In the world of music, Grazyna Bacewicz is one of the 20th Century’s most influential women. The impact of her music is discussed in detail in Sharon Guertin Shafer's The Contribution of Grazyna Bacewicz (1909-1969) to Polish Music.
Throughout the Second World War, she continued to compose and perform music in underground locations in war-torn Warsaw. She was only the second female composer from Poland to achieve worldwide recognition. In addition, she is one of the few women to try her hand at opera.
Formative Years
Grazyna Bacewicz was born in Warsaw, Poland, on 5th February, 1909. Her father was a musical man, who presented young Grazyna with her first violin and tutored her in her formative musical studies. She eventually went on to study at the Warsaw Conservatory, in 1928. She began by studying the piano and violin, but by the time she graduated, in 1932, she had dropped piano and taken up composing.
From the Warsaw Conservatory, Bacewicz moved to France, where she studied at the École Normale de Musique in Paris. There she studied under the celebrated Nadia Boulanger. During her time in France, Bacewicz also received private lessons from violinist Henri Touret. After spending a year in France, she left for Hungary, where she gained further tuition from Carl Flesch.
Bacewicz’s Early Career
Her professional career began during the mid 1930s. She earned the post of principal violinist with the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra and she performed regularly as a soloist. During this time, she was also composing pieces that were played by the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
In 1936, Grazyna Bacewicz wed, shortly after her marriage she gave birth to a daughter, Alina Biernacka. Bacewicz enjoyed being a wife and mother, but this did not deter from her musical career. So, she continued to compose and perform.
Defiance During the Second World War
During World War Two, Bacewicz continued to reside in Warsaw and was determined to continue giving musical performances. Due to the Nazi occupation, her concerts had to be held in secret and were performed in underground locations. During one such defiant performance, Bacewicz premiered one of her most popular compositions, the Suite for Two Violins.
Later Life and Legacy
After the Second World War, Bacewicz became a teacher at the State Conservatory of Music in Lódz. Throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s, Bacewicz began to gradually retire from performance and concentrate on composition. A horrific car accident, in 1954, left Bacewicz with terrible injuries, which sadly ended her performance career entirely.
In her latter years, Bacwicz continued to compose and produced her first, and only, opera, The Adventures of King Arthur, in 1959. The piece was produced for radio broadcast. The majority of Bacewicz’s compositional output consists of music for the violin.
Grazyna Bacewicz died in 1969, just weeks away from her 60th birthday. Her musical legacy includes her opera, seven violin concerti, five sonatas and seven string quartets. She was a woman of great talent who overcame the oppression of occupation and established herself as an influential figure in European music.
Samples and sheet music of Bacewicz's work can be found here.
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