Łopuska-Wyleżyńska Helena

Helena Łopuska-Wyleżyńska (* 1887- † 1920 Moscow) pianist, composer, student of Jan Kleczyński and Aleksander Michałowski in the piano class. She graduated from the composition class with Zygmunt Noskowski at the Warsaw Conservatory. She continued her piano and composition studies in Leipzig. She graduated with the highest honors. She successfully toured in Germany. In the meantime, she was also involved in music criticism, writing for “Młodej Muzyki” (“Young Music”). After returning to Poland, she devoted herself to composition. Her Ballade for Piano and Orchestra received the 1st prize at the Warsaw Philharmonic composers’ competition. Her cantata Smutno mi God, to the words of Juliusz Słowacki, was also performed at the Warsaw Philharmonic. In 1909, she left for Vilnius with her husband – conductor Adam Wyleżyński. There she became involved in music criticism by writing for “Przegląd Wileński”. During this time, she continued her solo activities, giving concerts as a pianist. At the end of her life, she moved to Moscow, where she continued composing and teaching piano. During World War I, she was interned and had to stop giving concerts.

In addition to the above-mentioned works, she composed, among others, Legend for piano and orchestra, Sonata in E minor and Impromptu for piano. Her piano works are characterized by lyricism and romanticism. The fate of her compositional legacy, most of which has not been published, is unknown.

The CD with the song “Chanson sans paroles op.2” in Magdalena Lisak’s recording, available here.