Szymanowski: Seventy Years On
This week sees the seventieth anniversary of the passing of Karol Szymanowski, Poland's most celebrated modern composer.
Joint tributes will be held in Cracow and Zakopane; the highland town where the composer made his home.
Cracow's National Museum is organizing the event, which begins on Wednesday 28th with a concert by leading orchestra Capella Cracoviensis.
Szymanowski was laid to rest seventy years ago in the Crypt of Honour at Cracow's Church on the Rock alongside some of the most revered artists in Poland's history. This Thursday at midday, luminaries from the world of art will lay flowers at the composer's tomb in an official ceremony. Later that evening, the celebrations move to Zakopane, where there will be a concert at Szymanowski's house, the Villa Atma.
Szymanowski was born into a noble family in lands that are today in the Ukraine. His music is filled with a longing that is typically Polish, although his inspiration came from many spheres - love, landscape and Polish folk music. A loyal Highland band played over the composer's tomb as he was laid to rest seventy years ago.