Composer and violinist, born 5th February 1909 in Lódź, died 17th January 1969 in Warsaw.

Having first learnt the piano and violin with her father, Vincas Bacevičius (Wincenty Bacewicz), from 1919 Bacewicz continued her musical education at Helena Kijenska-Dobkiewiczowa's Musical Conservatoire in Lódź. There she studied the piano, violin, and theory of music. In 1923 her family moved to Warsaw and in 1924 she enrolled at the Warsaw Conservatoire to study composition under Kazimierz Sikorski, the violin under Józef Jarzębski, and the piano under Józef Turczyński. Meanwhile she took up philosophy at Warsaw University, but gave up after a year and a half. She also discontinued the piano to graduate from the Conservatoire in 1932 with two diplomas, in violin and composition. Owing to the generosity of Ignacy Jan Paderewski, the same year she received a grant to study composition at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris. She studied there under Nadia Boulanger in 1932-33, taking also private violin lessons with Henri Touret. She returned to Paris in 1934 to study under the Hungarian violinist Carl Flesch.

Her first solo success came as early as 1935 with the first mention at the 1st Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Competition in Warsaw. In 1936-38 she was the first violin at the Warsaw Polish Radio Orchestra led by Grzegorz Fitelberg, and she could develop her knowledge of instrumentation. Bacewicz played a number concerts before World War II, visiting Lithuania, France, Spain and other countries. She often appeared with her brother Kiejstut, the reputed pianist. During the Nazi occupation she played clandestine concerts, also for the Main Relief Council. After the War she continued to play concerts until 1953, giving recitals in Belgium, Czechoslovakia, USSR, Romania, Hungary and France. Meanwhile, in 1945, she joined the National Conservatoire (now the Academy of Music) in Lódź as a lecturer of theory and a violin teacher. In the 1950s she devoted herself almost exclusively to composing and teaching. From 1966 till her death she worked at the National Higher School of Music (now the Academy of Music) in Warsaw, running the composition class. She was made professor in 1967. She often sat on the juries of violin and composition competitions in Liège, Paris, Moscow, Naples, Budapest, Poznań and Warsaw. In 1955-57 and 1960-69 she was the vice-chair of the Polish Composers' Union.

The 1960s saw her take up writing in addition to music. She wrote a few novels and short stories, all of them available in manuscript only, except for a volume of short stories titled "Znak szczególny" / "The Distinguishing Mark", which was published by "Czytelnik" in 1970, (2nd edition1974).

Bacewicz's extremely rich composing output was recognized and honoured a number of times, earning her the 1st prize for "Quintet for Wind Instruments" (1932) at the "Aide aux femmes de professions libres" Association Competition in Paris in 1933; 2nd prize for "Trio for oboe, violin and cello" (1935) and a mention for "Sinfonietta" for string orchestra (1929) at the Polish Music Publishing Society composing competition in 1936; 2nd prize (no 1st prize was awarded) for "Piano Concerto" (1949) at the Polish Composers' Union 1949 Fryderyk Chopin Composition Competition in Warsaw; 1st prize for "String Quarter No. 4" (1951) at the International Composition Competition in Liège in 1951 and 2nd prize for "String Quartet No. 5" at the same event in 1956; 3rd prize (the highest prize awarded for an orchestra work) for "Music for Strings, Trumpets and Percussion" (1958) at the 1960 UNESCO's International Rostrum of Composers in Paris; Belgian Government Award and Gold Medal for "Violin Concerto No. 7" (1965) at the 1965 International Composing Competition in Brussels.

Bacewicz also received a number of awards and prizes for life achievement, including the City of Warsaw Music Award for achievement as a composer, virtuoso, organizer and teacher in 1949; National Award of 3rd degree for "Concerto for String Orchestra" (1948) in 1950; 1st prize for all contributions to festivals, and in particular for "Violin Sonata No. 4" (1949) at the Polish Music Festival in 1951; National Award of 2nd degree for "Violin Concerto No. 4" (1951), "String Quartet No. 4" and "Violin Sonata No. 4" in 1952; Minister of Culture and Art Award for "Symphony No. 4" (1953), "Violin Concerto No. 3" (1948) and "String Quartet No. 3" (1947) in 1955; Polish Composers' Union Award for outstanding compositional achievement in 1960; Minister of Culture and Art Award of 2nd degree for "Pensieri Notturni" for chamber orchestra (1961) in 1962. Her distinctions included the Order of Labour Standard of 2nd degree (1949) and of 1st degree (1959), Cavalier Cross of the Order of Restitution of Poland (1953), Medal of the 10th Anniversary of People's Republic of Poland (1955) and Commodore Cross of the Order of Restitution of Poland (1955).

