Hordyński, Władysław (EN)

Hordyński Władysław Jan, *1 March 1908 Rzeszów, †4 January 1968 Krakow, Polish musicologist, librarian. Between 1926 and 1928, he studied Polish studies and history at the Jagiellonian University; he studied under M.J. Piotrowski (harmony, solfège) and Z. Przeorski (piano) at the Conservatoire of the Musical Society in Krakow. From 1928 to 1932, he studied musicology at the Jagiellonian University under Z. Jachimecki; he completed his studies in 1939, submitting a thesis on J. Krogulski. Between 1929 and 1931, he worked as a librarian at the Library of the Seminar of History and Theory of Music at the Jagiellonian University. In 1930, he took up a post at the Jagiellonian Library, and in 1931 also at the Library of the Writers of the Society of Jesus. In 1936, he passed the state librarian’s examination. Between 1933 and 1939, he collaborated with the editorial team of the “Kalendarz Ilustrowany Kuriera Codziennego” (IKC); in 1934 and 1937 he published articles and music reviews in the weekly “Polska Zachodnia”. Between 1939 and 1945, he lived in exile in Romania with his family. There, he worked at the Academia Română library, as well as at the library of the Institut Français d’Etudes Byzantines and the library of the conservatoire in Bucharest. Upon his return to Poland in 1945, he took up a post in the music department of the Jagiellonian Library, and also worked periodically in the manuscripts and early prints department. Until 1962, he also oversaw the reading room for special collections. In 1958, he took over the management of the Music Collections Department – which he had de facto been running for some time – and which, partly on his initiative, became a separate organisational unit; at the same time, he headed the photographic studio of the Jagiellonian Library. In 1962, he was appointed senior certified curator.

Hordyński was involved in organising numerous music exhibitions; for example, in 1949 he helped prepare a Chopin exhibition in Warsaw and Krakow. In 1951, he assisted in setting up the music section of the Wystawy Oświecenia [Enlightenment Exhibitions] at the National Museum in Warsaw and organised a historical exhibition entitled ‘Polish Music’ at the Jagiellonian Library. In 1955, Hordyński undertook a research trip to Paris, Nohant and London, and in 1956 – to Prague, Vienna and several cities in Switzerland. For a number of years, he was a regular contributor to the editorial team of the Polski słownik biograficzny [Polish biographical dictionary]. Hordyński was actively involved in popularising music; in the 1930s he gave pre-concert talks, and in 1945–47 he presented a series of music programmes on Polish Radio. In 1948, he became a member of the musicological committee of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences (PAU); he was also a member of the Academic Council and the Sources Section of the Fryderyk Chopin Society in Warsaw. From 1958, he served on the Jagiellonian University Senate’s committee for the estate of I.J. Paderewski; in 1967, the Jagiellonian University Senate appointed him to the committee for the modernisation of teaching. He was also active in the Music Libraries Section of the Polish Librarians’ Association. In 1954, he was awarded the Silver Cross of Merit.

Hordyński was a pioneer of modern music librarianship in Poland. For over 30 years, he worked at the Jagiellonian Library, collecting, compiling and expanding the library’s music collection – including printed music and musical manuscripts. He undertook the task of cataloguing these materials, built up a substantial reference collection, and established a record library. Thanks to Hordyński’s efforts, a substantial and valuable collection of Chopin-related materials was established, comprising both sheet music and books. Furthermore, he was involved in providing professional training for future librarians and musicology students. He also carried out outreach activities at the Jagiellonian Library, organising record concerts for its staff, preceded by lectures.

Hordyński’s academic output comprises over 100 articles and short papers in the fields of musicology and library science. Hordyński’s research interests focused mainly on the life, works and bibliography of Chopin. Foremost among his editorial works is the series «Faksymilowane wydanie autografów F. Chopina», which he initiated. Hordyński was one of the most eminent experts on Chopin’s manuscripts and autographs. It was he who identified the manuscript of Chopin’s early work – Variations in D major on a Theme by Moore (for four hands) – which had been considered lost, and which he purchased for the Jagiellonian Library in 1964. Furthermore, together with a team of staff at the Jagiellonian Library, he compiled Dokumentacja życia i twórczości Fryderyka Chopina, preserved in the library’s card index. Hordyński was also a distinguished expert in the chronology and dating of 19th-century music prints, particularly Polish ones; the fruit of his many years of research and investigation was to be the serial publication he initiated, «Katalog polskich druków muzycznych 1800–1863»; however, he only managed to edit its first volume.

Literature: T. Chylińska W. Hordyński 1908–1968, “Ruch Muzyczny” 1968 No. 4; P. Hordyński W. Hordyński (1908–1968), “Biuletyn BJ” XIX, 1969 Nos. 1/2.