Victor Labunski

By Joseph A. Herter

Wiktor Labunski photo: Sudvarg, Kansas City, MO (courtesy of Ruch Muzyczny magazine)

Both Stojowski and Labunski were consumed with teaching and gained reputations as highly respected and beloved teachers—?abu?ski in Memphis, Nashville and Kansas City and Stojowski in New York during the academic year and on the West Coast in the summer. The saddest thing the two men share in common is that they have been forgotten as composers in both Poland and in their adopted country.

Interest in the music of Stojowski is experiencing a renaissance. Wiktor Labunski’s music, however, still remains to be found only in encyclopedic sources instead of concert programs.

Wiktor Labunski, who served the Conservatory for a nearly a third of its 100-year history as piano professor, director and artist in residence, died 30 years ago. Now is the time to give younger generations the opportunity to share and reevaluate his music as well as to appreciate the legacy of this great Polish-American Kansas City musician.

Joseph A. Herter
Warsaw, Poland