Polish chamber music featuring harpsichord of the 20th and 21st century

This paper presents the history of the Polish chamber music featuring harpsichord, composed in the years 1933–2021. The author outlines the profiles of the female artists who influenced the development of harpsichord art in Poland, including: Wanda Landowska, who brought harpsichord back to concert halls of the 20th century, Emma Altberg, whose contribution led to the establishment of the harpsichord class within academic education, and Elżbieta Chojnacka, whose work inspired composers to write new pieces for this instrument in a way hitherto unknown, which contributed to the development of a new, original technique of playing harpsichord. The author attempts to characterise the Polish harpsichord music in terms of style and compositional techniques, and provides examples of compositions which feature this instrument.