Halina Czerny-Stefanska

This Polish pianist flourished through the Communist era and beyond, standing in good favor enough to tour the West and to perform with such globetrotting conductors as Georg Solti, Zubin Mehta, and Adrian Boult. Her fame in her native land began with a first-prize showing at the Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1949, and she later became a professor at the Krakow Conservatory. Her style fell squarely into the tradition of fiery Romantic playing common in Poland and other eastern European countries.