Polish musicologist Jan Maria Stęszewski died at the age of 87 on September 21, 2016.
He studied musicology at the Poznań University under Adolf Chybiński and Marian Sobieski and ethnography under Eugeniusz Frankowski and Józef Gajek. He worked in the Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences and School of Musicology of Poznań University, of which he was a professor. Since 1973 he lectured at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and at universities in Warsaw, Lublin, Berlin (Freie Universität), Göttingen and Girona. He was a member of the Polish Composers' Union, member of the board of the International Musicological Society (1977-87) and Polish Music Council attached to UNESCO (1979-99), vice-chair of the International Music Council (1984-87), since 1973 a juror of the National Festival of Folk Groups and Singers in Kazimierz Dolny, and a member of the editorial board of Oskar Kolberg's complete works, vice-chair of the editorial committee of Henryk Wieniawski’s complete works, and a member of the editorial board of the biographical section of the PWM Edition Encyklopedia Muzyczna.
Professor Stęszewski's research centred around ethnomusicology (Polish folklore in particular), musicological methodology and its interdisciplinary aspect, and the history of Polish music from the 17th to the 20th century. He was the author of numerous articles and entries in the PWM Edition Encyklopedia Muzyczna, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians and in Die Music in Geschichte und Gegenwart (MGG), where he was a member of the advisory board of the biographical section.
His numerous decorations and awards include the Knight's Cross of the Order of the Rebirth of Poland (1979), the medal of the Polish Commission for National Education (2006), a collective award given by the chair of the Polish Academy of Sciences (1976) and the Polish Composers’ Union Award (1989).