Henryk Sztompka

Henryk Sztompka (SHTOMP-kah; April 1 [O.S. March 19] 1901 – June 21, 1964) was a Polish pianist. He studied at the Warsaw Conservatory under Józef Turczyński and later trained in Paris under Ignacy Jan Paderewski from 1928 to 1932. He competed in the first International Chopin Piano Competition in 1927, winning the Polish Radio award for the best performance of mazurkas.

He toured widely across Poland, Western Europe, and the Soviet Union, and also became known for bringing recitals to rural audiences. After World War II, he taught at the Academy of Music in Kraków and recorded the complete Nocturnes and Mazurkas of Chopin in 1957.

Sztompka helped establish the Chopin Festival in Duszniki in 1946 and repeatedly served on the juries of the International Chopin Piano Competition, the Long-Thibaud-Crespin Competition, and the International Tchaikovsky Competition. He served as vice president of the Frederic Chopin Society until his death.

Read more about this composer on Wikipedia.