Professor Maria Manturzewska

On the 25th of October 2000 the Frederic Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw witnessed a very special event. The Chair of Music Psychology held a festive meeting in Senate Hall to celebrate the 70th birthday and 45th professional jubilee of its head of many years standing, Professor Maria Manturzewska. Her research, teaching and organisational activities laid out the routes of development of the psychology of music in Poland and throughout the world. Many guests were invited to the celebration - Professor Manturzewska's friends, psychologists, musicians, teachers and psychologists of music from many different research and music centres all over Poland. Former rectors of the Academy, Professor Regina Smendzianka and Professor Andrzej Rakowski, were also present. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Barbara Kaminska, newly nominated professor and head of the Chair of Music Psychology. When Professor Zimak presented her official nomination to her at the beginning of the meeting she emphasised that she interpreted this as a sign of official recognition for the work and output of Professor Manturzewska and her contribution to the development of the Chair's identity and promised to continue this good work.

Professor Maria Manturzewska's Guests

Then came the main point of the program, presentation of the book dedicated to Professor Maria Manturzewska. Wojciech Jankowski made the presentation in the name of the Editorial Committee. The title - Man-Music-Psychology reflects the book's contents well but above all it reflects Maria Manturzewska's own conviction that Man is the main point of reference in all research, educational and public pursuits. "It was her anthropological fascination with man and her relations with music which finally drew her to psychology", said W. Jankowski. The main parts of the book refer to the consecutive stages of Professor Manturzewska's research pursuits: the perception of music, theory of aptitude, psychometrics, musical development, the biographies of musicians and finally the foundations of music education. The authors are distinguished Polish and foreign psychologists, musicians and musicologists, Professor Manturzewska's friends and collaborators of many years, who responded instantaneously to the Editorial Committee's call for contributions. The result is this surprise of a book (more than 500 pages).

	Professor Maria Manturzewska and Professor Witold Rudzinski

Once B. Kaminska and W. Jankowski had presented the book with many cordial greetings in the name of the faculty and collaborators of the Chair of Music Psychology and Professor R. Zimak had conveyed equally hearty greetings in the name of the AMFC authorities St. Moryto took the floor. He emphasised the value of Professor Manturzewska's greatest personal success - the fact that she had a wide circle of devoted friends. When he finished his speech letters by Professor J. Ekier and Professor Jan Strelau were read and then Professors A. Strzalecki, A. Rakowski, M. Szmyd-Dormus, E. Glowacka, D. Sroczynska, E. Pospiech, K. Lewandowska and H. Kotarska gave short speeches. They all thanked Maria Manturzewska for her long years of professional activity, her inspiring co-operation and help and wished her further fruitful work and research achievements.

Professor Maria Manturzewska thanked everybody for coming and organising her jubilee and recalled the representatives of the research and artistic world, both living and deceased, to whom she owed most. She stressed that serving man and music had always been her leading purpose and that of the Chair of the Psychology of Music.