Google’s blog post about Szymanowski features a special illustration.
Born on October 3, 1882 in Tymoszówka (now in Ukraine), Szymanowski was one of the most prominent 20th-century composers. He is universally hailed as a man who brought Polish music into the mainstream of European trends.
After studying music initially at his home, he moved to Warsaw, where he had private lessons in harmony and composition and subsequently became a student of composer and teacher Zygmunt Noskowski at the Warsaw Music Institute.
He travelled extensively around southern Europe, North Africa, and America. Back in newly independent Poland, his music developed a sense of national consciousness, reflected in the ballet Harnasie and the religious piece Stabat Mater.
Szymanowski was influenced by many styles and traditions. Harnasie is the finest example of his fascination with the music of Polish highlanders, which he explored during his frequent visits to Poland's southern Tatra mountains.
His highly diverse output comprises a wide selection of piano works, two violin concertos, and the opera King Roger, which is the fruit of the composer’s fascination with oriental culture.
Premiered in Warsaw in 1926, King Roger is undergoing a renaissance, with performances in London, Paris and the Americas.
Szymanowski died in a sanatorium in Lausanne, Switzerland, in March 1937, and received a state funeral in Kraków, southern Poland.
A museum dedicated to his life and work is available to the public at the Atma villa in the Tatra resort of Zakopane, his home towards the end of his life.
(mk/gs)