Stefan Kisielewski, one of the most colourful personalities in Polish politics and culture of the 20th century, was born 100 years ago today.

Nicknamed Kisiel, he first headed for a career in music. He entered the Warsaw Conservatory at the age of 16 and graduated in theory, composition and piano.

He also studied Polish literature and philosophy at Warsaw University. He started composing in 1932. His output comprises a wide range of piano pieces, orchestral and chamber works as well as songs. His last composition – the Piano Concerto – was premiered at the Warsaw Autumn Festival on 24 September 1991, three days before his death, at the age of 80.

During World War II, Kisielewski worked as an accompanist and music teacher. After the war he settled in Kraków, where he founded the music periodical Ruch Muzyczny and lectured at the city’s State Higher School of Music.

Kisielewski was also a writer of fiction and crime stories, as well as essays and books on music. Many of his books were published under  pseudonyms outside the official publishing network or abroad. He won a great reputation for his regular columns on social, economic and political matters in the Catholic weekly Tygodnik Powszechny, many of which were heavily censored during the communist period.

In his writings, he supported liberal theories in the economy. He often called himself ‘a political animal’ and in 1957-1965  he was a member of the Parliament, where he represented the Znak Catholic group.

In 1968, in an address at a meeting of the Polish Writers Union, Kisielewski criticized the system of censorship using the phrase 'dyktatura ciemniaków' (Dictatorship of dunces).

 In response, the communists imposed a three-year ban on his publications and he was beaten up in the street by the so-called ‘unknown perpetrators’,  as agents of communist secret police were referred to in communist propaganda of the time.  He was a man of moral integrity and an incredible sense of humour.