LITERATURE AND FINE ARTS AS A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION
Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar distinguished four types of inspiration for her compositions: 1) those occurring as a consequence of a commission, 2) irrational inspiration, 3) provoked by listening to the music of another composer, 4) inspiration “from other arts, especially literature and poetry.”Moszumańska-Nazar, Autorefleksja, pp. 152–153. Unless otherwise stated, all the translations have been made by the author of this article.
The composer particularly emphasised the importance of literary inspirations in her work. On the other hand, analyses of the titles of her works and the poetic texts to which her compositions were written indicates a much broader extra-musical context that she herself referred to. Therefore, four categories of inspirations and non-musical references can be distinguished in Moszumańska-Nazar’s works: 1) literary inspirations, 2) inspirations from visual arts, 3) religious inspirations, and those derived from a broadly understood culture and philosophy, 4) inspirations flowing from nature. Several compositions can be assigned to each of these categories (or even more than a dozen works in the case of literary, religious, and general cultural inspirations).
Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar wrote the following about inspirations from literature in her works:
It is very difficult to determine to what extent the text itself, following the composer’s first fascination with it, conducts the music, and to what extent its influence can be determined. However, the order in which a music composition is influenced by a literary work is as follows: 1) learning about the text (poem, prose), being delighted with it, which triggers musical imagination; 2) the willingness to write a work setting this text, or influenced by it, 3) the actual composition process. This is how, for example, my Polish Madonnas came into beingIbid., p. 153.
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Moszumańska-Nazar’s numerous works inspired by literature can be divided into two groups with regard to the source of their inspiration. The first group consists of vocal-instrumental pieces composed to texts by 20th-century poets, mainly Polish ones (Władysław Broniewski, Leopold Staff, Julian Tuwim, Jerzy Harasymowicz). One exception is Wyzwanie [Challenge] for baritone and chamber ensemble (1977) composed to a text by the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. Krzysztof Baculewski, writing about the generation of Polish composers active after 1956, indicates that one of the most important tendencies in their works was their broadly understood humanism, which made them reach for various texts, both by ancient and contemporary poets, commenting on the tragic legacy of World War II, but also on the fate of modern man. In this context he mentions, among others, Challenge by Krystyna Moszumańska-NazarK. Baculewski, Polska twórczość kompozytorska 1945–1984 [Polish Composers’ Output 1945–1984], Cracow, Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne, 1987, pp. 149–150.
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The second group consists of instrumental pieces (for different sets of instruments), whose titles indicate inspirations by literary genres such as an essay, rhapsody (Pol. rapsod) and dialogue (4 Essays for orchestra, 1958; 2 Dialogues for instrumental ensemble; Rapsod II for orchestra). 4 Essays for orchestra is a lost work. According to the information provided in the composer’s catalogue of works, it was a cycle consisting of four one-movement pieces, with a total duration of c. 8’. Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar described this work as follows: “An essay is a short story, a statement characterised by a casual form; so I thought that also for my music pieces, composed in a non-schematic form, the title Essays would be appropriate.”Woźna-Stankiewicz, Lwowskie geny, pp. 167–168.
The brevity of the individual parts of the work and their free form (presumably each of the four parts lasted c. 2 minutes) suggests associations with the literary form of an essay, defined by the PWN Dictionary of the Polish Language as a “short scientific or literary dissertation presenting the topic in a subjective way.”W. Doroszewski (ed.), Słownik języka polskiego, PWN, https://sjp.pwn.pl/szukaj/esej.html (accessed 22.10.2019).
In 2 Dialogues, the composer’s intention was to treat all the instruments in a soloist way and metaphorically depict “their conversations.”The composer’s own statement, in Kasperek, Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar, p. 109.
The narrative character of the music of Rapsod IIThe manuscript of Rapsod I for orchestra from 1975 is missing.
and the dramatic culminations in this work suggest a convergence with the literary genre of rapsod [a genre in Polish poetry, related to, but not identical with, the Greek notion of rhapsōidia, which concerns the oral performance of epic poetry – translator’s note] – a poetic work of a sublime character celebrating an important historical event. The composition was written in 1980. Its dramatic expression reflects the social moods in this crucial period in Polish history, following the emergence of the ‘Solidarity’ trade union movement, which led to a change of political system a few years later. With the help of the composer’s rich palette of sonoristic means, the music reflects confusion and anxiety, and represents the opposition’s struggle against the communist regime.
