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Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-1969)

Grazyna Bacewicz composer Grażyna Bacewicz studied with Kazimierz Sikorski at the Warsaw Conservatory and Nadia Boulanger in Paris, simultaneously studying the violin. She wrote much music for her own instrument, including seven violin concertos and numerous solo and accompanied sonatas. Most of her music is neoclassical, but in the early 1960s she began to incorporate elements of the new Polish style exemplified by her contemporary Lutosławski, and by 1965 she had adopted an avant-garde idiom with stylistic experimentations in sonorism, 12-tone techniques, aleatoricism, and collage. She was one of the founders of the Warsaw Autumn Festival; became the first woman vice-president of the Union of Polish Composers and a professor of composition at Warsaw's Music Academy (PWSM). In Poland, there are schools and streets bearing her name, while sculptures portraying her adorn urban parks.
-  Polish Music Center

COMPOSITIONS                                                            Bacewicz Links     ~ ~ ~     Works By Genre
Woodwind Quintet (1932)
Children's Suite, piano (1933)
Variations on a Lithuanian Folksong, violin and piano (1934)
Roses, voice and piano (1934)
Trio, oboe, violin and cello (1935)
Speak to Me, My Dear, voice and piano (1936)
Violin Concerto No. 1 (1937)
String Quartet No. 1 (1938)
Three Arabic Songs, tenor (or soprano) and orchestra (or orchestra) (1938)
Sonata (No. 1) for Solo Violin (1941)
String Quartet No. 2 (1942)
Suite for Two Violins (1943)
Overture, orchestra (1943)
Violin Concerto No. 2 (1945)
Sonata da camera, violin and piano (1945)
Andante sostenuto, cello and organ (1946)
Violin Sonata No. 2 (1946)
Capriccio, violin and piano (1946)
Violin Sonata No. 3 (1947)
Here is the Night, voice and piano (1947)
String Quartet No. 3 (1947)
Concerto for String Orchestra (1948)
Violin Concerto No. 3 (1948)
Olympic Cantata, chorus and orchestra  (1948)
Polish Dance, violin and piano (1948)
Polish Capriccio, violin (1949) [also for vln & orch; cl & pf]
Piano Concerto No. 1 (1949)
Melody and Capriccio, violin and piano (1949)
Violin Sonata No. 4 (1949)
Polish Rhapsody, violin and orchestra (1949)
Quartetto, 4 violins (1949)
A Streak of Shadow, voice and piano (1948)
Leave-taking, voice and piano (1949)
Oberek No. 1, violin and piano (1949)
String Quartet No. 4 (1951)
Symphony No. 2 (1951)
Oberek No. 2, violin and piano (1951)
Violin Concerto No. 4 (1951)
Mazovian Dance, violin (cello) and piano (1951)
Cello Concerto No. 1 (1951)
Violin Sonata No. 5 (1951)
Piano Quintet No. 1 (1952)
Lullaby, violin and piano (1952)
Capriccio No. 2, violin solo (1952)
Slavonic Dance, violin and piano (1952)
Two Etudes in Double Notes, piano (1955)
Symphony No. 3 (1952)
Symphony No. 4 (1953)
Piano Sonata No. 2 (1953)
Rondino, piano (1953)
Humoresque, violin and piano (1953)
Peasant King, ballet (1953)
Violin Concerto No. 5 (1954)
Partita, violin and piano (1955; orchestrated, 1955)
Sonatina, piano (1955)
Sonatina, oboe and piano (1955)
Over the Big and Clear Waters, voice and piano (1955)
Large Bell and Small Bells, voice and piano (1955)
I Have a Headache, voice and piano (1955)
String Quartet No. 5 (1955)
Ten Concert Etudes, piano (1956)
Little Magpie, voice and piano (1956)
Variations, orchestra (1957)
Sonata (No. 2) for Solo Violin (1958)
Music for Strings, Trumpets, and Percussion (1958)
The Adventure of King Arthur, radio opera (1959)
String Quartet No. 6 (1960)
Pensieri Notturni, chamber orchestra (1961)
Marysia i krasnoludki, film score (1961)
Concerto for Symphony Orchestra (1962)
Cello Concerto No. 2 (1963)
Quartet for Four Cellos (1964)
Acropolis, cantata, chorus and orchestra (1964)
Esik in Ostend, ballet (1964)
Incrustations, horn and ensemble (1965)
Violin Concerto No. 7 (1965)
Piano Quintet No. 2 (1965)
String Quartet No. 7 (1965)
Trio, oboe, harp and percussion (1965)
Little Triptych, piano (1965)
Musica sinfonica in tre movimenti, orchestra (1965)
Divertimento, string orchestra (1965)
Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra (1966)
Contradizione, chamber orchestra (1966)
Esquisse, organ (1966)
In una parte, orchestra (1967)
Fish, piano (1967)
Courtship, male chorus (1968)
Viola Concerto (1968)
Four Capriccios, violin solo (1968)
Desire, ballet, orchestra and tape (1969, unfinished)


