Mieczysław Weinberg was a Polish, Soviet, and Russian composer and pianist. His compositions include 22 symphonies, a host of chamber works, a violin concerto, and seven operas. He was a contemporary of Dmitri Shostakovich, and they often shared ideas with each other. A 2004 reviewer considered him as "the third great Soviet composer, along with Prokofiev and Shostakovich". A 2017 article in the New York Times noted that his "darkly lucid music is beginning to gain wider recognition."

The Chopin University of Music is a musical conservatorium and academy located in central Warsaw, Poland. It is the oldest and largest music school in Poland, and one of the largest in Europe.