Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)

History of the Academy

The Academy of Music in Warsaw is the oldest and largest school of music in Poland and one of the oldest in Europe. It has inherited a nearly two hundred-year old tradition of public music teaching in Warsaw. Historically, the Academy's most memorable date is the year 1810. This year saw two important events take place: the birth of Fryderyk Chopin, patron of the Academy, and the founding of the School of Drama, attached to the National Theatre by Wojciech Boguslawski. The school, meant for actors and singers of the theatre, was transformed into a college of music under Jozef Elsner - a well known composer, conductor and teacher.

In 1821 the school took the name of "The Institute of Music and Recitation" or "The Conservatory" and became a division of the Warsaw University Department of Fine Arts. It provided full musical education.

In 1826 the Institute was divided into two units: "The Main School of Music", functioning within the university framework, and "The Dramatic and Vocal School" offering primary and secondary education. Between the years 1826 and 1829 Fryderyk Chopin studied at the Main School of Music. Towards the end of his second year, Jozef Elsner, declared the memorable opinion of him as an "extraordinary gift, a musical genius".

	Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860-1941)

The school underwent numerous inevitable changes, closely linked with the history of the country and city. Each consecutive national uprising against the invaders led to the restriction or elimination of cultural institutions. Thus, when the University of Warsaw was dissolved in 1831, Elsner's Main School of Music also ceased to exist. This was one of the repressive measures which followed the November Uprising. Thirty years later, in 1861, the heritage of the Main School of Music was taken over by the Apolinary Katski Institute of Music, which functioned until 1918. When Poland regained its independence the school was nationalised and given the name of "The Conservatory". It existed and functioned uninterrupted until the outbreak of World War II. During the Nazi occupation, under the name of "Staatliche Musikschule in Warschau", the school followed the curriculum of the pre-war conservatory. The 1944 Warsaw Uprising resulted in the destruction of the school building in Okolnik Street.

In 1946, after the Second World War, the school was granted the name of "The Higher State School of Music" and was housed in the mansions of Ujazdowskie Alleys. The present edifice of the Academy in Okolnik Street was erected between 1960 and 1966. In 1962 the school was granted full academic status and the right to confer M.A. diplomas in all disciplines of music. A branch of the school was opened in Bialystok in 1974. In 1979 the school took on the name of its patron, becoming the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music.

The school is proud of its outstanding alumni. Though the figure of Fryderyk Chopin towers above all others, the school has produced numerous musicians of international renown. Among them are: Grazyna Bacewicz, Jozef Chwedczuk, Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, Kazimierz Czekotowski, Grzegorz Fitelberg, Benedykt Gorecki, Jozef Jarzebski, Mieczyslaw Karlowicz, Stefan Kisielewski, Pawel Klecki, Michal Kondracki, Wanda Landowska, Jerzy Lefeld, Witold Lutoslawski, Jan Maklakiewicz, Artur Malawski, Zygmunt Noskowski, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Andrzej Panufnik, Feliks Raczkowski, Ludomir Rozycki, Bronislaw Rutkowski, Bronislaw Szabelski, Antoni Szalowski, Stanislaw Szpinalski, Stefan Sledzinski, Zbigniew Turski, Eugenia Uminska, Janusz Urbanski, Kazimierz Wilkomirski, Bogdan Wodiczko... Many of the graduates have been involved in educational activity.

	Ada Sari (1886-1968)

The identity of the school has evolved in constant dialogue with the achievements of other cultural circles. The school's graduates have been aided by teachers who came to Warsaw from other regions. The traditions of the Warsaw school have been built by: Tadeusz Baird, Walerian Bierdiajew, Wiktor Bregy, Henryk Czyz, Zbigniew Drzewiecki, Irena Dubiska, Hieronim Feicht, Antoni Karuzas, Ludwik Kurkiewicz, Wincenty Laski, Aleksander Michalowski, Stanislaw Moniuszko, Arnold Rezler, Witold Rudzinski, Ada Sari, Mieczyslaw Szaleski, Antoni Szalinski, Tadeusz Szeligowski, Margerita Trombini-Kazuro, Jozef Turczynski, Maria Wilkomirska, Kazimierz Wilkomirski, Stanislaw Wislocki, Tadeusz Wronski, Wladyslaw Zelenski. Honorary degrees were received by the following for their special contribution to musical education: at the Warsaw National Conservatory - Jozef Hofman (1934), at the Chopin Academy of Music - Regina Smendzianka and Stanislaw Wislocki (1997) and Boguslaw Madey (2004).

Witold Lutoslawski (1913-1994) honoris causa doctorate

There is one element specific to the Warsaw school - it allows open access to musicians representing different artistic formations. This may be the result of its geographical location as well as the metropolitan functions of the city. Contact with other musical circles is very intensive. In 1927 Jerzy Zurawlew, a professor of the Warsaw school, initiated International Chopin Competitions, with conservatory graduates being among their first prize-winners: Jan Ekier, Witold Malcuzynski, Stanislaw Szpinalski, Henryk Sztompka. There are more international music competitions in the Academy today: the Tadeusz Wronski International Competition for the Violin Solo, the International Organ Competition, the Wanda Landowska International Harpsichord Competition, The Witold Lutoslawski International Cello Competition - to mention but a few. The Academy has close contacts with musical institutions all over the world. Recently there has been particularly close contacts with Soai University (Osaka) and Keimyung University w Taegu (Korea Południowa). The Academy is a member of the Association Europeenne des Conservatoires, the Academies de Musique et Musikhochschulen (AECAM), Association of the Baltic Academies of Music (ABAM) and since 1992 it has been a member of the European League of Institutions of Arts (ELIA).

	Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937)

Several departments of the AMFC have given the title of Doctor Honoris Causa to people who have contributed outstandingly to the music arts: Nadia Boulanger, Kazimierz Sikorski, Stefan Sledzinski, Artur Rubinstein, Igor Belza, Witold Lutoslawski, Andrzej Panufnik, Tadeusz Wronski, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Krzysztof Penderecki, Jan Ekier, Mscislaw Rostropowicz, Witold Rudzinski, Regina Smendzianka, Stefan Sutkowski, Placido Domingo, Jerzy Semkow, Joachim Grubich, Andrzej Jasiński, Synn Ilhi, Christa Ludwig, Bernard Ładysz.

Compiled by: The Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music