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Revue Annales du Patrimoine
P-ISSN 1112-5020 / E-ISSN 2602-6945
“ Queen of Sounds” Maria Szymanowska
La “reine des sons” Maria Szymanowska
St acy Olive Jarvis
The Universit y of Birmingham, UK
musician@sjarvis‐violin.co.uk
Reçu le : 26/ 7/ 2024 - Accept é le : 23/ 8/ 2024
24
2024
Pour citer l'article :
St acy Olive Jarvis : “ Queen of Sounds” Maria Szymanowska, Revue Annales
du pat rimoine, Universit é de Most aganem, N° 24, Sept embre 2024, pp. 209236.
http://annalesdupatrimoine.wordpress.com
***
Hawliyyat al-Turath, University of Mostaganem, Algeria
N° 24, September 2024
Revue Annales du patrimoine, N° 24, 2024, pp. 209 - 236
P-ISSN 1112-5020 / E-ISSN 2602-6945
“ Queen of Sounds” Maria Szymanowska
Stacy Olive Jarvis
The University of Birmingham, UK
Abstract:
This article aims to illuminate the remarkable yet often overlooked
contributions of Maria Szymanowska (1789-1831), a Polish pianist and
composer whose significance in the musical landscape of the early 19th century
deserves renewed attention. Drawing upon a wealth of archival documents and
contemporaneous recollections, a detailed portrait of Szymanowska’s life and
artistic endeavours is meticulously crafted. Central to the narrative of
Szymanowska’s life are her enduring friendships with Princess Zinaida
Volkonskaya and Princess Varvara Gorchakova. Through an in-depth
exploration of their relationships, we gain insight into the social milieu in
which Szymanowska operated, as well as the profound influence these
connections had on her personal and professional development. In examining
Szymanowska’s life and legacy, this article seeks to restore her rightful place
in the annals of music history. By shedding light on her achievements and
enduring influence, we honor the memory of a pioneering artist whose
contributions continue to resonate with audiences around the world.
Keywords:
Szymanowska, 19th century, Volkonskaya, Gorchakova, Chopin.
o
La “ reine des sons” Maria Szymanowska
Stacy Olive Jarvis
Université de Birmingham, Royaume-Uni
Résumé :
Cet article vise à mettre en lumière les contributions remarquables mais
souvent méconnues de Maria Szymanowska (1789-1831), une pianiste et
compositrice polonaise dont l’importance dans le paysage musical du début du
XIXe siècle mérite une attention renouvelée. S’appuyant sur une multitude de
documents d’archives et de souvenirs contemporains, l’ouvrage dresse un
portrait détaillé de la vie et des activités artistiques de Szymanowska. Les
amitiés durables de Szymanowska avec les princesses Zinaida Volkonskaya et
Varvara Gorchakova sont au cœur du récit de la vie de Szymanowska. Grâce à
une exploration approfondie de leurs relations, nous comprenons mieux le
milieu social dans lequel évoluait Szymanowska, ainsi que l’influence profonde
que ces liens ont eue sur son développement personnel et professionnel. En
examinant la vie et l’héritage de Szymanowska, cet article cherche à lui
Reçu le : 26/7/2024 - Accepté le : 23/8/2024
[email protected]
© Université de Mostaganem, Algérie 2024
Stacy Olive Jarvis
redonner la place qui lui revient dans les annales de l’histoire de la musique.
En mettant en lumière ses réalisations et son influence durable, nous honorons
la mémoire d’une artiste pionnière dont les contributions continuent de
trouver un écho auprès des publics du monde entier.
Mot-clés :
Szymanowska, XIXe siècle, Volkonskaya, Gorchakova, Chopin.
o
The remarkable Polish pianist Maria Szymanowska gained
European acclaim in the 19th century and emerged as a composer
as well. However, akin to many other figures in Polish musical
culture, she was subsequently undeservedly forgotten. She
became the first woman to appear in public as a professional
pianist. The phenomenon of Maria Szymanowska lies in her
extraordinary pianistic and compositional prowess, achieved
without outstanding piano teachers or composition professors.
She almost independently cultivated her thoughts in both
domains(1).
Few women in the first half of the 19th century managed to
leave a significant mark on the history and culture of several
European countries. For Poland, the “queen of sounds” is among
the individuals constituting the nation’s pride. In her works,
characteristic traits of Polish pianism began to manifest, the
global significance of which was affirmed by Frederic Chopin,
who did not overlook her contributions. Szymanowska is relevant
to our time with her aspiration to overcome cultural, religious,
and geopolitical differences, her thirst to establish herself as an
individual and a musician, her persistent determination, and selfimprovement.
Marianna Agata Wołowska was born in Warsaw on 14th
December 1789, into the family of the affluent brewer and
landlord Mr. Franciszek Wołowski and his wife Barbara. She was
the fourth of ten children in the family. The parents aimed to
provide their talented and receptive daughter with a
comprehensive education, intending to mold her into not only a
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“Queen of Sounds” Maria Szymanowska
flawlessly cultured secular woman but also a truly cultured
individual(2).
Music always resonated in their home, with Polish and
foreign musicians frequently visiting. The Wołowski couple
regularly hosted representatives of the European intellectual and
creative elite, including musicians such as Franz Xaver Mozart,
Karol Lipiński, August Klingenfeld, Karol Kurpiński, Angelica
Catalani, and Józef Elsner, as well as the French violinist Jacques
Pierre Joseph Rode.
The girl’s musical talent manifested at a very early age.
Being a prodigy, she enthralled with her improvisations on the
harpsichord. When she turned eight, she began piano lessons with
the pedagogue Lisowski(3). Two years later, he advised Mariana’s
parents to entrust her musical education to the pianist Tomasz
Gremm, with whom she studied for about four years(2). Even in
childhood, the girl’s playing attracted the attention of Polish and
foreign musicians attending her parents’ salon. Józef Elsner, the
future teacher of Frédéric Chopin, who was gradually gaining
undisputed authority in the musical circles of Warsaw, began to
review the early creative experiments of the young pianist and,
as her biographers suggest, offer advice in composition(4). Elsner
conducted performances at the Warsaw Opera, where his operas
and melodramas were staged, and his piano sonatas and
polonaises were performed, capturing the attention of music
enthusiasts(5).
In 1810, after Haydn’s death, his favourite pupil and
outstanding Polish composer Franciszek Lessel moved from
Vienna to Warsaw. He became a regular visitor to the Wołowski
salon, a friend and mentor to Maria, sharing with her the
knowledge acquired from Haydn and his own experiences. It is
worth noting that Lessel often turned to Ukrainian folk song
creativity, sensing its closeness to Polish folk songs, rooted in the
historical commonality of Slavic peoples.
