Background
Statkowski was born in Szczypiorno, near Kalisz, and initially trained as a lawyer
Statkowski was born in Szczypiorno, near Kalisz, and initially trained as a lawyer
When he deserted the law for a musical career, he studied with Władysław Żeleński in Warsaw and then at the Saint St. Petersburg Conservatory with Nikolai Soloviev and Anton Rubinstein, graduating at the age of 31 in 1890.
His musical influences were mainly Russian, specifically Mussorgsky and Tchaikovsky, but he was also attracted to German music such as the tone poems of Richard Strauss and the operas of Hans Pfitzner. His work has been described as linking the post-Moniuszko composers and the generation of Szymanowski. These include a set of piano Preludes (op 37) and a Krakowiak for violin and piano, as well as six string quartets and a number of songs.
In 1909, Statkowski was appointed to succeed Zygmunt Noskowski as professor of composition at the Warsaw Conservatory.
His pupils there included January Maklakiewicz, Piotr Perkowski, Apolinary Szeluto and Boleslaw Szabelski. He died in Warsaw in 1925.