Impressionism · Composers linked to impressionism
1882 – 1937
Tymoszówka, current Ukraine → Lausanne, Switzerland
Life
Karol Szymanowski was born on October 3, 1882 in Tymoszówka, a Polish nobility estate in present-day Ukraine. His first works follow Chopin, Scriabin and Richard Strauss, but his travels in Italy, Sicily and North Africa aroused a fascination for the Mediterranean and Eastern world.
During World War I he wrote his works closest to impressionism: Mythes, Metopes, Massages and the first violin concert, of an extraordinary sensuality and glow. He then sought inspiration in the folklore of the Tatras Mountains. He was the great Polish composer of his time and led the Warsaw Conservatory. He died of tuberculosis in Lausanne on 29 March 1937.
Featured works
- Mythesfor violin and piano, with «La fontaine d'Aréthuse» (1915)
- Metopes for piano (1915)
- Massages for piano (1916)
- Concert for violin No. 1 (1916)
- Symphony No. 3, «Song of the night» (1916)
- Krol Roger (King Roger), opera (1926)
- Stabat Mater (1926)
- Harnasie, ballet (1931)