In 1811, the young pianist’s performance was attended by
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August Klingenfeld at her parents’ home. By these years,
polonaises by Michał Ogiński had already gained popularity in
Poland, resonating in salons across Warsaw, including the
Wołowski residence, where they closely followed all musical
innovations. Ogiński was a polymath with a broad intellectual
horizon, excellent education, proficiency in multiple foreign
languages, and exceptional skills as a violinist and talented
composer. His biography was replete with captivating events and
unexpected twists, making it a compelling script for a suspenseful
film: secret diplomatic missions, military operations, and border
crossings in disguise. Add to this his constant presence in the
aristocratic circles of Paris, London, St. Petersburg, and Milan,
engaging in refined and sophisticated conversations in salons,
attending operas, and participating in a string quartet(6).
Szymanowska continued the creative exploration in piano
miniature that Ogiński had successfully initiated. There is no
doubt that young Marynia played Ogiński’s polonaises, the
influence of which later distinctly manifested in her own
compositions(7). She often included Ogiński’s polonaises in the
programs of her concerts. From London, she wrote to the
composer: “I cannot refrain, Count, from performing your
polonaises in any society; no one finds listening to them
tiresome, everyone considers them delightful”(8).
She herself composed several polonaises in a similar style.
Ogiński closely monitored the pianist’s career, from her initial
performances in Warsaw to her grand triumph in Florence
in 1824. At that time, he remarked: “The continuous cultivation
of her talent, as well as her voyages, have immeasurably
perfected her playing style, from which, it seems, there is
nothing more to demand, even from the most severe critics”(9).
Among Ogiński’s documents is the program of
Szymanowska’s concert in Florence, dated November 9, 1824. In
commemoration of this meeting, he inscribed a polonaise in F
major in the pianist’s album. In return, she presented him with a
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“Queen of Sounds” Maria Szymanowska
manuscript bearing the dedication “Le Murmure. Nocturne,
composée par Marie Szymanowska, offert par l’Auteur à Mr le
Comte Michel Ogiński” and also gifted a "Valse à trois mains"
composed by Maria Szymanowska.
The girl mastered her unique technique early on and
achieved tremendous expressiveness in her playing through her
own diligent work and the advice of experienced musicians she
encountered throughout her career. She closely monitored the
evolution of the piano as a musical instrument.
Kazimira Wołowska, the sister of Szymanowska, was not
devoid of compositional abilities; she was a proficient singer and
pianist. Kurpiński published her romance, titled “Remembrance
of Happiness” with lyrics by an anonymous author, in the musical
supplement to the issue of the “Musical and Dramatic Weekly”
dated May 23, 1821.
Maria gave her first public concerts in musical salons in
Warsaw and Paris in 1810. Upon returning from France at the age
of 20, she married the landowner Teofil Jozef Szymanowski,
whose estate was located in Otłoczyn near Warsaw. She gave
birth to twins, Helen and Romuald, in 1811, and Celina in 1812.
The Polish physician Stanisław Morawski, who was wellacquainted with the Szymanowski family, wrote:
Her husband was a wealthy, respectable, civilized,
enlightened man, a true husband, a man, a mari monster, who
could never tune in to the same wavelength as his young wife.
Therefore, he always created dissonances in the domestic
orchestra. A lover of agriculture and horses, he invariably wanted
to turn his wife into a caring, good housekeeper, accustomed to
the charms not of the village but of rural farming. Unfortunately,
all this led to completely opposite results (Morawski 1927: 160).
The Szymanowski couple spent winters in Warsaw. Maria’s
unusual career was facilitated by the existence of cultural and
musical salons, the majority of which were hosted by women.
Since their cultural and social ambitions were limited by the
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ethical and social conventions of the time, these women became
natural allies of Szymanowska(10).
From 1815, despite her husband’s protests, Maria began
performing in public concerts for the Warsaw audience.
Unfortunately, the musical content of salons and their aesthetic
ideals often conflicted with societal norms of “good manners”,
universal devotion to fashion, and social aloofness, which
dramatically affected the destinies of many individuals and
constrained the possibilities for free creativity in salons.
During her marriage, Szymanowska rarely appeared on
stage; predominantly, she performed in Warsaw salons.
Fragmentary information about her concert performances during
her marriage years, receiving high praise in the Warsaw press, is
available. Her teacher Elsner, in a letter to Breitkopf and Härtel
dated June 24, 1818, emphasised that the press presented
Szymanowska as a Polish pianist(11).
In 1819, Xaver Mozart, the son of the great Mozart, visited
the Wołowski family and left a note in Szymanowska’s album. In
November of the same year, the renowned Italian singer Angelica
Catalani (née Valabrègue) gave four concerts in Warsaw. She
visited the Wołowski family and became friends with their
talented daughter(12).
In the summer of 1820, a correspondent for the journal
Nevsky Zrit el edited by Wilhelm Karlovich von Küchelbecker,
wrote about a young lady who “with astonishing skill, plays on
the piano the most difficult compositions of Beethoven, Field,
and Ries”(13).
Maria Szymanowska was an independent, thoroughly modern
woman who viewed her pianism as a profession and devoted
much effort to reach a very high level. This independence and
self-assurance transformed her from the daughter of a Warsaw
brewer into a European lady.
Her concert tours were a grand undertaking, organised with
the assistance of her siblings, several guardians-sponsors, and
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“Queen of Sounds” Maria Szymanowska
friends. Between 1815 and 1820, Szymanowska embarked on her
first concert tours, initially performing for Prince Radziwill in
Poland and later in Dresden, Vienna, London, St. Petersburg, and
Berlin. According to the tradition of that time, these concerts
were private. Gradually, her fame grew, and new connections
emerged, crucial for her subsequent career.
She was not only a virtuoso pianist but also a recognized
composer. Three of her songs were included in the 1816
collection “Historical Songs” with lyrics by Julian Ursyn
Niemcewicz, which would be republished throughout the 19th
century.
Despite her husband’s dissatisfaction, Maria performed
public concerts in Warsaw. Her husband and his family
disapproved, considering it inappropriate for a woman of their
circle to participate in public concerts. Therefore, in 1818, she
played in a limited circle of music enthusiasts in London and
Berlin, without giving any public concerts. By this time, Maria
Szymanowska’s name resonated throughout Europe. Polish and
foreign critics acknowledged her high mastery and the national
uniqueness of her playing.
