Polish conductor and composer (1879–1953)
Grzegorz Fitelberg
Grzegorz Fitelberg in 1930s
Born (1879-10-18 ) 18 October 1879Died 10 June 1953(1953-06-10) (aged 73) Nationality Polish Occupation Conductor
Grzegorz Fitelberg (18 October 1879 – 10 June 1953) was a Polish conductor, violinist and composer. He was a member of the Young Poland group, together with artists such as Karol Szymanowski , Ludomir Różycki and Mieczysław Karłowicz .
Life and career
Fitelberg was born into a Jewish family (father Hozjasz Fitelberg, mother Matylda Pintzof, sister Leja Wacholder, 1881–1941, were all murdered in the Holocaust ),[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] Daugavpils , Russian Empire (now Latvia ). Between 1906 and 1907, he performed several times at the Berlin Philharmonic . In 1908 he conducted in the Warsaw Opera , and between 1912 and 1913 in the Vienna State Opera . During the first war he collaborated with Ballets Russes ; he conducted the first performance of Igor Stravinsky 's Mavra Opéra Garnier in Paris . From 1921 to 1934 he was the chief conductor of the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra , where he extensively promoted new music. In 1935 he organized the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra .[ 4]
Between 1940 and 1941, he conducted at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires . Throughout his career, he performed in various locations worldwide including Paris , Monte Carlo , Brussels , Vienna , Dresden , Leipzig , Moscow , Bristol , London , The Hague , Buenos Aires , New York , Montreal and Toronto . He took his remaining World War II exile years in the United States.[ 4]
He returned to Europe in 1946. In 1947, he succeeded Witold Rowicki in leading the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra , based in Katowice in the Silesian region. He also performed with his orchestra in Warsaw , Wrocław , Kraków and in Czechoslovakia (1948), Romania and Hungary (1950). He remained director of the orchestra until his death. in the 1950–1951 academic year he was a professor at the State Higher School of Music in Katowice.[citation needed
He died in Katowice , Poland in June 1953. His body buried in the Avenue of the Meritorious at the Military Cemetery Powązki.[ 4] [ 5]
Personal life
His son was the Polish-American composer Jerzy Fitelberg , who predeceased him. His second wife, Halina Schmolz , was a ballet dancer who died in 1939, from wounds suffered during the bombing of the Poniatowski Bridge . Their home, Willa Fitelberga, has been restored.[ 6]
Legacy
One of Fitelberg's students, Karol Stryja , founded the Grzegorz Fitelberg International Competition for Conductors in 1979. The competition is one of the most important music competitions in Poland, and it takes place in the Silesian Philharmonic .
Orchestral Works
Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 13 (1902-1903)
Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 16 (1904)
Song of the Falcon (Pieśń o sokole ), Symphonic Poem, Op. 18, after Maxim Gorky (1905)Overture No. 1, Op. 14 (1905)
Overture No. 2, Op. 17 (1906)
Symphony No. 2 in A major, Op. 20 (1907)
Protesilaus and Laodamia , Symphonic Poem, Op. 24 (1908)Polish Rhapsody , Op. 25 (1913),Rhapsody No. 2 (1914)
From the Depths of the Sea (W głębi morza ), Symphonic Poem, Op. 26 (1914).
Chamber music
Sonata for violin and piano in A minor, Op. 2 (1894, the work received the I.J.Paderewski Prize in 1898)
Romances sans paroles , 2 pieces Op. 11 for violin and piano: in D major (1892) and A major (1900)Piano trio in F minor, Op. 10 (1901)
Sonata No. 2 for violin and piano in F major, Op. 12 (1901)
Awards
See also
References
External links
International National Artists People Other
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