Kański Józef Celestyn, *21 October 1928 Warsaw, †19 August 2023 Warszawa, Polish musicologist, music critic. In 1946–48, he studied classical philology at the University of Warsaw, and in 1948–54 musicology with Z. Lissa and J. Chomiński there; in 1948–50 at the PWSM in Warsaw, theory and composition with P. Rytel and J. Maklakiewicz, in 1949–51 piano with M. Kimontt-Jacynowa and in 1951–55 with J. Śmidowicz (diploma 1955). In 1953–79, he ran the opera music editorial office at PR. From 1955, he was a regular reviewer of “Trybuna Ludu” (he also wrote for other newspapers), and from 1960, he was a member of the editorial board of “Ruch Muzyczny,” where he published articles and reviews. Since 1962, he has been writing for the English monthly “Opera” about the activities of opera theatres in Poland. In the 1960s, he initiated, collected recordings and released the first recordings on Polish gramophone records, including Gwiazdy polskiej opery (1961) and Ze złotych kart polskiej sztuki pianistycznej (1965). In 1976–78, he conducted a seminar on music criticism at the Academy of Music in Warsaw, and in 1979–81 and 1983–85, he lectured on the history of the opera theatre. From 1955, member of the Management Board and Scientific Council of TIFC. Winner of many awards and distinctions, including: in 1974 the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, in 1975 the badge “Merited Cultural Activist.” Kański is widely known as a music critic distinguished by erudition, especially in the field of opera and pianism, and the author of the Opera Guide, in which he included concise characteristics of the presented works.
O programie nauczania w Państwowych Wyższych Szkołach Muzycznych, “Muzyka” 1952 No. 7/8
Problem formy w Sonacie h-moll F. Liszta, “Studia Muzykologiczne” IV, 1955
Polskie prace o Chopinie, “Rocznik Chopinowski” I, 1956, French translation Les publications polonaises sur Chopin (1945–55), “Annales Chopin” II, 1958
Z badań nad interpretacją artystyczną dzieł Chopina, “Annales Chopin” IV, 1959
O stilovima izvodenja Chopinovih dela, “Zvuk,” Belgrad 1960 nr 35/36
Über die Aufführungsstile der Werke Chopins. Einige allgemeine Probleme der Aufführung auf Grund von Schallplatten aufnahmen, in: The Book of the First International Musicological Congress, devoted to the Works of F. Chopin 16th–22nd February 1960, Warsaw 1963
Przewodnik operowy, Kraków 1964, 6th ed. revised 1995
Eminent Virtuosi of the XIX and XX Centuries, in: Polish Music, ed. S. Jarociński, Warsaw 1965
Święto opery polskiej, in: Teatr Wielki w Warszawie, Warsaw 1965
Teatr Wielki w Warszawie, editing, Warsaw 1965
Opera warszawska, szkic dziejów, in: 25 lat Opery Warszawskiej w Polsce Ludowej 1945–1970, Warsaw 1970
Dwadzieścia lat polskiej opery na Wybrzeżu, in: Państwowa Opera i Filharmonia Bałtycka w Gdańsku (w 25-lecie istnienia), Gdańsk 1971
Poematy symfoniczne L. Różyckiego – melodyka i problemy treści, “Muzyka” 1971 No. 1
Mistrzowie sceny operowej, Kraków 1974
Teatr naprawdę Wielki, in: 20 lat sceny operowej w Łodzi, Łódź 1974
Après le IXe Concours Chopin à Varsovie: espoirs comblés et déçus, “La musique en Pologne,” 1975 No. 4
Dyskografia Chopinowska. Historyczny katalog nagrań płytowych, Kraków 1986
numerous articles and reviews in „Ruch Muzyczny” and other magazines