In 1820, the firm Breitkopf and Härtel began publishing
Szymanowska’s works: her 20 studies and preludes for piano,
highly valued by Schumann and dedicated to Zofia Hodkiewicz,
were released. As a second release, a Caprice on the theme of
John Field’s romance Zykonnda appeared. The third release
included “Six Marches for piano and a Divertissement for piano”
with violin accompaniment. The fourth release contained a
“Grand Waltz for piano four hands and a Serenade for piano with
cello accompaniment”, dedicated to Prince Antoni Radziwiłł
(1775-1833), the governor of the Grand Duchy of Poznań and an
amateur musician, known for his music for Goethe’s Faust. In the
fifth release, Szymanowska included six minutes dedicated to her
sister Kazimiera Wołowska and a Grand Piano Fantasy. The sixth
release of her compositions featured a large cycle of dances
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dedicated to Vera Vyazemskaya and a transcription of Prince
Alexander Golitsyn’s romance “A chaque instant”. In the same
year, six romances for voice and piano based on the verses of
Shakespeare, Pushkin the Father, and Cardinal de Bernis were
published.
The popularity of Szymanowska’s works in her homeland and
abroad, along with the flattering evaluation of her pianistic
talent by authoritative musicians, convinced her to dedicate
herself to professional musical activities. In essence, she
occupied a prominent place among Polish musicians, no longer
considered an amateur with the publication of a dozen pieces by
Europe’s leading music publisher.
As is known, the moral climate of the noble society of that
time considered public musical concert activities for members of
the noble class as reprehensible and degrading, especially for
women. It took courage, a strong character, and a deep love for
music to break free from the shackles of social traditions. Maria’s
marriage was not a happy one, as her husband believed she
devoted too much time to music and seemed to neglect him. In
reality, the couple had little in common.
However, as Szymanowska’s fame grew, her relationship
with her husband and his family worsened. They believed that
music distracted her from family and household responsibilities,
and it was deemed inappropriate for a woman of her standing to
appear on the concert stage. Ten years later, in 1820, the
marriage was mutually dissolved. Maria retained the surname
Szymanowska and custody of the three children. From then on,
she had to provide for herself and her children through her art
and talent. The choice was made: she divorced her husband; the
children remained under her care, and the path to becoming a
concert pianist opened up before her.
Now, music for Maria became a profession that had to
secure a livelihood for her and her children. As a divorced mother
of three, she earned a living through performances and teaching
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“Queen of Sounds” Maria Szymanowska
at a time when divorced women, especially women-pianists
performing for money, were undesirable and barely tolerated.
During her tours across Europe, Szymanowska wrote letters
in which she dreamed of reuniting with her children. In 1823, the
rising star Maria wrote in a letter to Pyotr Vyazemsky, “My exhusband has already remarried, and I do not get married and will
never get married”(14). Numerous sources and vivid portraits
depict the outward appearance of the pianist: Maria
Szymanowska was very attractive. Her decision never to tie
herself with the bonds of marriage is undoubtedly explained not
by the absence of worthy suitors for Szymanowska’s hand but by
her firm resolution not to abandon her professional musical
activities, which her husband had tried to hinder.
Before embarking on concert tours across Western Europe,
Szymanowska decided to perform in both Russian capitals. In the
first third of the 19th century, St. Petersburg was recognised as
the world’s capital that many outstanding musicians sought to
visit. Welcoming European stars, St. Petersburg opened new
stages of concert performance in Russia, unseen before.
The first pianists who arrived in St. Petersburg showcased a
new performance aesthetic: concert playing from memory. For
the first time in Russia, the piano sounded as a solo instrument in
a solo concert. The appearance of a woman as a soloist was even
more unusual, and that woman turned out to be the Polish
pianist, Maria Szymanowska.
Her concerts in the spring of 1822 in St. Petersburg and
Moscow were tremendously successful. In St. Petersburg, she
performed at the court, and by the decree of Alexander I,
Szymanowska was bestowed the title of the “first pianist of their
Imperial Highnesses” Elizabeth Alexeievna and Maria Feodorovna.
At that time, this title served as a kind of protection for a
divorced woman, as it not only allowed her to play in high-society
salons but also to be a professional artist, a free artist, thus
having the opportunity to earn a living for herself and her
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children.
In February 1823, she gave a concert in Kyiv jointly with the
“Polish Paganini” Lipiński. On the ninth of February, the violinist
inscribed in her album a D minor caprice “as a sign of true
respect for the sublime talent of Mrs. Szymanowska”. She
performed in Dubno, Kremenets, Lviv, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, and
then embarked on an extensive concert tour across Europe:
Poznań, Karlovy Vary, Mariánské Lázně, where she played for
Goethe, and at his invitation spent half a month in Weimar. Her
letter dated August 1 to Prince Vyazemsky contains a mention of
her acquaintance with Goethe(15).
On August 18, Goethe completed and dedicated a poem
titled “Aussohnung” (Reconciliation) to the pianist, which arose
“under the impression of the high art of Mrs. Szymanowska”(17).
Da fühlte sich dass es ewig bliebe!
Das Doppelglück der Töne wie der Liebe.
The music of Szymanowska brought the great poet the
happiness of reconciliation with the suffering brought by the
passion that came in his later years. In Mariánské Lázně, she met
the eminent Czech composer Václav Jan Tomášek (1774-1850)
and his future wife Wilhelmina Ebert. Tomášek recounted this
meeting in his unfinished autobiography, published in German in
the late 1840s in the Prague almanac Libussa. Of all the vocal
works she listened to, she highlighted an artless song on Hanka’s
lyrics, intonationally close to Czech folk songs(18).
After performing in Jena, Pilsen, and Dresden, Szymanowska
headed to Leipzig, where on October 12, she participated in a
concert organized by the local society of music lovers. In a letter
to her parents dated October 14, Kazimiera Wołowska reported
that over seven hundred people attended the concert. In a
postscript added to this letter by her sister, Szymanowska noted,
“Connoisseurs here say that I do not play, but declaim”(19). On
October 22, the sisters left Leipzig and travelled to Weimar,
where they stayed with Ottilie von Goethe, the great writer’s
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“Queen of Sounds” Maria Szymanowska
daughter-in-law. In one of his letters to his friend, the German
architect and archaeologist Sulpiz Boisserée, Goethe recounted:
The incomparable pianist, Mrs. Szymanowska, whose
presence and invaluable talent already brought me so much joy in
Mariánské Lázně, arrived immediately after you. My house, for 14
days, was the gathering place for all music-loving friends,
attracted by the high art and charm of the artist. The court and
the city, stirred up by her, lived immersed in sounds and joy(20).
In early November, Szymanowska gave a concert at Goethe’s
home and in the town hall. In addition to her compositions, she
performed a rondo from Klingen’s First Concerto, Hummel’s A
minor concerto, Beethoven’s Quintet for piano and wind
instruments, and Field’s Nocturne for piano with the
accompaniment of a string quartet.
