Tadeusz Baird

Tadeusz Baird (26 July 1928 – 2 September 1981) was a Polish composer.

Baird was born in Grodzisk Mazowiecki, to Scottish immigrant parents. He studied composition, piano and musicology in Warsaw with, among others, Kazimierz Sikorski. In 1956, with Kazimierz Serocki, he founded the Warsaw Autumn international contemporary music festival. In 1974 he began to teach composition at the State College of Music (currently the Music Academy) in Warsaw. In 1977 as a full professor he was offered a teacher position of a composition class at the Warsaw Academy of Music, and also a membership of the Academie der Künste der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik – Berlin in 1979.

He died in 1981, aged 53.

Compositions

He wrote both large scale symphonies and chamber music, however, of great importance in his output are numerous vocal cycles inspired by poetry. He wrote Tomorrow, a musical drama based on a short story by Joseph Conrad. He was also a composer of a film and theatre music. Baird's music is usually lyrical, very expressive, and intensely subjective. It is often rooted in the post-Romantic tradition, despite serial techniques.

Music for solo instruments

• Sonatina I (1949)
• Sonatina II (1952)
• Little Suite for Children (1952)

Chamber music

• String Quartet (1971)
• Play for String Quartet (1971)

Orchestral works

• Symphony I (1950) - Polish National Prize, 1951
• Colas Breugnon: a suite in the old style for string orchestra with flute (1951)
• Four Essays (1958) - UNESCO Prize, 1959
• Symphony III (1969) - National Prize, 1970

Concertos

• Four Dialogs for oboe and chamber orchestra (1964) - UNESCO Prize 1966
• Oboe Concerto (1973)
• Scenes for cello, harp and orchestra (1977)
• Concerto Lugubre (1975) for viola and orchestra

Vocal-instrumental works

• Four Love Sonnets for baritone and orchestra (1956) to texts by Shakespeare
• Five Songs for mezzo-soprano and six instruments (1970) to texts by H. Poświatowska - National Prize, 1970
• Tomorrow, a musical drama to a libretto by J. S. Sito