March 1, 2013
Dobrzanski presents pioneering work at Athena Festival
Submitted by Slawomir P. Dobrzanski
Slawomir Dobrzanski, chair of keyboard studies and associate professor of music at the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, presented a well-attended lecture and recital titled "Salon Music, Virtuosity and Influence on Future Generations: The Piano Music of Maria Agata Wolowska Szymanowska" at the celebrated Athena Festival at Murray State University, Murray, Ky., Feb. 29-March 1.
The festival is a biennial meeting dedicated to research on women composers and is eagerly attended by noted scholars and performers from around the globe.
Dobrzanski's presentation described his path-breaking academic and artistic efforts aimed at introducing the world to the remarkable talent embodied by the pioneering 19th-century Polish Jewish woman pianist and composer Maria Szymanowska. He has already produced the first English-language biography of Szymanowska, published by the University of Southern California and will be shortly releasing the premiere recording a set of three CDs of the complete piano works composed by Szymanowska.