2019 marks a double anniversary for Grażyna Bacewicz, who was born 110 years ago on February 5, 1909 in Łódź and died in 50 years ago, on January 17, 1969 in Warsaw. Despite the politically tumultuous time during which she lived and composed, many of her works were awarded top honors and prizes—including the Queen Elizabeth of Belgium International Competition for Composers in Brussels, the Contest for Composers in Liège, and the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers—and she later served as a juror for some of the most prestigious competitions in Europe as well. Remarkably prolific as a composer, Bacewicz was also a virtuoso violinist and an excellent pianist with a substantial international touring career, who premiered her violin and piano repertoire and also was one of the first interpreters of Karol Szymanowski’s violin concertos. Her perseverance as one of the first female Polish composers and performers to gain international recognition amongst her colleagues helped pave the way for many female composers who have since gained great prominence in the arena of Polish contemporary music.
Inauguration of the Grażyna Bacewicz Year in Łódź
The Academy of Music in Łódź celebrates the inauguration of the year of Grażyna Bacewicz on the 110th birth anniversary and the 50th death anniversary of the Academy’s patron. This important event for the academic community will feature the String Orchestra PRIMUZ of the Music Academy in Łódź under the baton of Łukasz Błaszczyk, performing Bacewicz’s works (Concerto and Divertimento for string orchestra). A group of students will also perform a special choreography to Divertimento. The ceremony will be complemented by a screening of a documentary on the life and work of Grażyna Bacewicz.
The inauguration ceremony will start a year full of events related to the Academy’s patron, including the 1st Bacewicz International Summer Music Academy (Aug 2019), 2nd International Violin Competition (Dec 2019), the 6th Grażyna Bacewicz International Composer Competition (Aug-Nov 2019) and the preparation of special faculty publications by various departments of the Academy of Music in Łódź.
Grażyna Bacewicz—an outstanding composer and violinist—took her first lessons at the Helena Kijeńska-Dobkiewiczowa Conservatory in Łódź. After the war, she lectured briefly at the State Higher School of Music—today’s Academy of Music, which in 1999 adopted the name of Grażyna and Kiejstut Bacewicz as patrons.
January 17, 2019 at 6.00 p.m.
Inauguration Ceremony for the Grażyna Bacewicz Year
Grażyna and Kiejstut Bacewicz Academy of Music
Sala 12, Pałac Akademii Muzycznej, ul. Gdańska 32, Łódź, Poland
Admission: FREE
Details: www.amuz.lodz.pl
‘In Memory of Grażyna Bacewicz’ in Warsaw
A concert of violin students of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music entitled “In Memory of Grażyna Bacewicz” celebrating the composer’s 110th birthday and 50th death anniversaries will take place on January 14.
Grażyna Bacewicz studied violin at the Warsaw Conservatory with Józef Jarzębski and in Paris with André Touret and Karl Flesch. As a concerting virtuoso, until the mid-1950s, she was performing in Poland, France, Spain, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Russia, Romania and Hungary. In her enormous compositional output, works for string instruments constitute the main part. The program of the concert will include Oberek, Polish Caprice, Mazovian Dance, Violin Sonata, Sonata for solo violin and Quartet for four violins, dedicated to “students of the Warsaw Conservatory”.
January 14, 2019 at 7.00 p.m.
In Memory of Grażyna Bacewicz
Fryderyk Chopin University of Music
Okólnik 2, 00-368 Warsaw, Poland
Admission: FREE
Details: www.chopin.edu.pl
[Sources: www.polmic.pl, www.amuz.lodz.pl]