Sigismond Stojowski

The pianist and composer Zygmunt Stojowski gained popularity both in his native Poland and in the U.S., and he shaped the musical cultures of both countries. Stojowski grew up with a facility for languages that would later allow him to serve as Tchaikovsky's translator in London, just one of the luminaries whose paths crossed his own. Stojowski made his debut in Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37, when he was 17. He later gained considerable renown in Poland and beyond. In 1905 Stojowski was recruited for the faculty of what became the Juilliard School, where he was in demand as a teacher. Stojowski's piano music and a substantial Violin Concerto in G minor, Op. 22, have been revived in the 21st century.