Szymanowska’s repertoire gradually expanded, and her
creative exploration as a pianist became diverse. At the same
time, her compositional interests did not wane. In a letter to her
parents, she wrote to her father that the Leipzig publisher Peters
had undertaken the distribution of her works in Germany and
asked to send the copies of her piano pieces kept in Warsaw(21).
On November 5, 1823, Maria Szymanowska and her sister
left Weimar and headed to Berlin, where they stayed for about
two months. In mid-February 1824, they arrived in Paris, where
their brother Stanisław also joined them. On April 11, a concert
was held in the hall of the Paris Conservatoire, where Maria
played alongside the virtuoso violinist Pierre Baillot, with whom
Michał Ogiński had taken violin lessons in his youth. Here she met
Cherubini, who had known her since she was a child, as reported
by Stanisław Wołowski from Paris in letters to their parents(22).
On April 20, 1824, Szymanowska left Paris and gave a
concert in Abbeville, organised with the participation of the
French violinist Eloi de Viges. From Calais, she reached London,
where she stayed for two and a half months.
In London, Szymanowska frequently performed in the salons
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of the London aristocracy, gave lessons, which, according to her
letters to her family, were paid as well as her performances. She
also appeared on the concert stage. Her concerts, invariably
successful, featured the renowned Italian singer Giuditta Pasta
(1798–1865), who was touring in London at the time, and the
Spanish tenor and composer Manuel del Pópulo Vicente García
(1775-1832), who was living there during that period. The
violinist Christian Gottfried Kahl Keszler (1777-1827) also
participated in her concerts(23).
During one of Szymanowska’s concerts, the symphony
orchestra was conducted by Johann Baptist Cramer (1771-1858),
a German-born musician who spent most of his life in London. In
Szymanowska’s album, there is a small piece titled “La
tranquillité” dedicated to her by Cramer.
Cramer’s teacher and Field’s teacher, the Italian composer
and pianist Muzio Clementi, who lived in London for a long time,
dedicated a polonaise canon to her, writing the beginning of it in
her album in July 1824. A short piece titled Grave con mot o was
composed for Szymanowska by Ferdinand Ries, a German pianist
and composer who was a student of Beethoven. She included
Ries’s works in her repertoire later on.
In July 1824, Szymanowska left London with her brother and
sister. Undoubtedly, the year of touring brought her great moral
satisfaction. The leading musicians of the West duly appreciated
her talent and skill. Gradually, her own compositions also gained
recognition, and she often performed them in her concerts and
solo performances. From London, where she gave both public and
private concerts, she travelled through Geneva to Italy, armed
with recommendations from Rossini(24). In Florence in 1825, Maria
met Ogiński, who provided substantial support to Polish cultural
figures scattered throughout Europe at that time.
After completing her trip to Italy, Szymanowska returned to
London, where she stayed until September 13. On May 16, she
performed in London “plus brilliant que jamais”, as she wrote to
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“Queen of Sounds” Maria Szymanowska
her parents the next day(25).
The first extended concert tour of Szymanowska marked the
conquest of European fame. Her artistry earned recognition
thanks to her vivid talent and the national uniqueness of her art.
From her maiden years to the final years of her short-lived
life, Szymanowska amassed autographs of writers and composers
she encountered, musical scores with dedicatory inscriptions,
poems, watercolours, and drawings by masters. These albums
reflect the depth of relationships that Szymanowska managed to
cultivate, and the immense respect her contemporaries held for
her and her art. It is a unique collection of compliments from
many renowned individuals who sought to be remembered on the
pages of these albums.
The renowned composer Cherubini, captivated by her
playing, “as a token of gratitude, admiration, respect, and
devotion”, inscribed his “Piano Fantasy” in Maria’s album(26).
Lessel presented Szymanowska with the autograph of his teacher
Joseph Haydn, accompanied by a note certifying its
authenticity(27). In addition to Beethoven’s minuet, whose
manuscript the author gifted to Maria, her collection also
includes two letters from the great composer to Nikolai Golitsyn,
dating back to 1823-1824(28).
The well-known Dresden composer and organist August
Alexander Klinger (1783-1852) dedicated to her a small romance,
Larghetto con expression, “composed for Mrs. Szymanowska as a
token of gratitude and admiration for her outstanding talent”, as
stated in the composer’s inscription on the romances’ autograph,
dated July 9, 1811.
Even
in
Warsaw,
Szymanowska
interacted
with
representatives of the Russian community. Alexander Pushkin’s
sister, Olga Pavlishcheva, recalled that their father, Sergey
Pushkin, left numerous beautiful poems and a message to her in
ladies” albums, interspersed with prose and verses introducing
her to contemporary Russian literature. It was written in Warsaw
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in 1814 when Sergey Lvovich was in charge of the commissariat
commission of the reserve army(29).
In Warsaw, Maria became acquainted with the Vyazemsky
spouses, who would become close friends. Closer ties formed
with representatives of the Russian community, especially with
Prince Vyazemsky and his wife. Connections with Polish musical
circles expanded, and a friendship with Karol Kurpiński
developed, who also dedicated his piano piece to her in 1816.
In 1822, the pianist met Jan Hummel, a famous pupil of
Mozart and renowned pianist, who also performed in the Russian
capital. In memory of this meeting, the composer composed and
inscribed in Maria Szymanowska’s album an impromptu for piano,
Vivace assai, accompanied by a friendly inscription, dated
March 24, 1822.
Before departing, Maria left an album with Pyotr Vyazemsky
for additional entries. On December 9, 1822, the renowned poet
Ivan Dmitriev, in his dedication to Szymanowska in her album,
expressed the idea of the elevated role of art in bringing nations
together:
In talents, kinship intertwines, their font aligns,
For them, the world unfolds; no war, no boundary confines;
From Vistula’s grace to Neva’s flow, through Apennines” proud
line.
They exchange the ties of brotherhood, a bond benign.
In 1823, Szymanowska performed in German salons among
the local aristocracy. Subsequently, she sojourned in Kassel,
where she encountered the renowned German composer and
violinist Ludwig Spohr, who inscribed a small polyphonic piece (a
canon-riddle) in her album “as a token of respect and
admiration”(30).
In 1824, an autograph from François-Adrien Boieldieu, a
well-known opera composer, was preserved in Szymanowska’s
album, on his musical manuscript. She performed his sonata for
violin and piano alongside Bayo. Louis Emmanuel Jadin, a
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“Queen of Sounds” Maria Szymanowska
professor at the Paris Conservatoire, dedicated his piano concerto
to Maria.
During her time in London, she formed a friendship with Carl
Maria von Weber, who left his autograph in the pianist’s album,
dated April 26, 1826. On the sixteenth of May, Szymanowska gave
a concert, and before her departure, she learned of the untimely
death of the young German composer.
