Józef Świder (born 19 August 1930 in

Czechowice-Dziedzice Czechowice-Dziedzice (, szl, Czechowice-Dziydzice), previously known until 1958 as Czechowice, is a town in Bielsko County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland with 35,684 inhabitants as of December 2021. It lies on the northeastern edge of t ...

, died 22 May 2014 in

Katowice Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, yi, קאַטעוויץ, Kattevitz) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most popul ...

) was a Polish composer and music teacher. He graduated from the Academy of Music in Katowice (formerly PWSM – today Akademia Muzyczna), then continued his studies with

Goffredo Petrassi Goffredo Petrassi (16 July 1904 – 3 March 2003) was an Italian composer of modern classical music, conductor, and teacher. He is considered one of the most influential Italian composers of the twentieth century.Petrassi, Goffredo. (2008). ...

at the

Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia ( en, National Academy of St Cecilia) is one of the oldest musical institutions in the world, founded by the papal bull ''Ratione congruit'', issued by Sixtus V in 1585, which invoked two saints prom ...

in Rome. Since 1954, he taught composition and music theory at the Akademia Muzyczna in Katowice. Among his pupils were the Polish composers

Aleksander Lasoń Aleksander Lasoń (born 10 November 1951) is a Polish composer and teacher. He was born in Siemianowice Śląskie. He studied composition under professor Józef Świder's at The Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice. He is professor at ...

, Julian Gembalski, Andrzej Dziadek and Wiesław Cieńciała. Professor at the

University of Silesia The University of Silesia in Katowice ( pl, Uniwersytet Śląski w Katowicach, UŚ) is an autonomous state-run university in Silesia Province, Katowice, Poland. The university offers higher education and research facilities. It offers undergradu ...

(Uniwersytet Śląski) where, from 1985 until 1999, he managed the Institute for Music Education. Since 1984 professor of the postgraduate course for choir directors at the Akademia Muzyczna in

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

. Member of the jury of numerous Polish and international choir competitions. Józef Świder was the recipient of many awards, among them the Prize of Poland’s Prime Minister for his works for children. He was a member of the Union of Polish Composers (ZKP).

Compositions

* more than 200 choral songs * 3 operas: ''Magnus'' (1970), ''Wit Stwosz'' (

Veit Stoss Veit Stoss (also: ''Veit Stoß'' and ''Stuoss''; pl, Wit Stwosz; before 1450about 20 September 1533) was a leading German sculptor, mostly working with wood, whose career covered the transition between the late Gothic and the Northern Renaissa ...

– 1974), ''Bal Baśni'' (The Fairy Tales Bal – 1977) * ''Wokaliza'' (Vocalise) for soprano and viola (1953) * Concerto for piano and orchestra (1955) * Concerto for soprano and orchestra (1956) * Suite for accordion and string orchestra (1979) * 9 masses with organ or orchestra, including the Missa angelica (2009) * ''Oratorium legnickie'' (Legnica Oratorio – 1991) * Concerto for guitar and string orchestra (1998) * ''Te Deum'' for solo voices, choir and orchestra (2001) * ''Litania Gietrzwałdzka'' (Litany of Gietrzwałd – 2007) * ''Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied'' for 4 soloists, 2 choirs and orchestra (2014) He wrote also chamber music, works for guitar, organ, wind orchestra, as well as music for theatre and film.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swider, Jozef Polish male classical composers 1930 births 2014 deaths Polish classical composers Polish opera composers 20th-century Polish musicians 20th-century classical composers 21st-century Polish musicians 21st-century classical composers Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia alumni People from Czechowice-Dziedzice 20th-century male musicians 21st-century male musicians