Władysław Szpilman (December 5, 1911 – July 6, 2000) was a Polish pianist, … Read Full Bio ↴Władysław Szpilman (December 5, 1911 – July 6, 2000) was a Polish pianist, composer, and memoirist. He is best known as the protagonist of the Roman Polański film The Pianist, based on Szpilman's autobiographical book recounting how he survived the Holocaust.
Szpilman was born in Sosnowiec, Congress Poland, Russian Empire, to a Jewish family. After early piano lessons with his mother Esthera, he continued his piano studies in the early 1930s at the Warsaw Conservatory under Aleksander Michałowski and at the Academy of Arts (Akademie der Künste) in Berlin under Artur Schnabel and Leonid Kreutzer. He also studied composition with Franz Schreker.
The Nazi-led General Government established ghettos in many Polish cities, including Warsaw, and Szpilman was forced to move to the Warsaw Ghetto with his family. He continued to work as a pianist in restaurants in the ghetto. Szpilman remained in the Warsaw Ghetto until it was abolished after the deportation of most of its inhabitants.
None of his family members survived the war. As set out in his memoir, Szpilman found places to hide in Warsaw and survived with the help of his friends from Polish Radio and in part by a German captain, Wilm Hosenfeld.
From 1945 to 1963 Szpilman was director of the Music Department at Polish Radio. During this period he composed several symphonic works and about 500 songs, still popular in Poland today, as well as music for radio plays and film.
In the 1950s he wrote about 40 songs for children, for which he received an award from the Polish Composers Union in 1955.
In 1961 he initiated and organized Sopot International Song Festival in Poland and founded the Polish Union of Authors of Popular Music.
Szpilman also performed as a soloist and with violinists Bronislaw Gimpel, Roman Totenberg, Ida Haendel and Henryk Szeryng. In 1963, Szpilman and Gimpel founded the Warsaw Piano Quintet, with which Szpilman performed worldwide until 1986.
In November 1998 Wladyslaw Szpilman was honoured by the president of Poland with a Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
Szpilman died in Warsaw in 2000 at age 88.
Szpilman was born in Sosnowiec, Congress Poland, Russian Empire, to a Jewish family. After early piano lessons with his mother Esthera, he continued his piano studies in the early 1930s at the Warsaw Conservatory under Aleksander Michałowski and at the Academy of Arts (Akademie der Künste) in Berlin under Artur Schnabel and Leonid Kreutzer. He also studied composition with Franz Schreker.
The Nazi-led General Government established ghettos in many Polish cities, including Warsaw, and Szpilman was forced to move to the Warsaw Ghetto with his family. He continued to work as a pianist in restaurants in the ghetto. Szpilman remained in the Warsaw Ghetto until it was abolished after the deportation of most of its inhabitants.
None of his family members survived the war. As set out in his memoir, Szpilman found places to hide in Warsaw and survived with the help of his friends from Polish Radio and in part by a German captain, Wilm Hosenfeld.
From 1945 to 1963 Szpilman was director of the Music Department at Polish Radio. During this period he composed several symphonic works and about 500 songs, still popular in Poland today, as well as music for radio plays and film.
In the 1950s he wrote about 40 songs for children, for which he received an award from the Polish Composers Union in 1955.
In 1961 he initiated and organized Sopot International Song Festival in Poland and founded the Polish Union of Authors of Popular Music.
Szpilman also performed as a soloist and with violinists Bronislaw Gimpel, Roman Totenberg, Ida Haendel and Henryk Szeryng. In 1963, Szpilman and Gimpel founded the Warsaw Piano Quintet, with which Szpilman performed worldwide until 1986.
In November 1998 Wladyslaw Szpilman was honoured by the president of Poland with a Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
Szpilman died in Warsaw in 2000 at age 88.
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Schumann Fantasie C Major
Władysław Szpilman Lyrics
No lyrics text found for this track.
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
Niletuv
56 years without his all family that died in WW2. This music is full of emotion....
pace
Every month I watch this video.Many pianists play Chopin Nocturne op.20,but this is special！ I can't listen to this piece without tears.Last year I went to Warsaw from Japan and put flowers on his grave.
basia basia
Pan Szpilman mial 86 lat gdy gral ten przepiekny utwor; ... dziekujemy z calego serca za wspaniala muzyke dla "duszy i ciala". Co za virtuoz!! Bravo, Maestro!! R.I. P.
Mehmet Bilginsoy
"Since August 1944, Szpilman was hiding out in an abandoned building at al. Niepodległości 223 when he was found in November by a German officer, Captain Wilm Hosenfeld. To Szpilman's surprise, the officer did not arrest or kill him; after discovering that the emaciated Szpilman was a pianist, Hosenfeld asked him to play something. (A piano was on the ground floor.) Szpilman played Chopin's Nocturne in C-sharp minor. After that, the officer showed Szpilman a better place to hide and brought him bread and jam on numerous occasions."
This piece probably saved his life
skeetajohnson
I like the way he plays the piece. He's not rocking back and forth as if he is overacting. He just plays it with feeling without the drama.
Cam Den
This piece has been stuck in my head since I was a child, I've been looking for it for over half my life then I watched the pianist and this song was finally played. I actually cried because this song meant and still means so much to me, for reasons that remain unknown to even myself. This is so beautiful.
Jadson Gomes da Silva
Although there are many infant prodigies they can play difficult pieces at high speeds, for me nothing is better than feeling that usually only experience can impart. Beautiful interpretation. Thank you W. Szpilman.
Agnes Guimarães
muito bom!
Oscar Juan Casale
there's so much pain in this piece, he made me cry, i've heard it a lot of times in a lot of pianists, but never like this. Much respect.
Twitch_Fox
Too true, you can always hear it. They might hit the same keys at the exact same timing, but it's always there.