Stanisław Skrowaczewski
Stanislaw Skrowaczewski | |
---|---|
Lwów, Second Polish Republic | |
Died | February 21, 2017 | (aged 93)
Nationality | Polish-American |
Alma mater | Academy of Music in Kraków |
Stanislaw Pawel Stefan Jan Sebastian Skrowaczewski (Polish: .
Biography
Skrowaczewski was born in
During the German occupation, Skrowaczewski worked as a bricklayer, and he studied physics, chemistry and philosophy at the
While the Cleveland Orchestra was giving a concert in Warsaw in 1957, their music director, George Szell, invited Skrowaczewski to make his American debut the following year. He guest-conducted in Cleveland again in 1959, where he gave the US debut of his "Symphony for Strings", and then, in 1960, for Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and the New York Philharmonic.[3]
He and his wife defected from Poland to the United States in 1960, via Amsterdam,[1] after he was offered the post of music director of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra[1] (later renamed the Minnesota Orchestra under his tenure in 1968), a position he held until 1979 when he became conductor laureate. In 1981 the American Composers Forum (then known as the Minnesota Composers Forum) commissioned the Clarinet Concerto which Skrowaczewski wrote for Minnesota Orchestra principal clarinetist Joe Longo, who premiered it in 1981. While in Minnesota, Skrowaczewski lobbied to have Orchestra Hall built, and he also introduced American audiences to the works of many Polish composers, including those of Penderecki, Szymanowski, and Lutosławski.[3]
Between 1983 and 1992 he was principal conductor of the
Between 1995 and 1997, Skrowaczewski served as artistic advisor to the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. In 1988, he was composer-in-residence for the Philadelphia Orchestra's summer season at Saratoga. He has guest-conducted that orchestra, and many others, all over the world. In 2007, he became principal conductor of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, and also made several recordings with the NHK Symphony Orchestra.[4]
His complete set of recordings of the symphonies of Anton Bruckner, made with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, has received much acclaim, as has his 2005/06 complete Beethoven symphony cycle with the orchestra. Another noted recording is his Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 with the London Symphony Orchestra in collaboration with soloist Gina Bachauer.
Skrowaczewski's Passacaglia Immaginaria, completed in 1995, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 1997. Commissioned by the Minnesota Orchestral Association to honor the memory of Ken and Judy Dayton, it was premiered at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis in 1996.
His Chamber Concerto was commissioned by the
He received the Commander Order of the White Eagle, the highest order conferred by the Polish government, as well as the Gold Medal of the Mahler-Bruckner Society, the 1973 Ditson Conductor's Award, and the Kennedy Center Friedheim Award's third prize in 1978 for his Ricercari Notturni for saxophone and orchestra.[7]
He was the father of
Recordings
- Passacaglia Immaginaria/ Chamber Concerto/ Concerto for Clarinet in A & Orchestra - Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra; AlbanyTROY481 (2001); conducted by the composer
- Janos Starker, cello, London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by S. Skrowaczewski (1963 Philips A 04910 L)
Notes
- ^ a b c d Sandomir, Richard (27 February 2017). "Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Conductor Who Fled Poland, Dies at 93". New York Times. Archived from the original on 27 February 2017.
- ^ "Skrowaczewski, Stanisław." (1996). In Who's Who in Polish America. Ed. Bolesław Wierzbiański. New York: Bicentennial Publishing Corp., 417.
- ^ a b c d e f g Drobnicki, John. (2011). "Skrowaczewski, Stanisław," in The Polish American Encyclopedia. Ed. James S. Pula. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 486-487.
- ^ "Stanisław Skrowaczewski." (n.d.). Polish Music Center, University of Southern California. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
- ^ Dobrin, Peter (April 14, 1999). "Phone Call Brings A Pulitzer, Credibility". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
- ^ Reichel, Edward (November 30, 2003). "A triumphant return: Conductor will lead Utah Symphony in the hall he helped inaugurate". Deseret News. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
- ^ Tuck, Lon. (September 18, 1978). "The Composition Competition at Kennedy Center." Washington Post, B9.
- ^ "Home". seekingtheinfinite.com.
External links
- Stanisław Skrowaczewski at IMDb
- Biography
- Interview with Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, June 27, 1987
- Seeking the Infinite: The Musical Life of Stanislaw Skrowaczewski by Dr. Frederick Edward Harris Jr., publication date: August 31, 2011.
- Skrowaczewski, Here with Us Memorial article by David Markle
- Stanisław Skrowaczewski at Find a Grave