The composer’s literary inspirations are also evident in the 12-minute-long APigram for piano (2004). Its title refers to the ancient Greek concise literary form of the epigram, which sometimes included a witty punch line. Probably with reference to this idea, the title of Moszumańska-Nazar’s work contains a witty metagram: the first letter of the word epigram was changed to ‘a’; as a result, the changed word also refers to the initial of the first name and the first two letters of the surname of the pianist Andrzej Pikul, the first performer of the work and its dedicatee.
Also noteworthy is the title of the work Intonations for two mixed choirs and orchestra (1968). Intonation is a term derived from linguistics and means equipping a spoken word with a particular melody (various intonation patterns are distinguished, including rising and falling). It is also a musical term with several meanings, including the accurate performance of musical pitches. In Intonations, the composer’s intention was “to implement her own acoustic and formal vision.”Kasperek, Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar, p. 50.
She introduced such original types of vocal voice articulations as: “spoken singing at a given pitch” and “pronouncing the text at any pitch.” The work, which has not yet been performed, bears testimony to the author’s original inventiveness in sound. Another example of an ambiguous title are Interpretations for flute, tape and percussion created in 1967. The term interpretation refers both to the scientific analysis of a literary work used in literary studies and the way in which a musical, theatrical, or literary work is performed. By prescribing only approximate rhythmic values in the first part of the composition, the composer emphasises the interpretation of the work by its performers.
Inspirations derived from visual arts are evident in the composer’s Frescos. In 1988, 1991 and 1993 three Frescos were successively composed, the third of which was additionally subtitled Lviv. Hanna Kostrzewska points out that the word ‘fresco’ has a metaphorical context in these works, “mainly due to the presence in each of the three works of multi-coloured sound structures in a horizontal and vertical arrangement.”H. Kostrzewska, Fresk w muzyce polskiej XX i XXI wieku. W poszukiwaniu differentia specifica [The Fresco in Polish 20th- and 21st-Century Music. In Search of a differentia specifica], Poznań, Academy of Music, 2012, p. 109.
The composer also refers to the painting technique used in frescoes (the application of several layers of mortar, its appropriate composition and the selection of appropriate dyes, which results in a greater or lesser intensity of colours) by taking advantage of the rich colours of orchestral soundThe composer’s own statement, in Woźna-Stankiewicz, Lwowskie geny, pp. 168–169.
. In the Third Fresco ‘Lviv’ she also introduced quotes related to the history of her home city (namely, the Marian hymn The beautiful Star of the City of Lviv, a quote from the song Legions, and from a batiar song performed during World War II).
INSPIRATIONS DERIVED FROM RELIGION, NATURE, BROADLY UNDERSTOOD CULTURE, AND PHILOSOPHY
Religious inspirations found their expression in several of the composer’s works. These are: Polish Madonnas for mixed choir and orchestra (1974), Song of Songs for soprano, male reciting voice, reciting choir and chamber instrumental ensemble (1982), Oratio brevis for organ (1995), and Pater noster for male choir and organ (1987). In Song of Songs, the composer set the text of the Old Testament book as translated into Polish by Roman Brandstaetter. She described this translation as “filled (...) very strongly with the atmosphere of the ancient East and its sensuality,”The composer’s own statement, after Mizerska-Golonek, “Pieśń nad pieśniami”, p. 109.
which the composer tried to reflect in her own composition. Ewa Mizerska-Golonek draws attention to the opposition of the vocal and instrumental parts in Song of Songs - the ascetic character of the vocal layer contrasts with the rich and diverse instrumental one. The author also distinguishes two orders in the formal organisation of the work. The first, linear, constructed as a succession of fragments-images (“there is more sound painting here, also stability and montage technique”Ibid., p. 143.
) and the second, spatial one, which introduces elements of the drama (“simulated dialogues; dramatic role of the choir; the appearance of characters in the background, marking their presence in a symbolic way; overlap between current events and reminiscences of past events.”Ibid., p. 143.
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In Oratio brevis, the music represents, on one hand, a calm prayer-like character, and on the other – a dramatic element, introduced through dynamic and textural contrasts. According to the composer’s own words: “This is a short work, very subjective, in which I used the sound qualities of the organ extensively, trying to express the feelings and thoughts that accompany us while we pray.”The composer’s own statement, in Kasperek, Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar, p. 111.
