Sztwiertnia, Jan (1911–1940)

Jan Sztwiertnia (born 1 June 1911 in Hermanitz near Ustroń in the Silesian Beskids; died 29 August 1940 in Gusen I concentration camp) was a Polish teacher, musician and composer.

Jan Sztwiertnia grew up without a father and, because his mother was unable to cope with raising the children, was placed in the Protestant orphanage in Ustroń in 1921. In Ustroń, he completed compulsory schooling until 1925, before attending the teacher training college in Cieszyn from 1925 to 1930. His musical talent was already recognized there, and he also practiced composition there.

After completing his teacher training, Jan Sztwiertnia began teaching at the elementary school in Rowne near Wisła-Głębce, in the area known as the Widderberg. There, inspired by the tranquility, nature, and landscape, he created his first musical pieces in his free time, such as the opera Sałasznicy (Sałasznicy) in 1932, based on a libretto by Ferdynand Dyrna, in which Sztwiertnia incorporated, among other things, motifs from local folk music.

In 1933, he returned from the mountains to Wisła, where he led the church choir and worked as an organist. During this time, Sztwiertnia composed a number of ecclesiastical fugues, preludes, chorales, and cantatas.

In 1935, Sztwiernia was able to further his musical education at the music school in Cieszyn and finally began studying music at the Katowice Conservatory in 1937. As a young talent, he was awarded a scholarship for further musical studies in Paris in 1939, but the outbreak of World War II put an end to any further study opportunities for him in Paris.