Employees

prof. dr hab.

Maria Szraiber

piano

Born in Silesia, Maria Szraiber was initially educated by Wanda Chmielowska, the heir to the tradition of the famous school of Teodor Leschetizky, through his student Anette Essipoff. She graduated with honors from the State Higher School of Music in Katowice (currently the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music) under the supervision of Bolesław Woytowicz, a student of Aleksander Michałowski, heir to the Chopin tradition, through Karol Mikuli - a student of Fryderyk Chopin. She continued her studies during a scholarship stay at the Conservatory Pyotr Tchaikovsky in Moscow, where she studied with Tatyana Nikolaeva and Rudolf Kerer, outstanding representatives of the Russian piano school.

She performs on Polish and foreign stages. She has performed in many European countries, as well as in the USA, China, Japan, South Korea and Australia. She has produced a number of various recordings. Having an extensive repertoire, he particularly enjoys performing the music of Fryderyk Chopin and Cl. Debussy and many items from the abundant resources of Polish piano literature.

She often gives concerts in places related to Fryderyk Chopin, such as: the Chopin family house in Żelazowa Wola, or the Chopin Monument in Warsaw's Łazienki Park.

In parallel with her concert activities, Maria Szraiber actively practices teaching. Until recently, as a full professor at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music, she conducted master's, postgraduate and doctoral piano studies for Polish and foreign students. Currently, he continues his teaching activities at the university as associate professor.

She conducts piano courses in Poland and abroad (including in the USA and the Far East) and gives lectures on topics related to piano performance. She also sits on the competition committees of Polish and foreign piano competitions.

Maria Szraiber's research activity focuses primarily on the history of piano (especially Polish), but also concerns issues of artistic pedagogy, the interpretive potential of piano literature and Polish piano music of the 19th century. A number of studies on these issues have been published in Poland and abroad, and are also presented as part of public lectures and scientific conferences. A derivative of Maria Szraiber's interest in the history of pianism is the fact that she runs the course History of Polish Pianism for foreign pianists studying at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music.

The most extensive publication prepared by Maria Szraiber is the two-volume title "The Nestors of Polish Pianism", published by the FCUM in 2005, containing biographies of famous professors of this university who made outstanding contributions to Polish pianism and a record of the content of memorial meetings devoted to them. The profiles of: Zbigniew Drzewiecki, Jerzy Lefeld, Aleksander Michałowski, Stanisław Szpinalski, Józef Śmidowicz, Margerita Trombini-Kazuro, Józef Turczyński, Maria Wiłkomirska and Jerzy Żurawlew were presented. The publication, also published in English, is accompanied by CDs with recordings of the pianists featured in it.

In the years 1993-1999, Maria Szraiber served as Dean of the Faculty of Piano, Harpsichord and Organ, and in the period 1996-1999 she was the Head of the 2nd Piano Department.

This resulted in numerous concert and research initiatives at the university. One of them was a series of meetings she led: "The Nestors of Polish Pianism", presenting the profiles of outstanding professors-pianists, memories of their students, exhibitions showing the achievements of these artists and concerts performed by famous students.

Another of her many initiatives was a series of concerts presenting less known Polish piano music of the 19th century performed by students of the Piano Department, which she preceded with extensive introductory lectures.

She has been actively participating in the summer Chopin-Górecki Festival for many years. She conducts piano courses as part of the Festival and gives lectures to an international group of participants. She is also a regular lecturer at the annual POLYA courses for Japanese pianists.

Many years of intensive contacts with Japanese pianists, both during numerous stays in Japan and with Japanese students of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music, prompted the Japanese government to award Maria Szraiber with the Order of the Rising Sun, Golden Rays with Ribbon, in recognition of her contribution to the education of Japanese young pianists and deepening relations between Poland and Japan.