Henryk Melcer Mélodies - Transcriptions pour piano Witczak Filipowicz-Kosinska Drzewicki Marat

Henryk Melcer-Szczawinski was born nto a family with musical traditions. His first teachers were his grandmother, a pianist, and his father, a violinist, director of the Musical Society in Kalisz, where he made his debut on 25 April 1877. He studied piano at the Warsaw Music Institute in the class of Rudolf Strobel and Aleksander Michalowski, and composition under one of the most eminent Polish symphonists, Zygmunt Noskowski. From then on, he performed extensively in France and Germany, while in 1890 he went on a several-month tour of Russia. In addition to his concert activity, he also successfully devoted himself to composition. At the 1895 Anton Rubinstein Competition, he was awarded 1st prizes for his Piano Concerto no. 1, Piano Trio and 3rd prize for two pieces from op. 5. After a tour and success in Vienna, he settled in Warsaw in autumn 1907. His well-established position and wide range of skills on many levels led to his appointment on 2 October 1908. Melcer’s World War I years were marked by intense concert activity. From 1917, he taught a piano class at the Warsaw Institute of Music, serving as its director from 1922. In 1925, a jubilee concert took place on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of his artistic work.