tone poems
Symphonic poem
A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music in a single continuous section in which the content of a poem, a story or novel, a painting, a landscape or another source is illustrated or evoked. The term was first applied by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt to his 13 works in this vein...
of Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
and the operas of Hans Pfitzner
Hans Pfitzner
Hans Erich Pfitzner was a German composer and self-described anti-modernist. His best known work is the post-Romantic opera Palestrina, loosely based on the life of the great sixteenth-century composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.-Biography:Pfitzner was born in Moscow, Russia, where his...
. His work has been described as linking the post-Moniuszko
Stanisław Moniuszko
Stanisław 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...
composers and the generation of Szymanowski
Karol Szymanowski
Karol 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'...
.
Operas
Statkowski's two operas were Philaenis (or Filenis) (1897, first performed in 1904) and Maria (1903-4, first performed in 1906). The latter is based on a novel of the same name by Antoni MalczewskiAntoni Malczewski
Antoni Malczewski was an influential Polish romantic poet, known for his only work, "a narrative poem of dire pessimism", Maria ....
. It has achieved some popularity in its native country and has been performed in various Polish cities between 1919 and 1965. It was staged by Wexford Festival Opera
Wexford Festival Opera
The Wexford Festival Opera is an opera festival that takes place in the town of Wexford in South-Eastern Ireland during the months of October and November.-Festival origins under Tom Walsh, 1951 to 1966:...
in late 2011.
Other compositions
These include a set of piano Preludes (op. 37) and a KrakowiakKrakowiak
The Krakowiak, sometimes referred to as the Pecker Dance, is a fast, syncopated Polish dance in duple time from the region of Krakow and Little Poland. This dance is known to imitate horses, the steps mimic their movement, for horses were well loved in the Krakow region of Poland for their civilian...
for violin and piano, as well as six string quartets and a number of songs.
Later life
In 1909, Statkowski was appointed to succeed Zygmunt NoskowskiZygmunt Noskowski
Zygmunt 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...
as professor of composition at the Warsaw Conservatory. His pupils there included Jan Maklakiewicz
Jan Maklakiewicz
Jan Adam Maklakiewicz was a Polish composer, conductor, critic, and music educator.-References:**...
, Piotr Perkowski
Piotr Perkowski
Piotr Perkowski was a Polish composer....
and Boleslaw Szabelski
Boleslaw Szabelski
Bolesław Szabelski was a Polish composer of modern classical music. While his style shifted and varied over the course of his life, he is best known for his atonal work composed during the 1950s and 1960s....
. He died in Warsaw in 1925.