2026-04-09

On the occasion of Jerzy Maksymiuk’s 90th birthday, we are delighted to announce that his rich and diverse compositional output will be published by PWM Edition. Until now, most of the maestro’s compositions have remained in manuscript form, but thanks to the establishment of an ongoing partnership with the publishing house, this situation will gradually begin to change.

Jerzy Maksymiuk was born in 1936 in Grodno and spent his youth in Białystok, where his first musical mentor was Jan Tarasiewicz. “My passion for music began with him. […] It was my second home, yet my first artistic home. My musical enclave,” he recalled about his teacher in an interview with Ruch Muzyczny in 2016. Maksymiuk continued his artistic development in Warsaw, where he studied with Piotr Perkowski (composition), Jerzy Lefeld (piano), and Bogusław Madey (conducting). Particularly important stages in Maksymiuk’s career included his artistic leadership of the Polish Chamber Orchestra (1972–1983, currently Sinfonia Varsovia) and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (1983–1993).

Jerzy Maksymiuk is one of the most distinctive artists on the Polish music scene. Although he is more widely recognised as a conductor, he continued composing throughout his life. His creative output includes dozens of orchestral works across various genres, as well as chamber and piano pieces (including works for children). He has also composed nearly 120 scores for feature Polish motion pictures, documentaries, and animated films, collaborating with directors such as Wojciech Jerzy Has, Krzysztof Zanussi, Ewa and Czesław Petelski, and Jan Łomnicki.

Photo: Janusz Marynowski, courtesy of Sinfonia Varsovia

Securing Jerzy Maksymiuk’s legacy by including his works in the PWM Edition catalogue is a long-term project planned for the coming years. New publications will soon be available in the PWM Edition store and in the regularly updated Orchestral Materials Catalogue.