Professor Alicja Paleta-Bugaj

Chair of Piano

Two Chairs of Special Piano were established in 1957. In 1957-1964 Chair 1 was headed by Professor Zbigniew Drzewiecki and Chair 2 was headed by Professor Margerita Trombini-Kazuro. In 1964-1969 Professor Jan Ekier took over Chair 1 and Professor Maria Wilkomirska took over Chair 2. In 1969-1971 the two chairs were merged and headed by Professor Jan Ekier. In 1971 this merged chair was once again divided into two chairs. From then on Professor Jan Ekier was in charge of Chair 1. His term of office expired at the end of the 1999/2000 academic year. At the beginning of the 2000/2001 academic year Professor Paleta-Bugaj began her term of office as head of Chair 1.

Chair activities
Didactic and artistic activities
Objective: Comprehensive training of performing pianists.
General principles:

• fashion - naturalness of playing
• interpretation - the composer's intentions as the point of departure for the pianist's interpretation of the work
• repertory - acquaintance with and elaboration of maximally comprehensive and valuable repertory of world piano music, paying special attention to Chopin's music.
  

• Preparing students to perform at home and abroad and to enter competitions at home and abroad (until now students of Chair 1 have often won high awards).
• Among other things, the Chair organises cycles of monographic concerts of great composers who wrote for the piano, rendered by students, former students and members of the faculty. These concerts usually take place to commemorate round anniversaries of the composer's birth or death (J. Brahms 1983 and 1997 - twice - complete piano works, J. S. Bach 1985 - Das Wohltemperierte Klavier, F. Liszt 1986 - selected works, S. Rachmaninoff 1933 - all Piano Concertos, B. Bartók 1996 - selected works, F. Chopin 1999 - complete piano works - so-called "Live Edition of the Works of F. Chopin", J. S. Bach 2000 - Goldberg Variations, 6 Piano partitas, Das Wohltemperierte Klavier, all Concertos for 2, 3 and 4 pianos and orchestra). Similar cycles have also been organised without any particular occasion (W. A. Mozart - all four-handed composition, C. Debussy 24 Preludes - twice, M. Ravel, K. Szymanowski - complete piano works). In preparation - a cycle of concerts devoted to S. Prokofiev's piano music.
• Organisation of master courses for students led by outstanding teaching pianists from Poland and abroad (e.g., Professor P. Eicher - Germany, Professor A. Besses - Spain, Professor A. Jasinski - Poland) in co-operation with Chair 2 of piano.
• Co-operation with other chairs in the field of teaching and performing.

• Organisation of research sessions. Two sessions devoted to the rendering of Chopin's works have been organised (one on a national level in 1964 and a second international one in 1978).
• Participation of members of the Chair in congresses, symposia and research sessions.
• Individual lectures at home and abroad.
• Publications in professional music journals.
• Co-operation with the Chair of Music Psychology at the AMFC in Warsaw.

• Participation of Chair faculty in master courses at home and abroad.
• Membership in the juries of national and international competitions.
• Co-operation with primary and secondary music schools (teaching, heading piano units, seminaries, courses, lectures).
• A broad range of concert activities - concerts at home and abroad, radio, TV and CD recordings.
• Official functions in music association boards (Frederic Chopin Association - Professor B. Kawalla, K. Szymanowski Association - Professor A. Paleta-Bugaj).
• Management of music festivals (Duszniki - Professor P. Paleczny).

Compiled by: The Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music