Retirement (Sweden)
Why Europe? Obviously Maciejewski wanted to be closer to Poland, but perhaps he also got scared by a vision of an American “career”? He was certainly dreaming of a life in a warm country (with a climate similar to that of California), close to nature, with few professional obligations. In order to come closer to […]
A choirmaster in the world of Hollywood
After returning to the United States Maciejewski made many attempts to popularise his opus vitae (the rest of his works did not really matter to him, perhaps with the exception of the Mazurkas). The initiatives took on various forms, e.g. presentation of a tape recording of Requiem at several concerts. These presentations took place both […]
Living for Requiem (United States)
Before Maciejewski reached Los Angeles, where Artur Rubinstein lived, he decided to visit some friends in New York and Oshkosh (Wisconsin). In Oshkosh he stayed at the home of Kazimierz Kranc, with whom he even gave a concert for the local community, playing his own pieces for two pianos. However, it was sunny California that […]
Marriage (United Kingdom/Sweden)
Concerto for Two Pianos could be said to have been a work that made its mark on the composer’s life like no other (with the exception of Requiem). In 1938 it brought him an invitation to London from the Royal College of Music. There we was able to present himself during a concert organised at […]
In the artistic capital of Europe (Paris)
Thanks to the Becks’ support, in autumn 1934 Maciejewski received a state scholarship and began private lessons with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, the artistic centre of Europe at the time. Although such an education was a great honour and dream for many composers, years later Maciejewski recalled: Nadia Boulanger was a person of exceptional charm. […]
Education (Poznań/Warsaw)
Roman Maciejewski began his education in Poznań in 1924 by studying piano at the local conservatoire. This was a turning point, for it marked the beginning of a true professionalisation of his artistic journey. The teachers influencing it in Poznań included Bohdan Zaleski, Kazimierz Sikorski and Stanisław Wiechowicz. Thanks to Wiechowicz Maciejewski became an assistant […]
Family and youth (Berlin/Leszno)
Documents preserved in the family archive show that Maciejewski’s ancestors on his mother’s side came from Lithuania. After the fall of the November Uprising his great-grandfather managed to get to Paris, where he began apprenticeship as a tailor. After returning to Poland (around 1841), he settled in the village of Kaszczor near Leszno and married […]
A composer of a lost generation
Roman Maciejewski (1910–1998) was a composer who spread his musical wings in the inter-war period, winning acclaim from such outstanding figures as Karol Szymanowski, only to gradually disappear from music lovers’ radars because of the political situation in the world and his own philosophy of life. Today his works are increasingly appreciated by performers, musicologists […]