WORKS BY GENRE                                                            Bacewicz Links     ~ top of page ~
Dramatic/Theater
Peasant King, ballet (1953)
The Adventure of King Arthur, radio opera (1959)
Esik in Ostend, ballet (1964)
Desire, ballet, orchestra and tape (1969, unfinished)

Orchestral
Overture, orchestra (1943)
Concerto for String Orchestra (1948)
Symphony No. 2 (1951)
Symphony No. 3 (1952)
Symphony No. 4 (1953)
Variations, orchestra (1957)
Music for Strings, Trumpets, and Percussion (1958)
Pensieri Notturni, chamber orchestra (1961)
Concerto for Symphony Orchestra (1962)
Musica sinfonica in tre movimenti, orchestra (1965)
Divertimento, string orchestra (1965)
Contradizione, chamber orchestra (1966)
In una parte, orchestra (1967)

Soloist(s) w/Orchestra
Violin Concerto No. 1 (1937)
Violin Concerto No. 2 (1945)
Polish Capriccio, violin and orchestra (1949)
Violin Concerto No. 3 (1948)
Piano Concerto No. 1 (1949)
Polish Rhapsody, violin and orchestra (1949)
Violin Concerto No. 4 (1951)
Cello Concerto No. 1 (1951)
Violin Concerto No. 5 (1954)
Cello Concerto No. 2 (1963)
Violin Concerto No. 7 (1965)
Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra (1966)
Viola Concerto (1968)

Chorus w/Orchestra
Olympic Cantata, chorus and orchestra  (1948)
Acropolis, cantata, chorus and orchestra (1964)

Choral
Courtship, male chorus (1968)

Chamber
Woodwind Quintet (1932)
Trio, oboe, violin and cello (1935)
String Quartet No. 1 (1938)
String Quartet No. 2 (1942)
Suite for Two Violins (1943)
Sonata da camera, violin and piano (1945)
String Quartet No. 3 (1947)
Quartetto, 4 violins (1949)
String Quartet No. 4 (1951)
Piano Quintet No. 1 (1952)
String Quartet No. 5 (1955)
String Quartet No. 6 (1960)
Quartet for Four Cellos (1964)
Incrustations, horn and ensemble (1965)
Piano Quintet No. 2 (1965)
String Quartet No. 7 (1965)
Trio, oboe, harp and percussion (1965)

Solo Instrument
Variations on a Lithuanian Folksong, violin and piano (1934)
Sonata (No. 1) for Solo Violin (1941)
Sonata da camera, violin and piano (1945)
Andante sostenuto, cello and organ (1946)
Violin Sonata No. 2 (1946)
Capriccio, violin and piano (1946)
Violin Sonata No. 3 (1947)
Polish Dance, violin and piano (1948)
Polish Capriccio, violin (1949) [also for vln & orch; cl & pf]
Melody and Capriccio, violin and piano (1949)
Violin Sonata No. 4 (1949)
Oberek No. 1, violin and piano (1949)
Oberek No. 2, violin and piano (1951)
Mazovian Dance, violin (cello) and piano (1951)
Violin Sonata No. 5 (1951)
Lullaby, violin and piano (1952)
Capriccio No. 2, violin solo (1952)
Slavonic Dance, violin and piano (1952)
Humoresque, violin and piano (1953)
Partita, violin and piano (1955; orchestrated, 1955)
Sonatina, oboe and piano (1955)
Sonata (No. 2) for Solo Violin (1958)
Four Capriccios, violin solo (1968)

