What does PBM consist of? – A Guide to the Polish Music Library
October marks the return of students to universities to acquire knowledge and skills under the guidance of their professors. For centuries the master-student relationship has been the foundation of academic education – with countless examples to prove it. There are also, however, some not-so-obivous stories of connections formed between teachers and their student, which you can find out about in our Encyclopedia.
Continuing the „What does PBM consist of” series, we invite you to explore compelling facts about the education of well known composers.
Mozart and Salieri
Antonio Salieri is primarily associated with the Classical era and its style as well as with the figure of W.A. Mozart (mainly due to the film Amadeus). But what could he possibly have in common with the key representatives of Romanticism, such as Franz Schubert or Ferenc Liszt? Well, Salieri was not only a composer but also a mentor, and his students included, among others, L. van Beethoven (1793/4 – vocal composition), F. Schubert (1812-17 – counterpoint) and F. Liszt. The latter studied also piano under C. Czerny, another of Salieri’s students.
Chopin
On the occasion of the ongoing 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, it is impossible not to mention Józef Elsner, Chopin’s teacher. At first, Chopin took private composition lessons with him, and later, in 1826, he enrolled in the Main School of Music, headed by Elsner, which was a division of the Warsaw University Department of Fine Arts.
Rimsky-Korsakov
It is worth mentioning the work of a member of the so-called „Mighty Handful”, Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, who trained a large number of conductors, musicians and composers, including, for example, Igor Stravinsky (took private lessons with him from 1905 to 1908) or Sergey Prokofiev (instrumentation).
Szymanowski
During his education, Karol Szymanowski encountered some of the most prominent figures in the Polish music world. Suffice it to say that one of them was Zygmunt Noskowski, with whom the composer of Harnasie studied counterpoint and composition.
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We encourage you to continue your own exploration of our resources – plenty of surprising discoveries still await you!
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