In the Moscow Telegraph of 1837, issue number 23,
Vyazemsky provides several poems inscribed in Szymanowska’s
album by Denis Davydov and Nikolai Gnedich.
In vain you think, oh, can it be,
That a hussar, fame’s devotee,
Loved only battles, fierce and gory,
And shunned affections tenderly.
Ah, oft the hussar sighs, it’s true,
Beneath his shako, in spring’s embrace,
A dove within, its nest it traces,
In love’s sweet twine, a different view.
Denis Davydov Hussar (1822)
As in the thunder of harps,
A novice’s mournful sound,
Alone and filled with sorrow profound,
As “midst the columns of tombstones” gleam,
A humble urn above a dream,
Leans hearts into a contemplation deep,
Between Kameny’s songs, a vigil to keep.
The gaze to the unknown singer may turn,
A reflection in the heart, a solitary yearn.
Nikolai Gnedich Dedication to Maria Szymanowska (1822)
And on 9 October next year, Nikolai Karamzin wrote his
couplet in the album:
We see the shadow of happiness in the dreams of earthly light:
Happiness exists somewhere: no shadow without an object.
These inspired poetic lines speak of the addressee, of an
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extraordinary, talented personality, and feminine charm.
In various sources, claims arise that Maria was a pupil of
John Field(4), yet these assumptions are refuted by the pianist
herself, as conveyed in a review in the Moscow Gazette of her
performances in Moscow in the spring of 1822: “The method of
Mrs. Szymanowska is the method of Field, although this artist
never knew our virtuoso, did not study his methods, and assures
us that she never had good music teachers at all”(31). Therefore,
it was lesser-known Warsaw educators, not celebrities, to whom
some researchers attempted to attribute Maria Szymanowska(32)
During her early tours in Moscow, she acquainted herself
with the renowned pianist and composer John Field, who had
been living in Russia since 1803. The influence of Field’s musical
style on Szymanowska’s salon compositions is evident in all her
piano works(33). The polish pianist’s playing was often compared
to that of the maestro: in refinement and melodiousness, when
the pianist “makes her ungrateful instrument sing” and when, as
Mikhail Glinka said, he “doesn’t chop his fingers like some
celebrities chop cutlets”(34). Thus, Szymanowska’s intricate
melodic writing is often associated with Field’s nocturnes,
proving that she was under the influence of the Irish composer(35).
Among women, the composer was often referred to as the
“female Field” and this is not without reason, given her virtuoso
mastery of the instrument. The analogy to Field arose primarily
due to the vocal expressiveness of Szymanowska’s playing.
On May 2, 1822, in Moscow, Szymanowska performed a
concert for two hundred listeners. “She played alone and with
Field”, reported Alexander Bulgakov to his brother Konstantin
Bulgakov in Petersburg(36). Prince Shalikov also wrote about
Field’s participation in Szymanowska’s concert: “Field, the only
Field, standing by the piano and turning the pages of the music,
seemed like the animated genius of Mrs. Szymanowska – a
beautiful picture!”(31).
Field was so impressed with her compositions that he gave
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her a letter of recommendation to his publishing house, the
renowned Brietkopf and Härtel, dated July 7, 1819, from St.
Petersburg:
Je ne puis me dispenser de recommander à vos soins et à
votre considération une Dame qui se distingue par ces talents en
Musique, et donc les premières productions sont déjà sorties de
votre Presse c’est Madame de Szymanowska de Varsovie veuillez
Messieurs encourager cette personne capable d’écrire de bons
choses en faisant avec elle les mêmes accords que vous faites
avec moi pour (ultimé) les impressions des ouvrages qu’elle
pourra vous remettre(37).
Having a limited command of the French language, John
Field seemingly preferred to correspond with his publishing house
in French. The author’s inaccuracies and numerous spelling and
grammatical errors of Field are preserved. Over time, her works
began to be published by other globally renowned publishing
houses, including the Milanese publishing house Ricordi. This
recommendation letter from the Irishman was undoubtedly an
unusual compliment, as Field was not inclined to easy praise; he
could harshly criticise any composition or performance that did
not meet his high standards. It is known that Field and Maria
played duets, and she, of course, performed his delightful
compositions. Their audience included representatives of the
aristocracy both in St. Petersburg and Moscow(35).
John Field was recognised as one of the greatest pianists of
that remarkable era and is still considered one of the greatest
pianists of all time today. He played duets with Maria and
consistently praised her playing. Maria’s playing style was largely
based on Field’s own style and method of performance(38).
As for the quite widespread assertion that Szymanowska,
upon arriving in Russia, refined her piano skills under the
guidance of Field, it is essential to remember that in 1822, the
pianist spent less than a month in Moscow: by May 21, Petr
Vyazemsky wrote to Alexander Turgenev about Szymanowska’s
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departure to Petersburg and added, “I am giving her a letter to
Zhukovsky”(39).
The concerts that Szymanowska gave in Warsaw in early
1827 definitively solidified her reputation as an outstanding
pianist. On January 15th, in the National Theatre Hall, seventeenyear-old Frédéric Chopin attentively listened to her performance.
On March 17, 1828, news of Maria’s concert at the
Philharmonic in St. Petersburg appeared in the press. The press
provided enthusiastic reviews of Szymanowska’s playing. A
Petersburg reviewer, giving a serious assessment of pianist’s
performance style, noted:
She made her ungrateful instrument sing. A significant
benefit in this regard was her opportunity to study the method of
the first singers of Europe, especially close interaction with
Madame Pasta... Her technique is subordinated to expressiveness
and never becomes an end in itself. Astonishing transitions from
powerful fortissimo to pianissimo, from pianissimo to crescendo,
from crescendo to decrescendo, impress connoisseurs. Her
performance approaches the singing of the human voice –
especially in the adagio. And this is perhaps the most
characteristic feature of her performance(40).
On April 16, 1827, St. Petersburg newspapers reported that
the “first pianist to their imperial highnesses”, Maria
Szymanowska, would give a concert at the residence of her
excellency Daria Alexeevna Derzhavina near the Izmailovsky
Bridge.
“The generous hostess, out of love for the elegant, yielded
her magnificent hall to Mrs. Szymanowska” wrote the “Northern
Bee”.
Anyone who has not heard Szymanowska’s playing in this
concert cannot have an idea of her talent. In this hall, not a
single note, not a single movement passed without effect. What
feeling, what passion in her playing! We won’t even mention
agility and speed: those are necessary conditions for a virtuoso,
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“Queen of Sounds” Maria Szymanowska
but in Mrs. Szymanowska’s playing, there is soul – that’s what we
can say to explain our feelings.