Piano/Organ
Children's Suite, piano (1933)
Two Etudes in Double Notes, piano (1955)
Piano Sonata No. 2 (1953)
Rondino, piano (1953)
Sonatina, piano (1955)
Ten Concert Etudes, piano (1956)
Little Triptych, piano (1965)
Esquisse, organ (1966)
Fish, piano (1967)

Vocal
Roses, voice and piano (1934)
Speak to Me, My Dear, voice and piano (1936)
Three Arabic Songs, tenor (or soprano) and orchestra (or orchestra) (1938)
Here is the Night, voice and piano (1947)
A Streak of Shadow, voice and piano (1948)
Leave-taking, voice and piano (1949)
Over the Big and Clear Waters, voice and piano (1955)
Large Bell and Small Bells, voice and piano (1955)
I Have a Headache, voice and piano (1955)
Little Magpie, voice and piano (1956)

Film
Marysia i krasnoludki, film score (1961)


BACEWICZ LINKS                                                            Works By Genre     ~ top of page ~
100th Anniversary - Grazyna Bacewicz (Chandos Records)
Bacewicz  - String Quartet No. 4 (Polish Music Information Centre)
Composers' Corner: Notes on Polish Women Composers (Maria Anna Harley, IAWM Journal)
Grażyna Bacewicz – 100th Anniversary (Jens F. Laurson, WETA, Washington, D.C.)
Grażyna Bacewicz recordings – A (very long) Checklist (Fantastical melancholy)
Grażyna Bacewicz and her Polish Caprice (Agnieszka Kozlowska, Moores School of Music)
Grażyna Bacewicz's Second Piano Sonata (1953): Octave Expansion and Sonata Form (Ann McNamee, Music Theory Online)
The Life of Grażyna Bacewicz - Poland’s Second Female Composer (Samantha Markham, Suite101.com)
Service, Legitimate Power, and Deep Novelty: Grażyna Bacewicz’s Instrumental Chamber Music (Chamber Music Today)

Composer website (at Polish Music Center)   . . .  inquire about Grazyna Bacewicz:
Composer website (2) (at Polish Music Information Centre)

Bacewicz @ Wikipedia
Bacewicz @ Answers.com
Bacewicz @ Audiphile Audition (via google)
Bacewicz @ CITWF
Bacewicz  @ Classical Archives
Bacewicz @ Classical Composers Database
Bacewicz @ culture.pl
Bacewicz @ Facebook
Bacewicz @ FemBio (in German)
Bacewicz @ Historical Anthology of Music by Women (James R. Briscoe, Indiana Univ Pr, books.google.com)
Bacewicz @ Hyperion Records
Bacewicz @ IMDb (Internet Movie Database)
Bacewicz  @ info-poland
Bacewicz @ InstantEncore
Bacewicz @ Joanna Kurkowicz - Polish Capriccio: Works for Violin and Piano
Bacewicz @ Klassika (in German)
Bacewicz @ MusicWeb International
Bacewicz @ The New York Times
Bacewicz @ The Norton/Grove Dictionary of Women Composers (J.A. Sadie, R. Samuel, W.W. Norton, books.google.com)
Bacewicz  @ Polish Greatness
Bacewicz @ Polish Music Center
Bacewicz @ Polish Music Information Centre
Bacewicz @ REC Music Foundation /The Lied and Art Song Texts Page
Bacewicz @ Women & Music (Karen Pendle, Indiana Univ Pr, books.google.com)
Bacewicz @ Women in Music Festival/Eastman School of Music
Bacewicz @ Women of Note

Publisher
Bacewicz @ Ed. Polonaise de Musique
Bacewicz @ Edition Peters
Bacewicz @ Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne S.A. (Polish Music Publishing SA) (PWM Edition)

Streaming Audio
Bacewicz  @ Classical Archives
Bacewicz @ The Classical MIDI Connection
Bacewicz @ Classical Musical Midi Page
Bacewicz @ last.fm

Recordings
Bacewicz @ ArkivMusic
Bacewicz @ ClassicsOnline
Bacewicz @ Discogs
Bacewicz @ Fantastical melancholy
Bacewicz @ Naxos Direct

Video                                                                                                                                                                          ~ top of page ~
Bacewicz @ YouTube
Bacewicz @ Google Video
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