Romuald Twardowski - composer, educator

Born in Vilnius in 1930. In the years 1952-57, he studied piano and composition in the class of Julius Juzeliunas at the State Conservatory of the Lithuanian SSR in Vilnius. He continued his composition studies in the years 1957-60 at the State Higher School of Music in Warsaw under Bolesław Woytowicz. In 1963 and 1966, he studied Gregorian chant and medieval polyphony under Nadia Boulanger in Paris.

Romuald Twardowski is the recipient of many awards and distinctions. The composition 'Antifone Per Tre Gruppi D'orchestra' (1961) won the 1st prize at the 1961 Young Composers' Competition of the Polish Composers' Union, and in 1963, it took 2nd place at the UNESCO International Composers' Tribune in Paris; in 1966, for 'Sonetti Di Petrarca Per Tenore Solo E Due Cori A Cappella' (1965), he received the 1st prize at the International Composers' Competition in Prague; twice - in 1965 for the ballet-pantomime 'Posągi Czarnoksiężnika' (1963) and in 1973 for the musical drama 'Lord Jim' (1970-73) - he won the 1st prize at the Prince Rainier International Composers' Competition in Monaco. In 1994, he received the AGEC award - Western European Federation of Choral Societies and the annual award of the Polish Composers' Union, the annual award of the ZKP, and in 2007, the Award of the American Foundation in honor of I. J. Paderewski.

Since 1971, Romuald Twardowski has been a professor at the State Higher School of Music in Warsaw. The artist has never been a follower of avant-garde, but he has used elements of new compositional techniques to create his own musical language, in which reminiscences of ancient music play a significant role. This attitude is probably related to his studies in Paris on Gregorian chant and medieval polyphony. In Romuald Twardowski's work, a characteristic feature is the trend of religious music, represented by compositions such as 'Psalmus 149 per coro misto' (1962), 'Mała Liturgia Prawosławna' for vocal ensemble and 3 groups of instruments (1968), 'Laudate Dominum', a dialogue for 2 mixed choirs (1976), 'Sequentiae De Ss. Patronis Polonis' for baritone, choir, and instrumental ensemble (1977), 'Chwalitie Imia Gospodina' for mixed choir (1990), 'Tu Es Petrus' for baritone, mixed choir, and symphony orchestra (1991), 'Hosanna I' for mixed choir (1992), 'Pieśni Maryjne' for soprano and small symphony orchestra (1993), 'Canticum Canticorum' for soprano, flute, clarinet, and strings (1994), 'Regina Coeli' for mixed choir (1996), and 'Hosanna II' for mixed choir (1997). Among these compositions, special attention is drawn to 'Mała Liturgia Prawosławna' referring to Orthodox church music, and the Liturgy 'Kijowska' of St. John Chrysostom.