Józef Turczyński

Józef Turczyński was a Polish pianist born on February 2, 1884, in Zhytomyr. He pursued his musical education in Saint Petersburg, where he studied under the renowned pianist Anna Yesipova. Concurrently, he also studied jurisprudence at the university. Seeking to further refine his skills, he traveled to Vienna in 1907-1908 to study with the legendary Ferruccio Busoni.

Turczyński's concert career gained significant momentum in 1911 when he won the first prize at the All-Russian Piano Competition in St. Petersburg, an event organized to celebrate the centenary of the Diederichs Frères piano factory. From 1912, he began touring extensively throughout Russia and Europe. He became a prominent advocate for Polish music, frequently performing works by composers such as Fryderyk Chopin, Ignacy Paderewski, Juliusz Zarębski, and Karol Szymanowski.

His career also included a significant pedagogical component. From 1915 to 1919, he served as a professor at the Kyiv Conservatory. Afterward, he settled in Warsaw, where he established himself as an outstanding teacher. His roster of distinguished students included Teodor Gutman, Witold Małcużyński, Henryk Sztompka, Halina Czerny-Stefańska, Mieczysław Weinberg, Max Fishman, and Maryla Jonas.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, Turczyński found himself in Switzerland and ultimately decided not to return to Poland. In the post-war years, he embarked on several major concert tours, including performances in the United States. A significant scholarly achievement of his later life was his collaboration with Ignacy Paderewski and Ludwik Bronarski on the preparation of the Complete Works of Chopin. Józef Turczyński passed away in Lausanne on December 27, 1953.

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