Woytowicz Stefania Maria, Rudnicka, *8 October 1922 Orynin (near Kamieniec Podolski), †1 September 2005 Warsaw, Polish singer (soprano), Bolesław’s sister. In 1945–51, she studied singing with S. Zawadzka at the State Higher School of Music in Kraków, specialising in cantata and oratorio music. In 1949” she made her debut in Krakow. In 1950, she won the first prize in the national competition named after J.S. Bach in Poznań, and in 1951 she took third place in a vocal competition in Berlin. A year later, at the invitation of W. Rowicki, she sang the solo part in the Third Symphony “Song of the Night” by K. Szymanowski. In 1954, she won the first prize in the competition of the international Prague Spring Festival. She has performed in Europe (at festivals in Amsterdam, Berlin, Lucerne, Strasbourg, Prague, Vienna, Zagreb, Edinburgh, Salzburg, Athens and others), the United States, Australia and New Zealand, among others, with the Wiener Philharmoniker, Berliner Philharmoniker, Cleveland Orchestra and Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by C.M. Giulini, P. Klecki, E. Ormandy, C. Abbado, A. Dorati, G. Rozhdestvensky, L. Maazel et al. She was a guest at the Warsaw Autumn Festival many times. She was the first performer of many Polish contemporary works, including Erotics by T. Baird (1961), Passion according to St. Łukasz (1966), Jutrznia (1970, 1971) and Te Deum (1980) by K. Penderecki, compositions by H.M. Górecki – Ad Matrem (1972), Symphony No. 2 “Copernicus” Symphony (1973), Symphony No. 2 “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs” (1977) and the meditation O Domina nostra (1985), dedicated to her. In 1977–92, she served as the president of WTM. In December 1981, as a sign of protest against the introduction of martial law, she withdrew from official cultural life and became active in the Warsaw Ministry of Creative Communities (she performed, among others, during masses for the homeland celebrated by Father J. Popiełuszko in the church of St. Stanisław Kostka). In 1985, she sang at Castel Gandolfo for Pope John Paul II. She returned to the concert stage in 1990, taking part in the performance of the cantata L’enfant prodigue by C. Debussy on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Łódź Philharmonic.
Stefania Woytowicz’s artistic achievements include many recordings for radio, television and record labels (including PN, DG, Philips, Harmonia Mundi, RCA Victor). Particularly noteworthy are the recordings of vocal-instrumental works by A. Dvořák (Stabat Mater, 1962), K. Szymanowski (Symphony No. 3 and Stabat Mater, 1961), K. Penderecki (The Passion of St. Luke, 1966), H.M. Górecki (Symphony No. 3, 1978), B. Britten (War Requiem, 1969), as well as recitals of songs by S. Rachmaninoff, K. Szymanowski, T. Baird and cantatas and arias by J.S. Bach, H. Schütz and G. Frescobaldi. Stefania Woytowicz was the winner of numerous awards, including: in 1975 MKiS 1st degree, in 1978 ZKP, in 1983 the Independent Culture Committee “Solidarity,” in 1998 K. Szymanowski award for “creating an individual performance idiom in the field of K. Szymanowski’s oratorio and cantata works.” In 2001, she was awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
Literature: J. Kański Stefania Woytowicz, Kraków 1961; E. Szczecińska Stefania Woytowicz. Między histerią a ekstazą, “Tygodnik Powszechny” 2005 No. 39.
