Młynarski, Emil (EN)

Młynarski Emil Szymon, *18 July 1870 Kibarty near Suwałki (now Kybartai, Lithuania), †5 April 1935 Warsaw, Polish conductor, violinist and composer. He spent his childhood in Suwałki. From the age of ten, he was educated in St. Petersburg, where he entered the conservatory, initially in the violin class of Böhm, later L. Auer. He also studied composition with A. Lyadov and instrumentation with N. Rimsky-Korsakov. While still a student, from 1883, he performed many times with the pianist H. Bogucka in provincial Russian cities. After receiving his diploma in 1889, he took the position of second violinist of the Imperial Quartet and was engaged in the symphony orchestra. He soon gave up these classes to perform solo. From the beginning of 1890, with his permanent accompanist M. Józefowicz, he gave successful concerts in St. Petersburg, Kiev, Odesa, Vilnius, and Warsaw, as well as in many German cities and London. He made subsequent concert tours, including Minsk, Grodno, Kaunas, Vilnius, Berlin, Leipzig (Gewandhaus), Magdeburg, Hanover, Mannheim and Augsburg in 1891 and at the turn of 1892–93, receiving numerous flattering reviews. In 1894, he became a violin professor and conductor of the student orchestra at the school of the Imperial Music Society in Odessa. It was then that he met and took care of the brothers E. and P. Kochański, who came from a poor family. In 1896, Młynarski married Anna Talko-Hryncewicz. Their eldest daughter, Wanda, became the wife of W. Łabuński, and the youngest, Alina, married Artur Rubinstein. Until World War I, the place where Młynarski most liked to spend his holidays, compose and host many friendly artists was the manor house in Iłgów on the Niemen, which his wife brought as a dowry.

In 1898, Młynarski won one of the five main prizes at the I.J. Paderewski Composition Competition in Leipzig for the Violin Concerto Op. 11. In March of that year, replacing the sick C. Trombini, he conducted the performance of Carmen at the Warsaw Opera. After the success of the performance, he obtained the position of Kapellmeister, and then, after Trombini’s death, of music director. He held this position for four years, staging Moniuszko’s The Haunted Manor and Countess, Żeleński’s Goplana, Gounod’s Faust, Wagner’s Lohengrin, Puccini’s La Bohème and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci. He organised monthly symphony concerts of the opera orchestra with the participation of outstanding Polish and foreign soloists. He took an active part in the preparations for the establishment of the Warsaw Philharmonic. In 1900, he was appointed its director, and on 5 November 1901, he conducted the inaugural concert in the new building. Młynarski resigned from his position in 1905 as a result of disagreements with the board and the administrative director A. Rajchman, as well as due to sharp critical voices unfairly blaming him for all the repertoire and artistic shortcomings. In 1904–07, he was the director of the Institute of Music in Warsaw. In 1907, he received an invitation to a series of concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra in several British cities, and after the performances ended, he was offered the directorship of the Scottish Choral and Orchestral Union in Glasgow. Młynarski worked with the orchestra in Glasgow in the seasons 1910–16. During this time, he also conducted in London (a series of Slavic music concerts in 1913 and a concert of British music in 1914), in St. Petersburg, Moscow and Berlin. In 1917–18, he stayed in Russia. He conducted the prom concerts of the orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and a series of ten symphony concerts. He returned to Warsaw in 1918 and resumed his cooperation with the Philharmonic; in 1919, he was appointed director of the conservatory and opera in Warsaw. P. Kiecki, K. Wiłkomirski, F. Rybicki, and Z. Dymmek studied in his conducting class at that time. Młynarski resigned from teaching after three years, receiving special thanks from the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland for the exemplary organisation of the school’s work. He directed the opera until 1929, presented performances of about 15 Polish ballets and operas, as well as premieres of many masterpieces of the world repertoire, such as Beethoven’s Fidelio, Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde and Parsifal, Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe, and Stravinsky’s Pulcinella and Petrushka. In the 1920s, Młynarski also prepared performances of Halka in Vienna, Prague and Belgrade, conducted the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra many times and gave symphony concerts in Paris, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Bucharest, Zagreb and Copenhagen. In 1929–31, he lived in the United States, served as dean of the orchestral department of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and director of the Philadelphia Opera. On the opera stage, he organised performances of, among others, Bizet’s Carmen, Rigoletto, Un ballo in maschera, Verdi’s Aida and La traviata, Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov, Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, and conducted symphony concerts in Philadelphia, New York and Washington. Due to illness, he returned to Poland. Despite his failing health, he still conducted the performance of Halka on 26 December 1931 at the Grand Theatre in Warsaw, performed several times at the Philharmonic (Beethoven concert with W. Backhaus in 1932) and gave several radio lectures. In 1932, he received the Music Award of the City of Warsaw “for his entire artistic activity in the field of music.” In 1934, he was elected president of the Association of Polish Composers.