She observed how productively and successfully her
compatriots worked in Russia: the composer Jozef Kozlowski and
the pianist Ivan Kozlowski, artists such as Alexander Orlovsky,
Józef Oleshkevich, Walenty Vankovich, and Wincenty Smokovsky.
Szymanowska returned to Warsaw, and in the autumn of 1827,
she, along with her children, brother, and two sisters, travelled
to Moscow. There, they were surrounded by the care of the
Vyazemsky family, the Musins-Pushkins, the Gorchakovs, and
Zinaida Volkonskaya.
Szymanowska decided to move to Russia and stay here
permanently. In St. Petersburg, Maria and her family settled on
1st Italian Street, in the house N° 15 of the merchant widow
Penitcheva, occupying an entire floor. This house became a focal
point for talents “under the shade of friendly muses” where
musicians, writers, poets, and artists gathered.
In the years 1827-1831, Maria Szymanowska’s “musical
mornings” enjoyed great success. Composer’s Nocturne “Le
Murmure” was perhaps her most popular work, published in Paris
and resonating in many homes across Europe and Russia. In 1828,
the salon of the renowned Polish pianist was visited by Mikhail
Glinka. It is worth noting that many of Glinka’s ideas, which had
a tremendous influence on Russian musicians and thinkers about
music, were disseminated through conversations and interactions
in salons.
One of the sources of information about the lives of family
and close associates during this period in St. Petersburg is the
collection of diaries of Maria’s elder daughter, Elena. She kept a
detailed account of household affairs from November 1, 1827, to
May 12, 1828, and these diaries are currently held in the
Mickiewicz and Slovak Museum in Warsaw(41).
She writes that on November 19th, Vyazemsky and Field
were guests in their house – “very cheerful”(42).
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Following Field, Ignacy Kozlowski and the renowned
composer, pianist, and pedagogue of Czech origin, Josef
Genishta, began visiting their house. The summer of 1828 was
recalled in the memoirs of Mikhail Glinka:
At that time, I became acquainted with the famous pianist
Szymanowska; she had two daughters: Celine and Elena. They
sang quite well. I was the maestro at Szymanowska’s musical
mornings, and they performed my music. There I met the famous
poet Mickiewicz; he was then courting Celine, whom he later
married.
Alexander Pushkin’s acquaintance with Szymanowska took
place on March 31, 1828, as evidenced by Elena Szymanowska’s
records. The fact that Pushkin visited Maria Szymanowska is
confirmed by an undated note that has reached us: “With joy, I
hasten to express my consent to your kind invitation. I had
information about Prince Vyazemsky by chance; he must be with
the princess right now. Accept, madam, etc. Alexander Pushkin”.
The Moscow salon of Princess Zinaida Volkonskaya existed
for a little over four years, from the end of 1824 to the beginning
of 1829, and occupied a central place in the literary and cultural
life of the Russian nobility in the first quarter of the 19th
century. Everything in this house bore the imprint of service to
art and thought. The names of many of its visitors are known and
significant. Around the image of its hostess, “the atmosphere of
art wafted and trembled”. In addition, the collection of
antiquities in the Volkonskaya house made a strong impression on
visitors and was celebrated in a famous poem by Elena
Szymanowska’s future husband, Adam Mickiewicz, “In the Greek
Room of Princess Zinaida Volkonskaya in Moscow”.
Vyazemsky’s account remains the most poetic description of
her salon penned by a contemporary:
In Moscow, the house of Princess Zinaida Volkonskaya was
an elegant gathering place for all the notable and select
personalities of contemporary society. Representatives of high
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“Queen of Sounds” Maria Szymanowska
society, officials, beauties, youth, and mature individuals,
intellectuals, professors, writers, journalists, poets, and artists
all converged in this house. Everything in this house bore the
imprint of service to art and thought. It hosted readings,
concerts, and amateur performances of Italian operas by
dilettantes and enthusiasts. In the midst of the artists and at
their head stood the hostess herself. Those who heard her could
not forget the impressions she made with her full and sonorous
contralto and spirited portrayal of Tancredi in Rossini’s opera.
Juri Lotman, in the book “Culture and Explosion”, points out
that Volkonskaya belongs to those ladies for whom the salon
became a means of self-realisation, a way to resist the mundane.
Lotman sees a shade of defiance in the character of
Volkonskaya’s salon since her “aesthetic independence” took on
“a decidedly non-neutral character against the background of
Nicholas’s orders”(43).
In 1827, Maria Szymanowska was a frequent guest at Varvara
Gorchakov’s residence. This is documented in the diary of
Szymanowska’s daughter, Elena(44). Additionally, SushkovaKhvostova recalled that her house on Nikitskaya Street “was a
shelter for widows and orphans without means”. Gorchakova was
known as an art enthusiast and patron, and she was celebrated
for her benevolence(45).
Before lunch, we visited Princess Gorchakova... She is
already quite old, always melancholic after the loss of her only
daughter, Countess Lydia Bobrinskaya, who, having gone abroad
to consult with doctors, died on the way from Paris to
Switzerland at the age of 20(46).
Princess Lydia Gorchakova, née Countess Bobrinskaya (1807
–1826), was exceptionally talented. Her life was cut short at the
age of just under 19. Lydia had a beautiful singing voice, played
the piano, and was seriously involved in composition. In 1824, her
authored collection, “Différentes pièces рour le chant et le
Piano-Forte сomposées par la Princesse Lydie Gortchakoff” was
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published in St. Petersburg. The collection included eight vocal
pieces (four romances, two cavatinas, Andante, and a duet) and
five instrumental compositions (cotillion, waltz, quadrille, and
two polonaises based on themes by Rossini).
Several French romances and a romance in Russian (most
likely her own text) titled “What a feeling, I do not know...”
were printed in the music journal “La Harpe du Nord” for the
years 1822 and 1824 and in a collection of selected pieces from
the same journal for the year 1825. Additionally, an Italian duet
by Gorchakova for singing with the accompaniment of a small
orchestra was discovered in the manuscript collection of duets
from the music library of the Yusupov Archive(47). However,
several vocal compositions by Gorchakova, whose existence is
known from mentions in music publishing and trade catalogues,
have not been found to date.
It’s interesting to note that her childhood portrait,
dated 1813, was discovered among the works of Vasily Tropinin.
Currently, it is housed in the Toy Museum in Sergiev Posad titled
Girl with a Canary.
In 1824, Lydia married Count Vasily Bobrinsky, a Decembrist
and member of the Southern Society, who was also the grandson
of Catherine II and Grigory Orlov. To support Lydia’s fragile
health, the couple travelled to Baden-Baden. However, hopes for
recovery were not fulfilled, and the countess died in Switzerland
during childbirth. In the summer of 1826, Lydia’s body was
transported to Russia and buried in the family mausoleum.
