Janina Skowronska Explained

Janina Skowronska (February 8, 1920 – 1992)^[1] was a Polish composer^{[2] [3]} who is best remembered for her arrangements of folk songs, and for creating Little Chopin, a children’s musical based on the life and works of Frederic Chopin.^[4]

Skowronska was born to a Polish family in Germakowka (then in the USSR, now in Ukraine). She studied music at the State Music College  in Wroclaw, Poland, and with Tadeusz Szeligowski. She received a diploma in 1961.^[5]

Skowronska’s compositions included:

Chamber

• Theme and Variations (string quartet)

Orchestra

• Symphony

Piano

• Preludes
• Rondo
• Waltz

Theatre

• Little Chopin (for children)

Vocal

• Children’s Songs^[6]
• Drugi Brzeg (soprano, oboe, two clarinets and horn)
• “Golden Rain”^[7]
• Moda Pani Czepca Nie Ma (mixed chorus)
• O Wy Corne Kawki (folk song; mixed chorus)
• Od Krakowa do Wroclawia (folk dance suite; chorus and orchestra)
• Parodie (text by W. Marianowicz; baritone, soprano, bassoon and string orchestra)
• Pokoju Czas (text by R. Heniszowa; mixed chorus)
• Samotne Drzewa (text by L. Turkowski; mixed chorus)
• Suite of Folk Dances (text by Andrzej Waligórski; orchestra and chorus)
• “Tu Bedziemy” (text by A. Burcia; voice and piano)
• Two Folksongs (soprano and piano)
• U.F.O. (for soprano and eight instruments: clarinet, cello, six percussion)^[8]
• Ziemio Moja (mixed chorus)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Pijarowska . Alexsandra . 2021 . Music: The Cultural Bridge . 2022-03-02 . dbc.wroc.pl . Karol Lipinski Academy of Music . 12 . en.
2. Book: Hixon, Donald L. . Women in music : an encyclopedic biobibliography . 1993 . Scarecrow Press . Don A. Hennessee . 0-8108-2769-7 . 2nd . Metuchen, N.J. . 28889156.
3. Book: Stewart-Green, Miriam . Women composers : a checklist of works for the solo voice . 1980 . G.K. Hall . 0-8161-8498-4 . Boston, Mass. . 6815939.
4. 2018 . Chopin on Barricades: About the 100th Anniversary of Chopin's Birth (1949) and Socialist Realism Doctrine in Poland . Kwartalnik Młodych Muzykologów UJ . 36 . 1 . 20, 96 . 10.4467/23537094KMMUJ.18.017.9020. free .
5. Book: Cohen, Aaron I. . International Encyclopedia of Women Composers . 1987 . Books & Music (USA) . 978-0-9617485-2-4 . en.
6. Book: Polish Music . 1981 . Authors Agency. . en.
7. Book: Office, Library of Congress Copyright . Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third series . 1974 . en.
8. Book: Polish Music . 1976 . Authors Agency . en.