Maria Szymanowska facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Maria Szymanowska
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Maria Szymanowska around 1830
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Marianna Agata Wołowska |
| Genres | Classical music |
| Occupation(s) | Pianist, composer |
| Instruments | Piano |
Maria Szymanowska (born Marianna Agata Wołowska; Warsaw, 14 December 1789 – 25 July 1831, St. Petersburg, Russia) was a Polish composer and a very talented pianist. She was one of the first professional "virtuoso" pianists of her time. A virtuoso is someone with amazing skill in music.
Maria traveled and performed all over Europe, especially in the 1820s. Later, she settled permanently in St. Petersburg, Russia. There, she wrote music for the royal court. She also gave concerts, taught music, and hosted a popular gathering place called a salon. Her music, mostly for piano, songs, and small chamber pieces, was very popular. She also wrote some of the first piano studies and nocturnes in Poland. Her daughter, Celina Szymanowska, married the famous Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz.
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About Maria Szymanowska's Life
Marianna Agata Wołowska was born in Warsaw, Poland, on December 14, 1789. Her family was wealthy and Polish, with some Jewish heritage. Her father, Franciszek Wołowski, owned land and was a brewer. Her mother, Barbara Wołowska, came from a noble Polish family.
We don't know much about her early years. She likely studied piano with Antoni Lisowski and Tomasz Gremm. For composition, she probably learned from Franciszek Lessel, Józef Elsner, and Karol Kurpiński. She gave her first public concerts in Warsaw and Paris in 1810.
In 1810, she married Józef Szymanowski. They had three children while living in Poland. Their children were Helena (born 1811) and twins Celina and Romuald (born 1812). Celina later married the poet Adam Mickiewicz. Maria and Józef separated in 1820, and she kept the children.
Maria Szymanowska died from cholera in 1831. This happened during a summer epidemic in St. Petersburg. She is not related to Karol Szymanowski, a famous Polish composer from the 20th century.
Maria Szymanowska's Performances
Maria's professional piano career started in 1815. She performed in England in 1818. From 1823 to 1826, she toured Western Europe. She gave public and private concerts in Germany, France, England, Italy, Belgium, and Holland. Many of these performances were for royalty. For example, in England in 1824, she played for the Royal Philharmonic Society. She also performed for members of the royal family.
Critics and audiences loved her playing. They praised her delicate sound and her amazing skill. She was known for her expressive and free style, like in an opera. Maria was one of the first professional piano virtuosos in Europe in the 1800s. She was also one of the first pianists to play pieces from memory in public. She did this ten years before Franz Liszt and Clara Schumann.
After years of touring, she returned to Warsaw. In early 1828, she moved to Moscow, then to St. Petersburg. There, she became the court pianist for the Empress of Russia, Alexandra Feodorovna.
Maria Szymanowska's Compositions
Maria Szymanowska wrote about 100 piano pieces. Like many women composers of her time, she wrote music for instruments she could easily access. This included many solo piano pieces, short works, songs, and some chamber music. Her style is often called "pre-romantic" or "Polish Sentimentalism."
A scholar named Sławomir Dobrzański described her music. He said her Etudes and Preludes showed new ways of writing for the keyboard. Her Nocturne in B flat is considered her best piano piece. Szymanowska's Mazurkas were some of the first to use this Polish dance style. Her Fantasy and Caprice pieces show impressive piano techniques. Her polonaises followed the style of Michał Kleofas Ogiński. Many experts believe her music influenced Frédéric Chopin's later works.
Maria's career as a pianist and composer was very important. It showed the way for other virtuoso pianist-composers in the 19th century. These musicians used their amazing playing skills to create new and exciting music.
Maria Szymanowska's Reputation and Connections
Because she was such a great performer and hosted a popular salon, Maria Szymanowska knew many important people. She connected with famous composers, musicians, and poets. These included Ludwig van Beethoven, Luigi Cherubini, Frédéric Chopin, Gioachino Rossini, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, and John Field. She also knew musicians like Pierre Baillot and Giuditta Pasta. Famous writers like Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Adam Mickiewicz were also her friends.
Beethoven, Hummel, and Field even dedicated some of their music to her. It is said that Goethe fell deeply in love with her. The salon she ran in St. Petersburg attracted many important people. This made her even more famous as a court musician.
See also
In Spanish: Maria Agata Szymanowska para niños