In the summer of 1831, a cholera epidemic struck St.
Petersburg. In one letter, Szymanowska mentioned that Zinaida
Volkonskaya was “awaiting the Polish Byron” in Italy, while in
another, she advised meeting Prince Alexander Gorchakov in
Florence, describing him as her “longtime and good acquaintance
from London”. Szymanowska herself continued to give lessons
and concerts in St. Petersburg and firmly decided not to leave
Russia, despite attempts by foreign diplomats to persuade her to
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“Queen of Sounds” Maria Szymanowska
resume concert tours across Europe.
The rapid ascent of the Polish pianist abruptly ended in 1831
with a cholera epidemic. In that fearful year for St. Petersburg,
the disease claimed the lives of thousands of citizens, including
representatives of the aristocratic class. The official
announcement of Maria Szymanowska’s death appeared on July
17 and “The Saint Petersburg News” 19 July 1831. Even during
those bloody times, her death evoked universal sorrow and bitter
tears from friends and acquaintances and was deeply mourned by
them. Stanisław Morawski recalled: “Our Szymanowska, whom I
saw not long ago healthy, cheerful, and lively, became a victim
of this deadly atmosphere. After enduring several hours of cruel
suffering with astonishing courage and incredible composure, she
died”.
The Polish pianist was buried in the cholera cemetery “near
the village of Tentelovo, three versts from St. Petersburg” and
both her grave and the cemetery have not survived. In 2010, in
the Necropolis of Masters of Arts at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, a
cenotaph (memorial sign) was erected in memory of the Polish
pianist. The cenotaph features Pushkin’s words, designed by
sculptor Vyacheslav Bukhayev.
There is a tradition of installing cenotaphs (memorial signs
symbolising graves) for individuals whose graves, for various
reasons, did not survive. The Museum Necropolis of Masters of
Arts appears to be the most fitting place for the cenotaph of
Maria Szymanowska. Reminding people of the “queen of sounds”
in the midst of her contemporaries and friends, in a place
intended for meditation and reflection on the glorious pages of
St. Petersburg’s culture, seems quite justified.
The cenotaph for Szymanowska near the southern fence of
the Necropolis of Masters of Arts partially recalls the vanished
necropolis. It is a massive granite block shaped like a piano, with
a polished front part depicting the piano keyboard. Bronze letters
resembling piano keys form the inscription in Polish: “In Memory
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of Maria Szymanowska”. At the bottom of the monument, a Latin
inscription Ad Memoriam (“in memory”) indicates that this sign is
not a tombstone. The Russian text reads: “Polish pianist Maria
Szymanowska”. A bronze plaque above the keyboard contains
Pushkin’s lines dedicated to the remarkable Polish musician.
The position of Maria Szymanowska in the society of the first
half of the 19th century, despite the respect she garnered from
fellow musicians, did not define her recognition as one of the
symbols of the European performance school. Perhaps, today, her
place in the history of Polish performance is considered more
significant - in the 21st century, much is subject to reassessment,
as her name was soon forgotten after her death.
Her performance art rightfully places her as a precursor to
Chopin’s mastery of the piano. Szymanowska, to some extent,
preceded Chopin himself, as the way she used and developed
native Polish music, its forms, rhythms, and idioms, was
perfected by her compatriot.
Notes:
1 - Renata Suchowiejko: Album musical Marii Szymanowskiej - de Maria
Szymanowska (Kraków: Musica Iagellonica, 1999), p. 70.
2 - Igor Belza: Maria Szymanowska (Moscow: Publishing house of the USSR
Academy of Sciences, 1956), p. 14.
3 - Igor Belza: Maria Szymanowska (Moscow: Publishing house of the USSR
Academy of Sciences, 1956), p. 13.
4 – Terry De Valeria: “Maria Szymanowska (1790-1831): A Pupil of John Field”,
Dublin Historical Record, 2003, 53-55; here, p. 53.
5 - Igor Belza: Maria Szymanowska (Moscow: Publishing house of the USSR
Academy of Sciences, 1956), p. 17.
6 - Renata Suchowiejko: Album musical Marii Szymanowskiej= de Maria
Szymanowska (Kraków: Musica Iagellonica, 1999), p. 68.
7 - Igor Belza: Maria Szymanowska (Moscow: Publishing house of the USSR
Academy of Sciences, 1956), p. 15.
8 – Anne Swartz: “Maria Szymanowska and the Salon Music of the Early
Nineteenth Century”, The Polish Review, 1985, p. 51.
9 – Michal Oginski: Letters about music (Krakow: Polish Music Publishing
House, 1956), p. 100.
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“Queen of Sounds” Maria Szymanowska
10 - Benjamin Vogel: “Piano–the main attraction of the Polish salon during
Maria Szymanowska time”, Annales. Centre Scientifique de l’Académie
Polonaise des Sciences à Paris, 2014, p. 125.
11 - Henryk Opieński: “Józef Elsner in the light of unknown letters”, Polish
Musicological Yearbook, 1935, p. 87.
12 – Igor Belza: Maria Szymanowska (Moscow: Publishing house of the USSR
Academy of Sciences, 1956), p. 32.
13 – Küchelbecker Von Wilhelm, “Music”, Nevsky Zritel, 1820, p. 300.
14 - Vasily Pushkin: Vasily Pushkin’s Letters to Pyotr Vyazemsky 1811-1830
(Saint Petersburg: Central State Archive of Literature and Art of St.
Petersburg), p. 4.
15 - Vasily Pushkin: Vasily Pushkin’s Letters to Pyotr Vyazemsky 1811-1830
(Saint Petersburg: Central State Archive of Literature and Art of St.
Petersburg, 2004), p. 2.
16 – Maria Szymanowska: Album musical de Maria Szymanowska 1789-1831
(Paris: Polish Library Musee Adam Mickiewicz), pp. 104-105.
17 - Wenzel Johann Tomaschek: Autobiography (Suffolk: Boydell & Brewer,
2017), p. 348.
18 – Maria Szymanowska: Album musical de Maria Szymanowska 1789-1831
(Paris: Polish Library Musee Adam Mickiewicz), p. 26.
19 - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Goethe-briefe: Goethe-briefe
ausklang 1823-1832. Mit einem bildnis von JW von Goethe nach einer
zeichnung von Schwerdtgeburth. Vol 8 (Berlin: O. Elsner, 1905), p. 39.
20 - Maria Szymanowska: Album musical de Maria Szymanowska 1789-1831
(Paris: Polish Library Musee Adam Mickiewicz), p. 27.
