Rakowski, Andrzej (EN)

Rakowski Andrzej, *16 June 1931 Warsaw, †3 April 2018 Warsaw, Polish acoustician, musicologist and university teacher. In 1957, he graduated from the Faculty of Communications of the Warsaw University of Technology (section of film and sound technology); at the same time, he studied at the PWSM in Warsaw, obtaining a diploma with distinction in music theory in 1958. In the years 1958–59, as a British Council scholarship holder, he studied acoustics with E. G. Richardson at the University of Durham in Newcastle upon Tyne (England). In 1963, he obtained a doctorate in technical sciences from the Faculty of Communications of the Warsaw University of Technology, and in 1977, from the Faculty of History of the University of Warsaw, a postdoctoral degree in musicology. In 1982, he received the title of associate professor, and in 1989 a full professor. Since 1994, he has been a corresponding member of the Polish Academy of Sciences and from 2007, a full member of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

In 1953, he was employed at the PWSM in Warsaw (in 1979–2008, the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music, since 2008, the Chopin University of Music). In 1966, he organised the Artistic and Research Department at the Academy, where research on musical instruments for the needs of the music industry was conducted. The activities of this department were incorporated into the Department of Musical Acoustics established at the Faculty of Sound Engineering in 1968. Rakowski was the founder of this department and its head until 2001. In 1972–74, he was the vice-rector for science at the PWSM, and in 1981–1987, he was elected for two consecutive terms as the rector of the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music. After retiring in 2001, he continued to conduct scientific research and teach at the University.

Rakowski conducted extensive scientific, didactic and organisational activities also outside his alma mater. In 1963–70, he was an acoustic consultant at the Grand Theatre in Warsaw. In 1977–78 and 1992, he conducted research at the Central Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis, USA. In 1987–1997, he was employed part-time at the Institute of Musicology of the University of Warsaw, and in 1998–2009, at the Department of Musicology of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. He lectured as a guest at many universities abroad, in the United States (Harvard University, Stanford University, University of Illinois), Canada (McGill University, University of Alberta), Israel (Hebrew University), Germany (Universität Hamburg, Universität zu Köln) and Portugal (Universidade de Lisboa). He organised or co-organised international scientific conferences and sessions at many scientific congresses.

Rakowski undertook numerous organisational activities for culture and science. He was vice-chairman of the Polish Music Council (1982–89), a member of the Central Commission for Academic Titles and Academic Degrees (1991–93) and a member of the Fundamental Research Commission of the Committee for Scientific Research (1994–97). From 1963, he was a member of the Acoustics Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences, in 1972–86, he was the scientific secretary, in 1986–96, the vice-chairman, in 1996–2007, the chairman and then the honorary chairman of the Committee. He was also a member of the Committee of Science Studies at the Presidium of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Committee of Art Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He was a member of numerous scientific associations: the Polish Acoustic Society (honorary member), the Polish Phonetic Society (honorary member), the Musicologists’ Section of the Polish Composers’ Union, the Acoustical Society of America (distinguished member – fellow), the Catgut Acoustical Society, the European Society for Cognitive Sciences of Music (2001–03 chairman), the International Society for Music Education and the International Society for Psychophysics. He was a member of the editorial boards of the quarterlies “Archives of Acoustics” and “Musicae Scientiae.” He was the editor of the acoustics section and the author of entries in the PWM Music Encyclopaedia.

Rakowski’s scientific work focused on the problems of pitch perception in music and the perception of sound colour. Rakowski introduced the concept of pitch strength in acoustics and developed a methodology for its measurement. In studies of different sensitivity of hearing to pitch changes, he demonstrated that trained listeners are able to distinguish pitch changes corresponding to an interval of about 1/50 of a semitone. He also demonstrated that pitch is perceived in music as a multidimensional feature and described the role of individual pitch dimensions as elements of the musical communication code. In his studies on pitch perception, he devoted particular attention to the issues of pitch memory and absolute pitch. In his works, he pointed to differences in the functioning of pitch perception mechanisms in musicians with relative pitch and musicians endowed with absolute pitch. He demonstrated that there are different types of absolute pitch among musicians. In cooperation with foreign researchers, he collected extensive data on the frequency of absolute pitch in various countries in Europe and Asia; these data were used to verify hypotheses regarding the aetiology of absolute pitch. In his works on sound timbre, he introduced the concept of sensory dissonance as the physiological basis of musical dissonance and determined the relationship between dissonance and the frequency of beats occurring between consonant sounds. Together with T. Łętowski and K. Szlifirski, he created the concept and developed a program of timbre solfege, a unique subject of study aimed at developing the timbre sensitivity of musicians’ hearing. In addition to research on the perception of pitch and timbre, he also conducted work in other thematic areas of psychoacoustics, musical acoustics and interior acoustics, concerning, among others, the perception of loudness, acoustics of concert halls, the methodology of assessing the sound quality of musical instruments and the threats to hearing caused by exposure to musical sounds. He published the results of his work in two monographs, two collective works under his own editorship, in over 200 articles published in journals and scientific monographs and in numerous lectures given at symposia and scientific congresses in Poland and abroad. He promoted 16 doctors; six postdoctoral theses were completed in the Department of Musical Acoustics at the UMFC, which he headed.

Rakowski conducted extensive research studies and organisational activities in order to improve the music teaching system in general secondary schools and to popularise musical culture among children and youth. He initiated and, with a team of over 50 specialists, prepared a scientific expert opinion on the state of popularisation of music in Poland (1982–84). In 1985–87, he directed the Government Research Program “Music Education in Poland;” in 1995–97, he supervised the implementation of a research topic aimed at optimising the model of a music teacher in general secondary schools, commissioned from the Scientific Research Committee by the Ministry of Culture and Art.

For his scientific, didactic and organisational achievements, he has been honoured with numerous decorations and awards, including the Commander’s Cross, the Officer’s Cross and the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, the Gold and Silver Cross of Merit, the Gold Medal for Merit to Art – Gloria Artis, the Ignacy Malecki Medal awarded by the Polish Acoustic Society, awards of the Minister of Culture and Art and the Honorary Award of the Polish Composers’ Union.