Dołżycki Adam, *24 December 1886 in Lviv, †9 September 1972 in Marktredwitz (Bavaria), Polish conductor. In the years 1896–1909 he studied at the conservatory in Lviv under F. Jackl (violin), S. Niewiadomski (theory), and M. Sołtys (composition); he also studied history at the university. In the years 1909–13 he continued his musical studies in Berlin with P. Juon and L. Schrattenholz (theory), H. Barth (piano), and M. Bruch and E. Humperdinck (composition), while simultaneously developing his conducting activity: he led Polish choirs, including the choir of the Polish Singing Society “Harmonia,” and appeared in symphonic and oratorio concerts, which he mostly organized himself (in 1910 he performed Moniuszko’s Crimean Sonnets in Berlin). In the years 1913–15 Dołżycki was conductor of the Grand Theatre in Warsaw and a lecturer at the WTM music school. In the years 1915–18 he stayed in Russia, conducting in Moscow, Kislovodsk, Pyatigorsk, and Baku. In 1919 he returned to Poland and became director of the Opera in Poznań. In the years 1922–37 he worked in Warsaw as a conductor (Grand Theatre, Philharmonic) and teacher (in 1932–34 he led the conducting class and orchestra at the conservatory). In 1937 he was the first conductor of the Royal Opera in Sofia. From 1938 he again conducted in Warsaw, holding the position of director of the Opera. During the occupation, Dołżycki organized and led a symphony orchestra composed of former Philharmonic musicians (20–35 performers). Concerts of this ensemble, held mainly at the Lardelli Café, often featuring Polish instrumental soloists and singers (also in operatic arrangements), initially enjoyed great popularity. Later, however, due to Dołżycki’s openly pro-German stance, they were boycotted both by the musical community and the Warsaw public. After the war, Dołżycki settled in Tirschenreuth in Bavaria. As a composer, he is known only for the three-act opera Krzyżacy (to his own libretto after H. Sienkiewicz), staged in Poznań in 1929. Dołżycki was also involved in opera direction; in Poznań he staged, among others, Moniuszko’s Phantoms (1921) and Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman (1922).
