Rajchman, Rejchman, Reychman, Aleksander, *18 February 1855 Warsaw, †18 December 1915 Warsaw, Polish music writer of Jewish origin, organizer of musical life. He studied Polish philology at the Jan Kazimierz University in Lviv and aesthetics at the University of Munich. Around 1875, he began working as a journalist for “Kurier Warszawski” and “Gazeta Handlowa”, and in 1879 he launched the country’s first advertising agency – Rajchman and Frendler. In 1883, at the invitation of J. Kleczyński, he became co-editor and publisher of “Echo Muzyczne i Teatralne” (from 1885 “Echo Muzyczne, Teatralne i Artystyczne”), and from 1890 to 1907 he was the editor-in-chief of this magazine, writing articles and theater reviews (the series «Galeria Sylwetek Teatralnych» [Gallery of Theater Profiles]). He published under the pseudonyms: -a-, a. r., A. R., Al., Al. R., Lea, Mefisto, Old. He was one of the founding members of the S. Moniuszko Section of the Warsaw Music Society, and from 1890 to 1896 he was secretary and librarian of the Society, and from 1897 to 1908 – deputy secretary and librarian. Together with his wife Melania (née Hirschweld), he ran a well-known artistic salon in Warsaw. In 1899, he proposed the idea of establishing a philharmonic hall in Warsaw and building a separate building for it. Thanks to the support of the musical community (including I.J. Paderewski and E. Młynarski), financial assistance from the Polish aristocracy and financiers, and Rajchman’s campaign to attract shareholders, on 14 January 1899, a private company, Aleksander Rajchman and Company — Filharmonia Warszawska (Warsaw Philharmonic), was established and later (July 1899) transformed into Towarzystwo Akcyjne Filharmonia Warszawska (Warsaw Philharmonic Joint Stock Company). L.J. Kronenberg became the head of the board (he was succeeded by S. Lubomirski), Rajchman took the position of managing director (a role he held until 18 September 1908), and Młynarski became the music director; the philharmonic hall was opened on 5 November 1901. During the 1907/08 and 1914/15 seasons, Rajchman leased the Warsaw Opera from the Warsaw Government Theaters. After 1908, he left for Paris, where he co-founded the Société Polonaise Littéraire et Artistique; he continued to visit Warsaw and collaborate with the Warsaw press. He died suddenly and was buried in the Powązki Cemetery. Rajchman was a highly ambitious individual; despite numerous obstacles, thanks to his energy and organizational ingenuity, the Warsaw Philharmonic became one of the finest philharmonic halls in Europe. The philharmonic’s repertoire included 19th-century Polish music, as well as works by Berlioz, Schumann, Liszt, R. Strauss, Wagner, Mahler (Symphony No. 1 in D major), and Bruckner (Symphony No. 9 in D minor), which were unknown in Poland at the time. In addition to Polish conductors, the orchestra featured outstanding foreign conductors as well as internationally renowned pianists, violinists, and singers: M. Karłowicz, J. Wertheim, W. Maliszewski, and F. Nowowiejski made their debuts as composers on the philharmonic stage. Rajchman organized various types of concerts: large subscription concerts on Fridays, cheaper ones on Tuesdays, chamber concerts, popular concerts, special concerts, historical concerts, children’s concerts, outdoor concerts (in the Swiss Valley), as well as lectures, talks, and composition competitions. Around 1904, financial difficulties intensified, there were skirmishes with the Society, and the revolutionary turmoil of 1904–05 was not conducive to concert life, so Rajchman was forced to commercialize the philharmonic’s activities: he expanded popular, occasional, and dance events, which was strongly criticized in the press. From around 1907, the philharmonic began to return to the path of artistic progress; it played works by J. Sibelius, composers of Young Poland period (1906–07) and many others. However, the old dispute with M. Karłowicz (Muzyka swojska w Filharmonii Warszawskiej [Native Music at the Warsaw Philharmonic] and W sprawie muzyki swojskiej [On Native Music], “Gazeta Polska” 1902, nos. 334 and 340) was revived, initiating a protest by 28 Polish musicians who criticized the artistic level of the philharmonic concerts. After the protest was published in Warsaw newspapers (May 1908), there was a massive, invective-filled attack on Rajchman in the press. The exaggerated press campaign, the financial crisis of the philharmonic, and the conflict with the orchestra led Rajchman and the entire board to resign. In light of the latest research (M. Dziadek), accusing Rajchman of acting to the detriment of Polish music is untenable. From the perspective of years, Rajchman’s organizational achievements are undeniable; he went down in music history as the co-founder of Poland’s first modern concert institution.
Literature: A. Dobrowolski Śp. Aleksander Rajchman (Wspomnienie pośmiertne) [obituary], “Kurier Warszawski” 1915 no. 351; Filharmonia w Warszawie w stulecie jej istnienia 1901–2001. Studia i materiały, ed. M. Demska-Trębacz, Warsaw 2001; M. Dziadek Powstanie i pierwszy okres działalności Filharmonii (1901–1908) and M.A. Balińska Historia historii. Odkrycie prapradziadka Aleksandra Rajchmana, in: Sto lat Filharmonii w Warszawie 1901–2001, eds. M. Bychawska and H. Schiller, Warsaw 2001.