Marek Stefański, to whom the song was dedicated, and who was its first performer, writes that this piece is “a kind of free, subjective impression, the title of which defines its programme. It is simply a ‘short prayer’, presenting the author’s personal reflections that accompany the act of praying.”M. Stefański, Źródła inspiracji twórczych i formy ich wyrazu w muzyce organowej kompozytorów krakowskich drugiej połowy XX wieku [Sources of Artistic Inspiration and Their Reflections in Organ Music Written by Cracow Composers in the 2nd Half of the 20th Century], Cracow, Academy of Music, 2011, p. 81.
Pater noster is an occasional piece written for the clerics at the seminary of the Friars Minor Capuchin in Krakow, but eventually premiered by ‘Camervox’ Chamber Choir conducted by Adam Korzeniowski during a holy mass at St Mary’s Church in Krakow in 1999, for the inauguration of the 11th International Festival of Krakow Composers.
In Polish Madonnas, the composer reached for the poetry of Jerzy Harasymowicz and his poems from the cycle Madonny polskie, which were inspired by the sacred art of the Nowy Sącz region and the images of the Madonna and Child created by folk artists. Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar wrote:
This poetry depicted for me the charm and beauty of old, folk and artistic paintings and sculptures of Madonna and Child, which adorn village churches and roadside chapels in Poland; [...] through a specific choice of orchestral instruments – individual winds, a very large, ‘ringing’, metallic set of percussion, and low strings, I intended to translate into the music the atmosphere of the poems, and the atmosphere of a rural procession, moving from one shrine to anotherKasperek, Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar, p. 73.
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The composer’s oeuvre also includes several works inspired by broadly understood culture and philosophy. These are: Hexaèdre for orchestra (1960), Exodus for orchestra (1964), Implications for 2 pianos and percussion (1969), as well as Bel canto for soprano, celesta and percussion (1972). The title Hexaèdre means in Greek: a hexagon. The composition, consisting of six parts, is the fruit of the author’s search and experiments in the field of new sounds, typical of the second, experimental-sonoristic period of her workThe composer herself distinguished three periods in her work: 1. until 1958 – neoclassical; 2. 1959–1973 – experimental-sonoristic; 3. after 1974 – a synthesis of the existing trends and concepts. Cf. Moszumańska-Nazar, Autorefleksja, p. 152.
. It applies the dodecaphonic technique, pointillistic textures, as well as a new type of sound colour, produced by clapping curved hands together.
The title Exodus does not refer to Biblical history but to the figurative meaning of the word. This composition is a fruit of the composer’s personal experiences at the time of its creation: “I had overcome a certain impasse in my life, and thought that the title of the work composed at that time should reflect this ‘escape’.”The composer’s own statement, in Woźna-Stankiewicz, Lwowskie geny, p. 166.
Implication, on the other hand, is a term in logic that describes “the logical relation between two sentences, the first of which entails the second.”W. Doroszewski (ed.), Słownik języka polskiego, PWN, https://sjp.pwn.pl/doroszewski/implikacja;5434461.html (accessed 20.10.2019).
Due to the fact that Moszumańska-Nazar’s Implications is a lost work, it is not possible to examine whether and how the composition technique or structure of that work drew on the philosophical concept of implication. The virtuoso piece Serpentine for oboe solo refers in a metaphorical way – through the type of melody of a decorative, ‘curling’ character – to the shape of a streamer, but also, as the composer emphasises, to the appearance and name of the serpent, a musical instrument from the zinc familyThe composer’s own statement, in Woźna-Stankiewicz, Lwowskie geny, p. 167.
. In the case of Bel canto, the original title of the work, despite its immediate associations with the music of the 18th or 19th centuries, was supposed to refer to a certain kind of bel canto technique used by singers in the 20th century. The composition contains interesting vocal effects and unconventional articulations. Inspirations from the musical culture of the 19th century are present, however, in several other works by Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar. The genres typical of the music of the Romantic era include: Variazioni concertanti for flute and chamber orchestra (1966), 3 Concert Etudes, Moments musicaux, as well as several waltzes, such as the Grande valse d'anniversaire for piano (2000).
Several works by Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar were inspired by nature. These include: Constellations for piano (1972), Flowers for instrumental ensemble (1997), and Music in Autumn for clarinet, bells and percussion (2001). The title of the first piece refers to the concept of a constellation, used in astronomy. This is confirmed by the composer’s statement: “Constellations – certain colour systems in my music are just like the luminous ribbons of stars in the sky.”Woźna-Stankiewicz, Lwowskie geny, p. 166–167.