Młynarski’s musical activity was very versatile. He began his career as a promising violinist-virtuoso, later devoting himself to conducting, and he achieved the greatest successes in this field. He was the first Polish conductor of world standing. He attached great importance to the initial analysis of the score, aimed at the most precise reading of the composer’s intentions and then to the precise development of an interpretative concept during rehearsals with the orchestra. He believed that this was the most important phase of work on a piece, and during the periods when he taught conducting classes, he absolutely required students to be present at all of his rehearsals. The ability to establish contact with the orchestra, economical and elegant yet purposeful and legible movements, and artistic authority based on a thorough knowledge of the score are particularly important features that draw the attention of musicians playing under his baton and listeners. Młynarski perfectly interpreted the great orchestral repertoire: symphonies by Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and Tchaikovsky, symphonic poems by R. Strauss, works by Debussy and Ravel, he did not avoid works by young, still little-known composers, and he willingly promoted the Polish repertoire. Many opera performances prepared by him (works by Wagner in Warsaw, Boris Godunov in Philadelphia, and Halka in several European cities) were highly acclaimed by critics and audiences.

Młynarski’s compositions represent the conservative trend in music at the turn of the 19^th and 20^th centuries. They are artistically uneven, stylistically heterogeneous, and eclectic. However, using conventional means of compositional technique, in addition to short, popular pieces, Młynarski also left ambitious works of great value and serious historical significance. Among them, the first place is occupied by Violin Concerto No. 2 in D major Op. 16, referring in style and form to Brahms’s Violin Concerto, with a very attractive virtuoso solo part in terms of performance, a rich orchestral sound and cantilena melodies that easily reach listeners. On the other hand, Violin Concerto No. 1 in D minor Op. 11, awarded at the composition competition, did not remain in the concert repertoire, overloaded with show-off effects and indistinctive themes. An important position remains the post-romantic Symphony in F major Op. 14 – the content of its programme is patriotic ideas. The four-part work of enormous dimensions is distinguished by interesting instrumentation ideas and original, austere harmony; it contains quotes from Bogurodzica in the first movement, oberek rhythms in the Scherzo and krakowiak motifs Albośmy to jacy tacy in the Finale. The composer’s complete failure was the staging of the opera Noc letnia, which was taken off the bill after a few performances. Among the minor violin pieces, the most popular is the spectacular, temperamental Mazur in G major Op. 7, No. 1; other, less well-known piano and violin miniatures are in the salon style.

Młynarski’s organisational activity was of great importance. It was largely thanks to his initiative and then his persistent and strenuous efforts to obtain the necessary funds that the Warsaw Philharmonic was established. He also directed other musical institutions: the conservatory and the opera, contributed to raising their level, and achieved significant artistic and pedagogical successes.

Being a rather bossy man, convinced of the correctness of his own reasons and decisions, he was reluctant to accept opposing opinions and critical voices, which sometimes led to serious, even dramatic conflicts. Towards students and subordinates, although he always managed to keep his distance, he proved to be caring and friendly. With selfless kindness, he watched over the careers of many young artists, supported their talent, and ensured their proper development.

Literature: J.W. Reiss Statkowski, Melcer, Młynarski, Stojowski, Warsaw 1949; J. Mechanisz Emil Młynarski. W setną rocznicę urodzin, Warsaw 1970; J. Mechanisz Młynarski, Suwałki 1994.