Nitrowski, Andrzej
Nitrowski, Nitrofsky, Nietrowski, Nidrowski, Witrowski Jerzy, *ca. 1605, †after 1673, probably in Gdańsk, Polish organ builder. It is possible that he came from Nitra in Slovakia. He was probably a journeyman of J. Hummel and after his death (1628), he signed contracts with church officials to finish his instruments: in 1630–32, he built organs in St. Andrew’s Church in Olkusz and St. James’s Church in Levoča, and in 1638–41 in St. Mary’s Church in Krakow. From 1649 to 1661, he worked in Gdańsk: renovation and expansion of the organ in St. Catherine’s Church (1649–50), construction of the organ in St. Anne’s Church (1650), renovation of the large organ in St. Mary’s Church (1652), at St. John’s Church (1653), renovation and expansion of the organ at St. Bartholomew’s Church (1658–60), construction of a choir organ at St. Bartholomew’s Church (1661). Around 1654, he signed a contract for the construction of organs in the Gniezno Cathedral, which he completed in 1659–61 (the organs were dismantled in 1912). In 1663–71, he stayed in Chojnice. In 1664–67, he built a new organ in Poznań Cathedral (destroyed in a fire in 1772). In Poznań and Gniezno, he collaborated with his son Andrzej. He also renovated the organ in the chapel of St. Reinhold in the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Gdańsk (1672) and the large organ in the same church (1672–73, with his son Andrzej and J.B. Held). He used painted wings that closed the organ case.
The Nitrowski family were among the most outstanding organ builders of the 17th century in Poland. They were the founders of the so-called Gdańsk school of organ building. They developed their own style, which was a synthesis of the Italian and North German schools. A characteristic feature of their instruments are two bass pipes (tympanum effect) placed on church pillars (Olkusz, Frombork, Pelplin, Krakow, Gdańsk).
Literature: J. Gołos Polskie organy i muzyka organowa, Warsaw 1972, English translation The Polish Organ, Warsaw 1992; A. Jazdon Polskie budownictwo organowe w XVII wieku na przykładzie działalności rodziny Nitrowskich, master’s thesis, typescript AMU Library, 1981; W. Renkewitz, J. Janca Geschichte der Orgelbaukunst in Ost- und Westpreussen von 1333 bis 1944, vol. 1, Würzburg 1984; E. Smulikowska Prospekty organowe w dawnej Polsce, Wrocław 1989.