Research Library of the Polish Composers' Union

Szabolcs Esztényi died yesterday, on June 29th, 2024. He was an absolutely unique figure in the field of contemporary music, not only Polish art. What distinguished him most, it was his consistent, over the decades, exploration of the possibilities of the piano (the so-called preparation - and even if someone is rather a supporter of the traditional approach, granting untouchable status to instruments, it is impossible to deny many fantastic results and achievements of Professor's experiences). He had also a great talent to learn the art of improvisation. He will be remembered by many of us for a long time, very warmly. Either as a Teacher, or as a characteristic, delicate, dark figure on the stage (as if he did not want to be visible separately from the piano), a great Pianist-Performer. He also visited the ZKP Library. He stood modestly, said little, and gave us his sheet music for our collection. A great personality. He will stay alive in our memory. Polish contemporary music was to a large extend a result of his work (Iz.).