The PWN Dictionary of the Polish Language also quotes another meaning of the word: “a system or a state of affairs existing somewhere.”W. Doroszewski (ed.), Słownik języka polskiego, PWN, https://sjp.pwn.pl/sjp/konstelacja;2473379.html (accessed 20.10.2019).
The composer’s claim that “the work is based on selected interval-note systems, occurring in different textures”,The composer’s own statement, in Kasperek, Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar, p. 62.
also indicates a reference to this second, more general meaning of the word ‘constellation’ in her piece.
A poetic reference to belle epoque – an irrevocably gone era – can be found in Flowers for 2 flutes, oboe, clarinet and piano (1995–1997). This epoch is symbolised by the titles of individual sections of this work, which refer to flowers typical of the turn of the 19th century: Heliotrope, Tuberose, Mimosa, and Iris (the last section is called Bouquet). In the composer’s view, “the music does not represent the shapes or colours of the flowers; instead, I wanted to express their ‘personalities’.”The composer’s own statement, ibid., p. 118.
These flowers were characterised, as the composer wrote, “by elegance, charm, admiration and feeling.”The composer’s own statement, ibid., p. 118.
Music in Autumn, as the catalogue of the composer’s works informs us, was written in Cracow in October and November 2001. It is therefore likely that the magical, colourful autumn landscape of the city park of Planty in Cracow, near which the composer’s house was located, may have been one of the inspirations for this work.
Scientific studies concerning the musical output of Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar emphasise such qualities of her individual musical style as: “the composer’s sensitivity to colour” (J. Paja-StachJ. Paja-Stach, Polish Music from Paderewski to Penderecki, trans. C.E. Thornton, Cracow, Musica Iagellonica, 2010, p. 209.
), “a dynamism of the musical unfolding” (M. Janicka-SłyszM. Janicka-Słysz, ‘Moszumańska-Nazar Krystyna’, in M. Podhajski (ed.), Polish Music. Polish Composers 1918–2010, Gdańsk, Academy of Music-Lublin, Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski, 2013, p. 867.
), and the principle of contrast as the overriding quality of the composer’s style (T. SobaniecT. Sobaniec, Perkusja znakiem rozpoznawczym muzyki Krystyny Moszumańskiej-Nazar [Percussion as a Hallmark of Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar’s Music], Cracow, Academy of Music, 2011, p. 105.
). Ewa Mizerska-Golonek writes about Moszumańska-Nazar’s works for percussion that this music is “beautiful, noble, emerging from the depths, full of expression, and imbued with thought.”E. Mizerska-Golonek, ‘Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar i jej muzyka na perkusję solo’ [‘Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar’s Music for Solo Percussion’], in K. Droba, T. Malecka and K. Szwajgier (eds.), Muzyka polska 1945–1995 [Polish Music 1945–1995], Cracow, Academy of Music, 1996, p. 194.
Irina Nikolskaya compared Moszumańska-Nazar’s style to that of Tadeusz Baird, and claimed that the former composer’s style has evolved in the direction of sonorism, but also contains elements that are unusual in sonoristic music (such as thematicism and the significance of metro-rhythmic structures)I. Nikolskaya, Ot Shimanovskogo do Lyutoslavskogo i Penderetskogo: Ocherki razvitya simfonicheskoy muzyki v Polshe XX veka [From Szymanowski to Lutosławski and Penderecki. Essays on the Development of Symphonic Music in 20th-Century Poland], Moscow, Sovetskiy Kompozitor, 1990.
. The musical style of Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar contains contrasted elements. On the one hand, it is characterised by the dramatic expression of sound structures and powerful climaxes, on the other – by lyrical elements. The composer experimented in the field of timbre, mainly in the field of instrumental music. Percussion instruments were particularly important in her work. She composed works for solo percussion, chamber music with percussion, as well as a Concerto for percussion and orchestra. Percussion instruments also played a major role in her symphonic output.
THE ARTISTIC PERSONALITY AND BIOGRAPHY OF THE COMPOSER
Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar was born on 5th September 1924 in Lwów (now Lviv in Ukraine). Her parents were not professionally involved in music, but they visited the opera and operetta and were “typical middle-class music lovers.”The composer’s own statement, in Woźna-Stankiewicz, Lwowskie geny, pp. 12.
