Kazimierz Sikorski (June 28, 1895 – July 23, 1986) was a Polish

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

. His arrangement of the "" is currently used as the Polish national anthem.

Biography

Sikorski was born in

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, but studied in Warsaw, first music at the Warsaw Conservatory and then philosophy at the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...

. He then studied in

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, which was Polish at the time, where he was a student of

Adolf Chybiński Adolf Chybiński (29 April 1880 – 31 October 1952) was a Polish historian, musicologist, and academic. Early life and education Adolf Eustachy Chybiński was the son of the industrialist Adolf and Maria z Górskich. He was educated at a gymnas ...

, and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

under

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher, conductor and composer. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organis ...

. In 1926, he became a teacher of composition at the Conservatory of

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

. From 1927 to 1945, he taught at the Warsaw Conservatory. He was rector of the State Higher School of Music in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

. From 1951 to 1966, he taught

music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...

and

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography * Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

at the Music Academy Warsaw. During this time, he was president of the

Polish Composers' Union The Polish Composers' Union (, ZKP) is a society of Polish composers and musicologists. History The association was founded in Kraków on August 29 or September 1, 1945 by the All-Polish Composers' Congress, as a continuation of the Association of ...

. He received many awards and honours, including: the National Music Award (1935), the Order of Polonia Restituta (1937), State Award first and second degree (1951, 1955, 1964, 1966), the Award of the Polish Composers’ Union (1951, 1975), the Gold Cross of Merit (1952), Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1955), the Banner of Labour Order, First Class (1960), the Jurzykowski Foundation Award (1981). He died in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, aged 91. He was the father of the composer,

Tomasz Sikorski Tomasz Sikorski (19 May 1939 – 12 November 1988) was a Polish composer and pianist. The son of the composer Kazimierz Sikorski, he studied at the Warsaw Conservatory with Zbigniew Drzewiecki. Later, thanks to a scholarship from the French ...

Composition

Sikorski composed six

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

, a symphonic allegro, two

overture Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") is a music instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overtures which ...

s (1945, 1954), some instrumental concertos, of which the clarinet concerto (1947) is the most important, a string sextet, three string quartets, choral and film music, including the music for the film ''Warsaw Premiere'' (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

: ''Warszawska premiera''), for which he won a State Award.

Selected works

* Symphony No. 2 (1922) * ''Stabat Mater'', Oratorio for 4 Solo Voices, Mixed Choir and Orchestra (1948, 1950) * Concerto for Flute and Orchestra (1957) * Concerto for Trumpet, String Orchestra, 4 Kettledrums, Xylophone and Tam-tam (1960) * Poliphonic Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra (1965) * Symphony No. 4 (1969) * Four Polonaises of Versailles for Strings (after Manuscripts from the 18th and 19th c.) (1974)

Selected filmography

* ''

Warsaw Premiere ''Warsaw Premiere'' (Polish:''Warszawska premiera'') is a 1951 Polish historical film directed by Jan Rybkowski and starring Jan Koecher, Barbara Kostrzewska and Jerzy Duszyński. The film's art direction was by Roman Mann. The film portrays t ...

'' (1951)

References

External links