In Maria Szymanowska (1789-1831): A Bio-Bibliography, Anna E. Kijas examines the career of the highly-influential Polish pianist and composer. Kijas focuses on Szymanowska's life from her days as a young artist to her public concert tours between 1822 and 1828 to the last three years of her life in St. Petersburg. Kijas examines the daily aspects of touring, including organizing concerts, securing transportation and lodging, and managing finances, and she reviews Szymanowska's reception in the cities in which she performed, paying attention to her repertoire, the critic's remarks, ticket prices, and other artists on the program.
Separated into Works, Discography, and Literature, the bibliography lists more than 100 compositions for piano, voice, and chamber ensemble. The discography provides details for CD, LP, and cassette recordings between 1960 and the present, and the literature section examines more than 120 primary source documents such as 19th-century reviews and advertisements, personal correspondence, journals, and scrapbooks. Secondary sources include articles, books, and essays about Szymanowska as a composer and pianist. Complete with a list of sources and an index, this comprehensive reference provides insight into the struggles and accomplishments related to concert life for a professional woman in early 19th-century Europe.