In Lviv, Krystyna pursued her musical education at the Anna Niementowska Institute of Music, and later (from 1936) at the Conservatory. In 1945, as a result of the resettlement of Poles from territories annexed to the USSR, she moved to Cracow with her family. From 1949, she studied piano with Jan Hoffman and composition with Stanisław Wiechowicz at the State Higher School of Music in Cracow, graduating in both fields of study in 1955. From 1963, she worked as a teacher at the State Higher School of Music (now the Academy of Music) in Cracow, from 1981 – as an associate professor, from 1986 – as a titular professor. She taught the composition classes at the Academy of Music; her students included, among others, Magdalena Długosz, Aleksandra Gryka, Marzena Korzeniowska, Jerzy Kluzowicz, Michał Kluzowicz, Adrian Konarski, Anna Mikulska, and Anna Zawadzka-Gołosz. She also taught instrumentation, fugue writing, and contemporary composition techniques. In 1974–75 she headed the Department of Composition; in 1975–78 she was the dean of the Department of Composition, Conducting and Theory of Music; from 1978 – deputy vice-chancellor, and in 1987–1993 vice-chancellor of the Academy of Music. In 1967–71 she was the president of the Cracow branch of the Polish Composers’ Union, and in 1971–72 – a member of the Union’s managing board. From 1993 she was active in the Council of Higher Artistic Education. She served on the juries of local and international competitions for composers. She gave lectures on her own music, on contemporary music and new music notation in Poland and abroad (e.g. in Leipzig, Mannheim, Heidelberg, Nuremberg, and Lviv).
The composer won numerous awards for her works, including: an honourable mention in the Young Composers’ Competition of the Polish Composers’ Union for Oberek from the Polish Dance Suite (1954); honourable mentions in the International Competition for Women Composers in Mannheim for Hexaèdre (1961) and Exodus (1966); the 1st prize and gold medal in the International Competition for Women Composers in Buenos Aires for Music for Strings (1962), the 3rd prize in the Artur Malawski Composers’ Competition in Cracow for Concert Variations (1966), the 2nd prize in the Karol Szymanowski Composers’ Competition in Warsaw for Polish Madonnas (1974). Her other accolades include, among others, the Award of the Polish Composers’ Union (1988), five times the Award of the Minister of Culture and Art (1971, 1977, 1984, 1987, and 1991), the Prime Minister’s Award for works for children and teenagers (1977), the Award of the City of Cracow (1970), the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1999), the title of Officer of the French Order of Arts and Letters (2004), the Gold Medal of Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis (2007), and an honorary doctorate from the Academy of Music in Cracow (2007). The composer died on 27th September 2008 in Cracow.
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I met Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar for the first time during my studies at the Academy of Music in Cracow in the early 1990s. She was at that time the vice-chancellor of the Academy. In this capacity, she made efforts to transfer the Academy from a four-storey building in Starowiślna Street (shared with the AST National Academy of Theatre Arts), which was too small for the needs of such a large school, and had too few rehearsal rooms, to the new building at 43 Świętego Tomasza Street (which had previously been occupied by the communist party’s provincial committee). Her efforts finally proved successful in 1993.
The 1980s and 90s were an exceptional period in the history of the Academy of Music in Cracow. In those years, students of the Academy had a chance to work with a veritable galaxy of outstanding composers. Composition classes were taught by Krzysztof Penderecki, Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar, Marek Stachowski, Zbigniew Bujarski, and Bogusław Schaeffer. As a student of music theory at that time, I attended classes on a variety of subjects, conducted by: Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar (contemporary composition techniques), Marek Stachowski (instrumentation), Zbigniew Bujarski (lecture seminar), Bogusław Schaeffer (introduction to scientific research), Adam Kaczyński (contemporary music performance), and Marek Chołoniewski (electronic music seminar).
For the first time I had the opportunity to meet Professor Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar in the 3rd year of my studies, when I attended her classes in contemporary composition techniques. The classes were greatly diversified, and she employed a variety of teaching methods. Among others, she gave a lecture on contemporary music, which was extremely interesting for the audience. It is difficult unequivocally to define her ‘patent’ for a perfect lecture held for students. I think that its originality was determined by several factors: her extensive knowledge of 20th-century music, her beautiful way of presenting the issues, combined with a storytelling talent and an unconventional style of presentation that did not avoid digressions, and even sometimes incorporated controversial judgments.