Bacewicz was one of the few Polish women composers and, indeed, of the world's women composers. Women have always been heavily underrepresented in that group. There was the Benedictine sister Hildegard of Bingen in the Middle Ages; then Francesca Caccini, daughter of Giulio Caccini, the composer of first operas, in Baroque. Interestingly, Francesca, who was less famous than her father, has a special significance from the Polish perspective, for she devoted her opera "La liberazione di Ruggiero dall'isola d'Alcina" to the Polish prince and future king Władysław IV Wasa. The history of Polish music notes also Maria Szymanowska, the pianist and composer boasting considerable achievement in piano compositions and enjoying fame in the early 19th century. A special place in the 20th century music belongs to Germaine Tailleferre, the co-founder (with other French composers, mostly of greater fame than hers) of the group Les Six. France had another noted woman composer, Nadia Boulanger, who, however, made history chiefly as an outstanding composition teacher. It was from her that Bacewicz learned the excellent technique that she would use with remarkable skill to compose her many and diverse works, mostly neoclassical in style.

A trained and practicing violinist, Bacewicz had a special interest in violin and string music, composing seven violin concertos, two cello concertos and a viola one as well as seven string quartets, five violin and piano sonatas, and two sonatas for solo violin. At least some of these compositions remain worthy rivals of "male" works in concert halls alongside a few other chamber and symphony pieces.

Major compositions:

• "Four Preludes for piano" (1924)
• "Sinfonietta for string orchestra" (1929)
• "Suite for string ensemble" (1931)
• "De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine for solo voices, choir and orchestra" (1932)
• "Woodwind Quintet" (1932)
• "Convoi de Joie symphonic poem for orchestra" (1933)
• "Partita for violin and piano" (1934)
• "Trio for oboe, violin and cello" (1935)
• "Sinfonietta for small symphony orchestra" (1935)
• "Violin Concerto No. 1" (1937)
• "String Quartet No. 1" (1938)
• "Three Preludes for piano" (1941)
• "Sonata for solo violin No. 1" (1941)
• "Symphony No. 1" (1942 - 1945)
• "String Quartet No. 2" (1943)
• "Suite for two violins" (1943)
• "Ouverture for symphony orchestra" (1943)
• "Concertino for violin and piano" (1945)
• "Violin Concerto No. 2" (1945)
• "Sonata for violin and piano No. 1 (Sonata da Camera)" (1945)
• "Sonata for violin and piano No. 2" (1946)
• "Symphony for string orchestra "(1946)
• "From old Music suite for small orchestral ensemble" (1946)
• "Sonata violin and piano No. 3" (1947)
• "String Quartet No. 3" (1947)
• "Introduction and Capriccio for symphony orchestra" (1947)
• "Concerto for String Orchestra" (1948)
• "Trio for oboe, clarinet and faggot" (1948)
• "Violin Concerto No. 3" (1948)
• "Piano Concerto" (1949)
• "Piano Sonata No. 1" (1949)
• "Polish Rhapsody for violin and orchestra" (1949)
• "Quartet for Four Violins" (1949)
• "Sonata for violin and piano No. 4" (1949)
• "String Quartet No. 4" (1950-1951)
• "Symphony No. 2" (1951)
• "Violin Concerto No. 4" (1951)
• "Cello Concerto No. 1" (1951)
• "Sonata for violin and piano No. 5" (1951)
• "Piano Quintet No. 1" (1952)
• "Symphony No. 3" (1952)
• "Symphony No. 4" (1953)
• "Piano Sonata No. 2" (1953)
• "The Peasant King ballet for orchestra" (1953)
• "Violin Concerto No. 5" (1954)
• "Polish Ouverture for orchestra" (1954)
• "Partita for violin and piano" (1955)
• "Piano Sonatina" (1955)
• "Sonatina for oboe and piano" (1955)
• "String Quartet No. 5" (1955)
• "Ten Concert Etudes for piano" (1956-1957)
• "Violin Concerto No. 6" (1957)
• "Symphonic Variations for orchestra" (1957)
• "Sonata for solo violin No. 2" (1958)
• "Music for strings, trumpets and percussion" (1958)
• "The Adventure of King Arhtur comic radio opera" (1959)
• "String Quartet No. 6" (1960)
• "Pensieri Notturni for chamber orchestra" (1961)
• "Concerto for Grand Symphony Orchestra" (1962)
• "Cello Concerto No. 2" (1963)
• "Quartet for four Cellos" (1964)
• "Akropolis" cantata for mixed choir and orchestra, after Stanisław Wyspiański's drama (1964)
• "Esik in Ostend comic ballet in one act"(1964)
• "Violin Concerto No. 7" (1964-1965)
• "Divertimento for string orchestra" (1965)
• "Musica Sinfonica in tre Movimenti" (1965)
• "String Quartet No. 7" (1965)
• "Trio for oboe, harp and percussion" (1965)
• "Piano Quintet No. 2" (1965)
• "Concerto for two pianos and orchestra" (1966)
• "Contradizione for chamber orchestra" (1966)
• "Esquisse for organ" (1966)
• "In una Parte for symphony orchestra" (1967)
• "Concerto for viola and orchestra" (1967-1968)
• "Four Capriccios for solo violin" (1968)
• "Desire ballet in two acts" (1968 - 1969)

Source: Polish Music Information Center, Polish Composers' Union, November 2001.

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