1951

At 12 Tomasz Sikorski makes his debut as a pianist – he plays Joseph Haydn’s Concerto in D major with the Łódź Philharmonic Orchestra.

1952

Sikorski performs Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Concerto in A major with the Łódź Philharmonic Orchestra.

He is admitted straight to year 2 of the State Secondary School of Music. As he will later write in his CV:

I had private lessons until year 8.

1953

Sikorski performs Ludwig van Beethoven’s Concerto in C major with the Łódź Philharmonic Orchestra.

1954

The Sikorskis return to Warsaw. Kazimierz Sikorski is transferred to Warsaw’s State School of Music.

In his CV Tomasz Sikorski writes:

1954 was the year of my first serious compositions.

1 October

Tomasz Sikorski’s mother dies under the wheels of a tram in Filtrowa Street in Warsaw.

1954–1956

Tomasz Sikorski is a pupil at the State Secondary School of Music, ul. Myśliwiecka 14, Warsaw. Today the building houses the embassy of the Tunisian Republic.

The composer does not enrol in the Union of Polish Youth, which is officially recorded: ‘for two years he was involved in no communal activity, despite the fact that he had opportunities to do so.’

1955

Sikorski’s first serious compositions for piano.

1956

16 May

Even before receiving his secondary school leaving certificate, Sikorski applies for admission to the State School of Music to study composition and piano. The number and date of the school leaving certificate are added to the application later.

14 June

Seventeen-year-old Tomasz passes his piano exam and graduates from State Secondary School of Music in Warsaw. His marks are mostly very good, though there are also some good marks. Owing to his rather poor health, Sikorski does not have to attend physical education classes.

4 July

Sikorski passes the written entrance exam to the State School of Music in Warsaw. Of the three topics:

I –The significance of the music of Chopin, Moniuszko and Szymanowskito the development of Polish music
II –The development of musical culture in the People’s Republic of Poland
III –Characteristic features of the music of Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven

he chooses the first. The reviewer gives his a good mark, justifying it in the following manner:

Chopin’s and Szymanowski’s oeuvres approached in an interesting manner; the author is right in pointing to analogies and contrasts when discussing these two composers. The mark could have been v. good, if it had not been for the author’s perfunctory analysis of Moniuszko. His aversion to this music does not entitle him to disregard Moniuszko’s historic role almost completely.

The reviewer’s opinion is hardly surprising, given the fact that Sikorski ends his paper with the following statement:

I can no longer bear listening to Moniuszko’s music.

5 July

Sikorski submits an application to be allowed to study at two faculties: of composition and of piano. However, he will have to wait two years for permission to study the two subjects simultaneously.

1 October

Sikorski begins to study composition at the State School of Music in Warsaw in the class of his father, Prof. Kazimierz Sikorski.

PWM Edition publishes Two Preludes by Sikorski. It is a selection of his Five Preludes for piano.

The young composer writes new pieces: Song of Wit Stwosz for soprano, choir of sopranos and chamber orchestra to words by Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński and Five Songs to words by Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński for voice and piano.

1957

16 October

Tomasz Sikorski submits an application for admission to the Youth Club at the Polish Composers’ Union.

1957–1966

Kazimierz Sikorski, Tomasz’s father, is Rector of the State School of Music in Warsaw.

1958

4 June

Towards the end of the second year of his composition studies Tomasz Sikorski applies for admission to Prof. Zbigniew Drzewiecki’s piano class. His request is granted.