Biography
The pianist Maryla Jonas (born May 31, 1911, Warsaw, Poland - d. July 3, 1959, New York, New York), pronounced Marie-la, was born in Warsaw, Poland, debuting her pianistic talent at the age of 9. In spite of Jonas's father's misgivings about a career in piano performance, Jonas studied with the Polish pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski-a fellow pupil of Witold Małcużyński and Halina Czerny-Stefańska—and made her debut with the Warsaw Philharmonic in 1920]. Jonas's adult career started in 1926 with a tour of various European capitals starting in Germany. Jonas's touring career proved successful and paved the way for a 13th-place finish in the second International Frédéric Chopin Piano Competition in 1932. Alexander Uninsky took first prize in the same competition. In 1933 Jonas won the Beethoven prize of Vienna and following her victory established a successful European-based performance career.
Her small discography, made in the US for Columbia in the post-war years, centers on Chopin but also includes a smattering of other composers.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.