These classes were also unique because their participants were entrusted with practical tasks – such as composing short musical pieces in imitation of the style of a given 20th-century composer, e.g. Alexander Scriabin or Béla Bartók. Writing these short exercises in composition was a fascinating task for young students of music theory, and certainly significantly deepened our knowledge of those masters’ music. Professor Moszumańska played the pieces that we wrote at home on the piano and commented on them at the same time. Her comments were professional and were characterised by outstanding expertise in the field. She also did not avoid critical remarks, but it was always constructive criticism, which aimed to point out a specific error, and help the student to avoid it in the future.
In her term of office as vice-chancellor, she admirably combined the numerous administrative duties resulting from her functions with composing music and teaching activity. Despite so many additional duties, her classes were always held regularly and were never cancelled. The high demands she placed on herself were inspiring for the students. Years later, I can say that these classes were extremely educational and introduced students of music theory very well to the world of 20th-century music composition.
Participants of the course conducted by Professor Moszumańska-Nazar were aware that they were working with an extraordinary person. Her high personal culture was evident both in the way she expressed herself and in the ways she addressed other people, as well as in her beautiful and elegant appearance. She was endowed with a personal charm that made itself felt from the very first meeting. Her personality was also characterised by calm and balance in her interpersonal relations and a great distance from the surrounding reality. She was aptly described as ‘the First Lady of Polish Music’. As a lecturer and vice-chancellor of the Academy of Music, she was a person admired by students, valued for her professionalism, and setting the highest standards in professional work.
I later met Moszumańska-Nazar in the late 1990s, when I worked on the editorial board of PWM Edition’s Music Encyclopaedia, whose scientific editor was Elżbieta Dziębowska, PhD. The entry about Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar was scheduled to appear in the 6th volume of the Encyclopedia, which comprised the entries beginning with the letter ‘M’. Professor Adam Walaciński, the Encyclopaedia’s Scientific Editor for 20th-Century Composers (i.e. those born after 1900), with whom I cooperated at that time as an editor in this department, entrusted to me the task of writing this entry. He also advised me to contact Professor Moszumańska by phone and ask her for access to materials that could be used in the text. At that time, Professor Moszumańska-Nazar invited me to her home and provided me with various materials that became the basis for writing an entry about her. Those were: the composer’s self-commentary, her biography, list of works, list of prizes received at composers’ competitions, scores and recordings of her works.
During the meeting I had the opportunity to learn more about the composer’s interests and get to know her better. Her flat was located on the ground floor of a historic 19th-century tenement in the Old Town of Cracow, not far from the Main Square. It was a beautiful, large apartment with several rooms, tastefully decorated, full of antiques and various beautiful objects. I remember that we sat in her bright and spacious living room at a round table, talking about various topics. The professor had very wide interests, so the conversation concerned not only topics related to music and contemporary music education, but also the work of the institution in which I worked at that time – PWM Edition, as well as other topics, such as current politics, both domestic and international – a subject of which she had an extensive knowledge. Thanks to the materials obtained from her at that time, I could thoroughly prepare the entry documenting her work, which was based on verified information.
Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar was one of the most outstanding individualities in Polish music at the turn of the 20th century. The large scale of interest in her work is reflected in the numerous awards that she received at composers’ competitions, in their regular performances at the Warsaw Autumn festival, and, most of all, their continued presence in concert repertoires. Numerous performances of her works have taken place in Poland and throughout Europe (including Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Russia, Switzerland, Sweden, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom) as well as worldwide (in Brazil, Israel, Japan, and the United States). Her music has been performed and recorded by such well-known artists as: conductors Jerzy Katlewicz, Jan Krenz, Krzysztof Missona, Wojciech Michniewski, Jerzy Salwarowski, and Tadeusz Strugała; violinist Kaja Danczowska; cellist Dorota Imiełowska; double-bass player Kazimierz Pyzik; flutist Barbara Świątek-Żelazny; organist Marek Stefański; percussionists Marta Ptaszyńska, Jan Pilch and Janusz Stefański; pianists Andrzej Pikul and Adam Wodnicki; singers Helena Łazarska and Jerzy Artysz, as well as ensembles: Cracow Percussion Group, the Silesian Quartet, Wilanów Quartet, and MW2.
Non-musical inspirations – from literature, art, philosophy and nature – appeared in all the periods of Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar’s work, from her early orchestral 4 Essays (1958), through the sonoristic Interpretations (1967), to APigram for piano solo (2004). Syncretism is evident also in the titles of many of her works, which combine names of literary and musical genres into one whole.