21 - Maria Szymanowska: Album musical de Maria Szymanowska 1789-1831
(Paris: Polish Library Musee Adam Mickiewicz), p. 29.
22 - Igor Belza: Maria Szymanowska (Moscow: Publishing house of the USSR
Academy of Sciences, 1956), p. 64.
23 - Igor Belza: Maria Szymanowska (Moscow: Publishing house of the USSR
Academy of Sciences, 1956), p. 68.
24 - Maria Szymanowska: Album musical de Maria Szymanowska 1789-1831
(Paris: Polish Library Musee Adam Mickiewicz), p. 35.
25 - Maria Szymanowska: Album musical de Maria Szymanowska 1789-1831
(Paris: Polish Library Musee Adam Mickiewicz), pp. 55-62.
26 - Maria Szymanowska: Album musical de Maria Szymanowska 1789-1831
(Paris: Polish Library Musee Adam Mickiewicz), p. 53.
27 – Maria Szymanowska: Album musical de Maria Szymanowska 1789-1831
(Paris: Polish Library Musee Adam Mickiewicz), p. 65-67 and 100-103.
28 – Vadim Vatsuro: Pushkin in the memoirs of his contemporaries (Saint
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Stacy Olive Jarvis
Petersburg: Academic project, 1998), p. 29.
29 – Maria Szymanowska: Album musical de Maria Szymanowska 1789-1831
(Paris: Polish Library Musee Adam Mickiewicz), p. 44.
30 - Pyotr Shalikov: “Mrs Szymanowska’s concert”, Moscow News, 1822, 1146.
31 – Anne Swartz: “Maria Szymanowska and the Salon Music of the Early
Nineteenth Century”, The Polish Review, 1985, p. 58.
32 - Anne Swartz: “Maria Szymanowska and the Salon Music of the Early
Nineteenth Century”, The Polish Review, 1985, p. 44.
33 – Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (ed): Mikhail Glinka and his “Notes” (Moscow:
Urait, 2004), p. 26.
34 - Anne Swartz: “Maria Szymanowska and the Salon Music of the Early
Nineteenth Century”, The Polish Review, 1985, p. 53.
35 – Pyotr Bartenev: Letters from Moscow: Alexander Bulgakov to his brother in
Saint Peterburg, Russian Archive, 1821, p. 70.
36 – Katarzyna Swaryczewska: Szymanowska, in Die Musik in Geschichte und
Gegenwart, vol 13, p. 31 (Basel: Barenreiter Kassel, 1966).
37 – Anne Swartz: “Maria Szymanowska and the Salon Music of the Early
Nineteenth Century”, The Polish Review, 1985, p. 54.
38 – Pyotr Vyazemsky: Correspondence of Prince Pyotr Vyazemsky with
Alexander Turgenev. 1824-1836, Vol. 2 (Saint-Peterburg: Prince Vyazemsky
Archive, 1899).
39 – Abram Gozenpud: Engelhardt”s House (Moscow: Sovetskii
Kompozitor, 1992), p. 80.
40 – Stefan Jarocinski (ed.): Polish Music (Warsaw: Polish Scientific
Publishers, 1965), p. 92.
41 - Maria Szymanowska: Album musical de Maria Szymanowska 1789-1831
(Paris: Polish Library Musee Adam Mickiewicz), p. 8.
42 – Juri Lotman: Semiosphere, 7 vols. (Saint Petersburg: Iskusstvo, 2000),
p. 156.
43 – Maria Szymanowska: Album musical de Maria Szymanowska 1789-1831
(Paris: Polish Library Musee Adam Mickiewicz), p. 6.
44 – Ekaterina Sushkova: Notes (Moscow: Zakharov Books, 2004), p. 47.
45 – Pyotr Vyazemsky: Correspondence of Prince Pyotr Vyazemsky with
Alexander Turgenev. 1824-1836, vol. 3 (Saint-Peterburg: Prince Vyazemsky
Archive, 1908), p. 91.
46 – Lydia Gorchakova: “Musique de chant. Collection of duets” from the the
Yusupov Archive. Beginning of the 19th century (copy made in 1827), 204-229.
47 – Stanislaw Morawski: W Peterburku 1827-1838, Wspomnienia Pustelnika I
Koszalki Kobialki (Poznan: Wydawnictwo Polskie R. Wegner, 1927), p. 197.
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“Queen of Sounds” Maria Szymanowska
References:
1 - Bartenev, Pyotr: Letters from Moscow: Alexander Bulgakov to his brother in
Saint Peterburg, Russian Archive, 1821.
2 - Belza, Igor: Maria Szymanowska (Moscow: Publishing house of the USSR
Academy of Sciences, 1956).
3 - De Valera, Terry: “Maria Szymanowska (1790-1831): A Pupil of John Field,
Dublin Historical Record, 56 (2003).
4 - Gorchakova, Lydia: “Musique de chant. Collection of duets” from the the
Yusupov Archive. Beginning of the 19th century (copy made in 1827).
5 - Gozenpud, Abram: Engelhardt”s House (Moscow: Sovetskii
Kompozitor, 1992).
6 - Jarocinski Stefan (ed.): Polish Music (Warsaw: Polish Scientific
Publishers, 1965).
7 - Lotman, Juri: Semiosphere. 7 vols (Saint Petersburg: Iskusstvo, 2000).
8 - Morawski, Stanislaw: W Peterburku 1827-1838, Wspomnienia Pustelnika I
Koszalki Kobialki (Poznan: Wydawnictwo Polskie R. Wegner, 1927).
9 - Oginski, Michal: Letters about music (Krakow: Polish Music Publishing
House, 1956).
10 - “Józef Elsner in the light of unknown letters”, Polish Musicological
Yearbook, 1935.
11 - Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai (ed.): Mikhail Glinka and his “Notes” (Moscow:
Urait, 2004).
12 - Shalikov, Pyotr: “Mrs Szymanowska’s concert”, Moscow News, 1822.
13 - Suchowiejko, Renata: Album musical Marii Szymanowskiej - de Maria
Szymanowska (Kraków: Musica Iagellonica, 1999).
14 - Sushkova, Ekaterina: Notes (Moscow: Zakharov Books, 2004).
15 - Swartz, Anne: “Maria Szymanowska and the Salon Music of the Early
Nineteenth Century”, The Polish Review, 1985.
16 - Swaryczewska, Katarzyna: Szymanowska, in Die Musik in Geschichte und
Gegenwart, vol 13, (Basel: Barenreiter Kassel, 1966).
17 - Szymanowska, Maria. Album musical de Maria Szymanowska 1789-1831,
MAM 973 (Paris: Polish Library Musee Adam Mickiewicz).
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