Dąbrowski, Florian Alojzy (EN)

Dąbrowski Florian Alojzy, *2 May 1913 Rosko near Czarnków (then Poznań Voivodeship), †20 November 2002 Poznań, Polish composer, teacher and music activist. He was born in a family of an organist, Bolesław Franciszek Dąbrowski (1875–1942), founder of the “Lutnia” Singing Circle in Rosko and a member of a secret Polish Organists’ Association. The Singing Circle developed into a mixed choir that exsits to this day, the centenary of which was commemorated with a memorial. He studied at the Music Conservatory in Bydgoszcz (1930–39) with S.B. Poradowski (theory) and E. Rezler (piano). He obtained a diploma in composition in the class of S.B. Poradowski at the PWSM in Poznan in 1948. He organised a secondary music school in Bydgoszcz in 1945 and taught theoretical subjects there until 1951; he was a co-organiser of the State Philharmonic in Bydgoszcz. He was a rector and lecturer at the PWSM in Sopot in 1951–54 and lectured theory and composition at the PWSM in Poznan from 1954 (1961–64 vice-rector, from 1973 – professor). He was active in trade unions (i.a. in 1969–75, vice-president of the Main Board of the Polish Composers’ Union [ZKP]). He was a co-founder and many times organiser and chairman of the repertoire committee of the Festival of Polish Contemporary Music Poznańska Wiosna; he participated in juries of many music competitions (i.a. H. Wieniawski Composers Competition in Poznań). He was actively involved in the movement of popularising music among the youth, Pro Sinfonika, founded in Poznań in 1968 by A.A. Łuczak, and he was awarded the Medal of Music and became an honorary member of Pro Sinfonika in 1973. Reviewer and music journalist for the magazines “Arkona,” “Gazeta Pomorska,” “Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny,” “Nowy Tor,” “Pomorze,” “Ziemia Pomorska,” “Słowo Powszechne,” “Pro Sinfonica” (books), “Nurt,” and “Ruch Muzyczny.”

He was a member of the opinion-forming editorial board of “Res Facta” since 1977, “Res Facta Nova” (published in Poznan) since 1994. In 1998, he took over the functions of a vice-president of the H. Wieniawski Poznań Music Society and a chairman of the publishing committee of H. Wieniawski’s Dzieła wszystkie [Complete Works].

He has received many music awards, among others at the ZKP Composition Competition in 1947 for the Kujawy Suite and in 1949 for the cantata Odejście Fryderyka, at the Northern Poland Theatre Festival in 1963 for the music to S. Wyspiański’s Noc listopadowa, and in 1967, 1975 and 1980 – the 1^st degree MKiS Award (1980 – for special achievements in the field of teaching and education). He received the Poznan Artistic Award twice, in 1965 and 1975; the main prize of the Wielkopolskie Towarzystwo Kulturalne in 1979; the ZKP Award for his entire creative and organisational-musical activity (and educational merits) in 1979; he was awarded the Commander’s Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta in 1998.

Dąbrowski’s first wife was an artist and painter, Halina Magdańska (1915–1957). His second wife was Olga Iliwicka-Dąbrowska (1910–1980), a concert pianist and teacher; she taught a piano class at the PWSM in Poznań from 1951 (head of the Piano Department from 1965).

Dąbrowski retired in 1983, still lecturing at the Academy of Music in Poznan. His 85^th birthday was celebrated in 1998, organised by Pro Sinfonika and the Poznań Branch of the ZKP. He died on 20 November 2002 and was buried with his wife, Olga Iliwicka-Dąbrowska, at the Junikowo Cemetery in Poznan (lot 32 quarter 5, row 12 no. 5). Since 2004, the bugle call has been played from the church tower and in 2006, there was a memorial, unveiled at the entrance to the church, to prof. F. Dąbrowski, creator of this bugle call and a distinguished citizen of Rosko.

Dąbrowski’s compositional work stems from the romantic (expression) and neoclassical (discipline, craft) trends of Polish music of the interwar period. The composer uses typical classical forms, with a preference for the reprise and the use of concertato elements. After 1945, he did not resist the influence of folklore, especially his native Kujawy and Wielkopolska, writing numerous suites and cantatas inspired by the singing movement. The cantata Odejście Fryderyka comes from this period, being a rare example of a tribute to Chopin’s music in contemporary Polish music (this also includes popular choral works dedicated to Chopin).

The guiding line leading to Dąbrowski’s modern symphonic workshop (Évocation symphonique, Solemn Music, Symphony) is an interest in the constructivist aspect (studies on Schoenberg) and sound. These tendencies are focused in the Violin Concerto (the use of regulated aleatoricism) and in both piano concertos. Dąbrowski’s scores testify to the composer’s special sensitivity to timbre; without reaching for new means and avant-garde technique, Dąbrowski achieves its far-reaching refinement, combining developed harmonic means with a sensitive use of the timbre of the instrument and the human voice (frequent introduction of children’s voices, and colouristic use of percussion).

