Katarzyna Szymańska-Stułka
Chopin University of Music, Warsaw (Poland).
ORCID ID 0000-0002-1862-6218
DOI:
Keywords: spectrum of light, spectrum of space, Karłowicz’s symphonic poems.
Abstract.
Mieczysław Karłowicz was one of the leading composers of Polish music at the turn of the 20th century, whose works are performed in Poland and Europe. This composer’s symphonic poems and songs are among the masterpieces of the genre. To date, Karłowicz’s work has been studied primarily in relation to its connections with philosophy and literature, focusing attention on the narrative program contained in his compositions. This paper proposes a different research approach to Karłowicz’s symphonic works, revealing their connections with light and space, which exerted a significant influence on the creative imagination of Karłowicz, a Tatra mountaineer and outstanding photographer. The spectrum of light and space provided a significant impetus for the creation of this composer’s expansive and impressive symphonic forms. In the following study, I present selected aspects of these connections. My research method is the narrative of Karłowicz’s Tatra writings, in which he conveys literary and quasi-philosophical descriptions of his experiences during his Tatra journeys. I use these descriptions to find the narrative of light and space in selected symphonic compositions by Karłowicz.
Author’s biography.
Katarzyna Szymańska-Stułka, Ph.D., Doctor habilitated, Department of Composition and Theory of Music, Chopin University of Music, Warsaw (Poland).
katarzyna.szymanska-stulka@chopin.edu.pl
References:
Karłowicz, Mieczysław. (1957). „W Tatrach”. Pisma taternickie i zdjęcia fotograficzne, red. Jerzy Młodziejowski, Kraków, PWM.
Polony, Leszek. (1986). Poetyka muzyczna Mieczysława Karłowicza, Kraków, PWM.
Szymańska-Stułka, Katarzyna. (2022). Spectrum światła i przestrzeni u Karłowicza, w: eadem, Przestrzeń jako źródło strategii kompozytorskich, Chopin University Press, Warszawa, pp. 243–278.
Węgrzyn-Klisowska, Walentyna. (2008). Idea światła w cyklu poematów „Odwieczne Pieśni” Mieczysława Karłowicza, w: Dźwięk, światło, obraz w sztuce polskiej, Warszawa, Uniwersytet Muzyczny Fryderyka Chopina, p. 98–99.
Wightman Alistair. (1996). Karłowicz — Młoda Polska i muzyczny fin de siècle, transl. Ewa Gabryś, Kraków, PWM.
The article was received by the editorial office on 10.12.2025.
The article was accepted for publication after review on 12.12.2025.
The article was published on 31.12.2025.
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