Antoni Szałowski was a Polish composer. In his youth he studied violin but soon became more interested in piano, conducting, and composition. Szałowski studied with Paweł Lewicki at the Warsaw Conservatoire, but in 1930 he received a government grant which enabled him to study in Paris. He was a student of Nadia Boulanger

Nadia Boulanger

Nadia Boulanger was a French composer, conductor and teacher who taught many composers and performers of the 20th century.From a musical family, she achieved early honours as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, but believing that her talent as a composer was inferior to that of her younger...

 at the École Normale de Musique de Paris

École Normale de Musique de Paris

The École Normale de Musique de Paris is a leading conservatoire located in Paris, France. The school was founded by Auguste Mangeot and pianist Alfred Cortot in 1919...

. His first three string quartets were met with much success, but his Overture for Orchestra (1936) was his first well-known work. During World War II, he lived in hiding and with financial difficulties and was sought by the Nazis, but he managed to still compose several works. Most of his works were written for strings. Szałowski suffered a heart attack and soon died when trying to lift his wife who had slipped on the floor. Szałowski is mostly known today for his Sonatina for Clarinet (1936) and other chamber wind pieces, with occasional playings of his Overture.