A special feature of the composer’s personality is his attitude towards war as the most tragic historical cataclysm, threatening the basic sense of humanity. The anti-war aspect as the deep humanistic message is expressed in the Litany to the Blessed Virgin Mary (1947), which comes from the religious trend of Dąbrowski’s works, and which contains the invocation: “Zbaw dusze moich przyjaciół zabitych na wojnie…” [Save the souls of my friends killed in the war…]. This work – deeply rooted in the Polish “litany sense,” permeated with bitter lyricism and captivating with the original timbre of the instruments – is a continuation of the trend initiated by the religious cantatas of K. Szymanowski and precedes the works of H.M. Górecki and A. Nikodemowicz. The expression of ascetic lyricism also dominates the entire (in terms of volume) vocal, vocal-instrumental and choral works of the composer.

In the article Rola kompozytora w społeczeństwie [The Role of the Composer in Society], Dąbrowski formulates views on contemporary music, noticing such features as a preference for restraint of expression, the primacy of intellect, causing shock, and a tendency towards abstraction. However, he believes that “eliciting an experience or emotion in the listener is one of the most important tasks of a contemporary Polish composer.”

Literature: D. Gwizdałówna Poglądy estetyczne prof. F. Dąbrowskiego, “Zeszyty Muzyczne. Pro Sinfonika” Poznań 1972/73, no. 5; F. Dąbrowski kompozytor – pedagog – działacz – publicysta, “Zeszyty Muzyczne. Pro Sinfonika” Poznań 1973/74, no. 5; Grand Prix “Pro Sinfonika 75” – Prof. F. Dąbrowski, “Zeszyty Muzyczne. Pro Sinfonika” Poznań 1975/76; A. Laboga Prof. F. Dąbrowski, “Kronika m. Poznania” 1976 no. 4; A. Chłopecki Nota o “Koncercie skrzypcowym” F. Dąbrowskiego, Polskie Nagrania SX 1054 (1977); J. Cegiełła F. Dąbrowski. W 65. rocznicę urodzin – Koncert kompozytorski, Państwowa Filharmonia Poznańska, Poznań 1978; D. Skwarska Problemy wykonawcze utworów chóralnych „Soggetto” i „Ballady” F. Dąbrowskiego, master’s thesis from the PWSM in Poznań, Poznań 1979 (typescript); J. Stankiewicz Wywołać przeżycie i wzruszenie, “Nurt” 1983 no. 7; J. Stankiewicz Jubileusz Profesora Floriana Dąbrowskiego, “Ruch Muzyczny” 1983 no. 23; M. Nawrocka Muzyka Floriana Dąbrowskiego, “Ruch Muzyczny” 1983 no. 26; T. Kaczyński Trzej nietypowi. (Sympozjum poświęcone twórczości F. Dąbrowskiego, S. Kisielewskiego, Z. Mycielskiego), “Ruch Muzyczny” 1986 no. 5; Pamięci Zygmunta Mycielskiego, “Ruch Muzyczny” 1987 no. 26; Melos, Logos, Etos. Materiały z sympozjum poświęconego F. Dąbrowskiemu, S. Kisielewskiemu, Z. Mycielskiemu, ed. K. Tarnawska-Kaczorowska, Warsaw 1987, contains, among others: J. Stankiewicz „Litania do Najświętszej Maryi Panny” F. Dąbrowskiego z perspektywy twórczości litanijnej religijnej, Slovak translation „Litánia k Najsvätejšej Márii Panne” F. Dabrowského z perspektivy litániovej tvorby, transl. V. Godár, in: “Slovenská hudba. Revue pre hudobnú kultúru” XXI, 1995 no. 1: Musica sacra; W. Jamroziak Notatki do nie napisanego wywiadu z kompozytorem, “Nurt” 1989 no. 8; A.A. Łuczak, Florian Dąbrowski – kompozytor i obywatel, “Res Facta Nova”: teksty o muzyce współczesnej, 2004 no. 7, pp. 9–15; F. Dąbrowski, in: (ed.) Z. Pruss, A. Weber, R. Kuczma, Bydgoski leksykon muzyczny, Bydgoszcz 2004, pp. 112–113; L.J. Kulczycki Historia Koła Śpiewaczego Lutnia w Rosku 1905–1939, Poznań 2003; L.J. Kulczycki Biografia F. Dąbrowskiego, Poznań 2004 [contains unknown information on the origin of the family, the activities of Bolesław and F. Dąbrowski’s father and, among others, a list of over a hundred press articles, published mainly in “Illustrowany Kurier Polski” and “Pro Sinfonika,” as well as a report from the funeral].