Romuald Twardowski Explained

Romuald Twardowski
Birth Date:17 June 1930
Birth Place:Wilno, Poland
Death Place:Warsaw, Poland

Romuald Twardowski (pronounced as /pl/; 17 June 1930 – 13 January 2024) was a Polish composer, pianist, organist and academic teacher who studied in Vilnius, Warsaw and Paris. In a style described as "developed neoclassicism", he composed operas, ballets, instrumental music and vocal works, especially sacred music for both Catholic use and the Orthodox Church. He achieved international prizes for his compositions, and many works were recorded in anthologies, including the Violin Concerto, chamber music, and sacred and secular choral music such as the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. He was professor at the State Academy of Music in Warsaw from 1972 to 2008.

Life and career

Twardowski was born in Vilnius (then Wilno in Poland) on 17 June 1930. During years of occupation and World War II, he studied the violin; after the war, he began learning to play the piano and organ. From 1946 to 1950, he was the organist at the Church of St. Johns in Vilnius. From 1952 to 1957, he studied piano and composition at the Conservatory of Vilnius, with and . He was an early member of the folklore ensemble, founded in 1955, focused on Polish folk music.

He moved to Warsaw to continue his studies at the Warsaw Academy of Music from 1957 to 1960, with Bolesław Woytowicz.[1] On a scholarship of the, he studied in Paris with Nadia Boulanger in 1963 and returned in 1966, with a focus on Gregorian chant and medieval polyphony.

He created major works for the stage in the 1960s; his first opera, Cyrano de Bergerac, based on Rostand's play, was premiered at the Silesian Opera in Bytom in 1963, directed by Zbigniew Sawa and conducted by . He created the operas (1965) and Lord Jim after Joseph Conrad's novel (1973), and the ballets The Naked Prince (1960) and Wizard's Sculptures (1963). They were staged in Łódź and Warsaw. In the 1980s, he composed two more operas; Maria Stuart was premiered at the Grand Theatre, Łódź in 1981, staged by . History of St. Catherine was premiered at the Grand Theatre, Warsaw in 1985, and produced two years later at the Baltic State Opera in Gdańsk. His operas were also performed in Czechoslovakia, Finland, Germany and Yugoslavia.

From 1972 to 2008 Twardowski was a professor at the State Academy of Music in Warsaw, teaching composition and instrumentation. He served as jury member of many choir competitions. He was president of the Orthodox Music Foundation, organizing the in Białystok and chairing its jury from 1983.

He published an autobiography in 2000, Było, nie minęło: wspomnienia kompozytora (Been, not Gone: A Composer's Memories), about his creative work, people and events of his life.

Twardowski died in Warsaw on 13 January 2024, at the age of 93.

Awards

Twardowski achieved international prizes for his compositions, including:

He was awarded honours of the Order of Polonia Restituta, the Knight's Cross in 1974, the Officer's Cross in 1985 and the Commander's Cross in 2020. He received the American Paderewski Award in 2006, and the Gloria Artis Medal for Merit to Culture in Gold in 2010. Albums with his works were nominated several times for the Fryderyk Music Award. The State Music School in Puławy and the Municipal Music School in Gostynin bear his name.

Compositions

Twardowski worked in many genres, opera and ballet, concertante instrumental music for large and small ensembles, choral music both sacred and secular, chamber music and songs, composing about 200 works. He composed sacred music for the Catholic church, but also for the Orthodox Church, specifically the Chamber Choir Kyiv conducted by his friend Mykola Hobdych. His musical style has been called "developed neoclassicism", and his choral works as "very varied and, although moderately modern, very accessible music", "pure and beautiful". His music has been described as "very clear and communicative, full of internal drama and individual in its character".

His major compositions include:

Recordings

Works by Twardowski were recorded, mostly in anthologies grouped by genre by the Polish label Acte Préalable (AP), including:

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Było, nie minęło. 2000. Pani Twardowska. Warsaw. 83-913314-0-7.
  2. Web site: Choral Orthodox Works . . 17 January 2024.
  3. Web site: Solo, Chamber and Vocal Works . Acte Préalable . 17 January 2024.
  4. Web site: Gaude Mater Festival – 3 – Polish Mass . Acte Préalable . 17 January 2024.
  5. Web site: Musica Polonica Nova – Warsaw Composers 1 . Acte Préalable . 17 January 2024.
  6. Web site: Complete Works for Violin and Piano . Acte Préalable . 17 January 2024.
  7. Web site: Missa Regina caeli . Acte Préalable . 17 January 2024.
  8. Web site: Complete Piano Works . Acte Préalable . 17 January 2024.
  9. Web site: Musica Polonica Nova – Warsaw Composers 2 . Acte Préalable . 17 January 2024.
  10. Web site: Concertos . Acte Préalable . 17 January 2024.
  11. Web site: Works for String Orchestra . Acte Préalable . 17 January 2024.
  12. Web site: Chamber Music . Acte Préalable . 17 January 2024.
  13. Web site: Complete Organ Works . Acte Préalable . 17 January 2024.
  14. Web site: Concertos . Acte Préalable . 17 January 2024.
  15. Web site: Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom . Acte Préalable . 17 January 2024.
  16. Web site: Exegi monumentum . Acte Préalable . 17 January 2024.
  17. Web site: Universitas cantat 1998–2011 . Acte Préalable . 17 January 2024.
  18. Web site: Luctus (Żałość) . Acte Préalable . 17 January 2024.
  19. Web site: In the Night's Stillness . Acte Préalable . 17 January 2024.

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