Honorary Doctor of UW appointed a patron of 2013

The Parliament of the Republic of Poland has passed a resolution on appointing Witold Lutosławski one of the three patrons of the year 2013. He was a distinguished composer, conductor, student and Honorary Doctor of the University of Warsaw. On January 25th the centenary of his birth will be celebrated.

In 40 towns of 18 countries over 100 events will be held to commemorate Witold Lutosławski. The programme comprises symphonic and chamber concerts, recitals, conferences, seminars, as well as new CD and multimedia releases. At the initiative of Bogdan Zdrojewski, the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, a decision was made that international celebrations of the Lutosławski jubilee will be held under the auspices of UNESCO.

The University of Warsaw is also involved in the celebrations. We will be regularly announcing and reporting any events organized by UW.

Witold Lutosławski was studying mathematics at our university, however, after two years he resigned with the aim of devoting himself entirely to music. He was conferred honorary doctorates by 16 institutions of higher education. The University of Warsaw was the second one worldwide and the first in Poland to grant this highest academic title to the composer. The ceremony of handing the diploma took place on June 3th, 1973, with Professor Zofia Lissa acting as the Doctorate Promoter.

Lutosławski is one of the three patrons of this year, along with Julian Tuwim – a prominent poet, writer and student of UW, and Jan Czochralski – a chemist.

More information on concerts and other projects can be found on the Lutosławski Jubilee Year official website.