Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) Piano Works, Vol. 3
Mazurkas, Op. 50
Études, Op. 33
Folk Dances of the World
Prelude and Fugue in C sharp minor
Sonata in C minor, Op. 8

Karol Szymanowski was born on 3rd October 1882 (the same year as both Stravinsky and Kodaly) to an aristocratic Polish family in the Ukraine, part of the former kingdom of Poland but by then under Russian jurisdiction after the partition of 1793. Karol was the third of five children, all of whom pursued careers in the arts, and he displayed a keen interest in both music and literature. Due to a leg injury at the age of four his early education was at home, with books and music taking the place of games, and it was initially under his father's direction that he began to study the piano at the age of seven. After three years he was then sent to his uncle Gustav Neuhaus's music school, where he was able to study both piano and theory, and under Neuhaus's tutelage wa