Jan Smeterlin

Jan Smeterlin (7 February, 1892 in Bielsko, Austro-Hungarian Empire – 18 January, 1967 in London ["Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians", Seventh Edition, Revised by Nicolas Slonimsky, Schirmer Books, New York, 1984, page 2151.] ) was a Polish concert pianist. He is especially known as an interpreter of Chopin and Karol Szymanowski. [The International Piano Archives at The University of Maryland, biographical description with collection] ["The New York Times", obituary, "Jan Smeterlin, Pianist, 74, Dead," January 20, 1967, page 37]

Life

Smeterlin performed his first concert at age seven, but despite exhibiting talent in his youth, he was forced to study law. He won a scholarship to study with pianist Leopold Godowsky while studying in Vienna, Austria. Godowsky was to be one of Smeterlin’s most important teachers. Smeterlin made his professional debut in 1920. [The International Piano Archives at The University of Maryland, biographical description with collection]

Smeterlin was a cooking enthusiast and authored a book of recipes. The book was published posthumously. In his later years, Smeterlin and Didi, his wife, lived in New York. Shortly after the couple returned to London in 1967, Smeterlin died. [The International Piano Archives at the University of Maryland, biographical description with collection.]

zymanowski

Over the course of his career, Smeterlin maintained a close relationship with Polish composer Karol Szymanowski. The two were both colleagues and friends, and Szymanowski dedicated of a volume of "mazurek"s to Smeterlin and later published the pair’s letters to each other. Smeterlin frequently performed Szymanowski's works. ["Correspondence and Essays," by Karol Szymanowski, Jan Smeterlin, B. M. Maciejewski, Felix Aprahamian, Allegro Press, 1969]

Recordings

Smeterlin recorded more of Chopin’s music than any other composer. Over his career, Smeterlin recorded for the Philips, Mace, Allegro, Polydor, and RCA Victor recording labels. [The International Piano Archives at The University of Maryland, biographical description with collection]

Notes