Rowicki, Witold

Rowicki Witold, actually W. Kałka, Kałka-Rowicki, *26 February 1914 Taganrog (Russia), †1 October 1989 Warsaw, Polish conductor, violinist and composer. He was repatriated to Poland in 1923 and spent his school years in Żywiec and Nowy Sącz. In 1931, he began studies at the Conservatory of the Musical Society in Krakow with A. Malawski (violin), M. Piotrowski and B. Wallek-Walewski (theory), and graduated in 1938 in the violin class of S. Mikuszewski. After graduating, he became a violin professor at the same university. Already during his studies, he played in the Krakow Philharmonic orchestra and performed as a soloist and chamber musician, and in 1933, he made his debut as a conductor. He spent the years of occupation in Krakow, where he organised and conducted symphonic concerts; he was also a violist in the orchestra of the General Government. He studied conducting with R. Hindemith and theory and composition with Z. Jachimecki in 1942–44 in Krakow. At that time, he used the surname Kałka-Rowicki, taking the second part from the family of his aunt with whom he was raised, which officially became his proper surname in December 1948. In January 1945, he became the music director of the Polish Radio Broadcasting Station in Krakow, and in February of the same year, he took up a similar position in Katowice, where he organised a 16-person instrumental band, the nucleus of the future WOSPR, and on 23 March 1945, he gave his first radio concert. Until October 1947, he was the artistic director of WOSPR, and after G. Fitelberg’s return to the country, he became his deputy. On 13 April 1948, in Katowice, he conducted the Polish premiere of A. Honegger’s Symphony No. 3 “Liturgical”. In 1948–50, he gave concerts with WOSPR in Czechoslovakia, Romania and Hungary as well as Warsaw, Krakow and Wroclaw. Apart from his artistic work, he was active as a chairman of the Trade Union of Musicians and the Trade Union of PR Employees of the Śląsk-Dąbrowa district in Katowice. He was appointed artistic director of the State Philharmonic in Warsaw on 15 September 1950, reorganised the symphonic orchestra and on 12 January 1951, he conducted the inaugural concert of a new ensemble and in August the first concert abroad in East Berlin. To popularise music in workplaces, schools and centres outside Warsaw, in July 1953 he created the Small Symphony Orchestra at the Warsaw Philharmonic, conducted by his assistants: S. Marczyk and J. Procner. He also initiated the cycle of concerts that were hugely popular among music lovers (Béla Bartók w FN, Symfonie Beethovena, Symfonie Czajkowskiego, Symfonie Brahmsa, J.S. Bach, Karol Szymanowski, Muzyka francuska). In 1952–54, he taught conducting in PWSM in Warsaw and his students included, among others, W. Kabalewski, F. Klimczak and A. Markowski; later he conducted International Conducting Courses in Vienna. On 21 February 1955, he conducted a ceremonial concert on the occasion of the opening of the rebuilt philharmonic building and its renaming to the National Warsaw Philharmonic. On 1 April 1955, he resigned from his position for health reasons and devoted himself exclusively to composition. In 1956, he again became conductor of the WOSPR in Katowice, and from September 1957, the first conductor of the Krakow Philharmonic. On 1 September 1958, he returned to the Warsaw Philharmonic as artistic director and chief conductor. From May 1965 to April 1966, he was also the artistic director of the Warsaw Opera. On 20 November 1965, he led the performance of S. Moniuszko’s The Haunted Manor, inaugurating the newly rebuilt Grand Theatre in Warsaw. He retired on 30 June 1977, but he still performed with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra many times and toured France, West Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the GDR three times. In 1983–85, he was the artistic director of the Bamberger Symphoniker in Germany. He last performed at the National Music Festival on 12 January 1989. Rowicki was an honorary member of the Polish Society of Contemporary Music. He was awarded the Officer’s Cross (1947), Commander’s Cross (1954), Commander’s Cross with Star (1974) of the Order of Polonia Restituta, the Order of the Banner of Labor, 2^nd class (1950) and 1^st class (1959, 1977), and received many decorations and awards, including Meritorious Activist of Culture (1972), SPAM Golden Badge (1975), ZKP award (1962), MKiS award (1963, 1977, 1983), Grand Prix National du Disque in Paris and Montevideo (1966), award of the Chairman of the Radio Committee and Television (1983).

Rowicki has a prominent place in the history of Polish music as the creator and long-time artistic director of two of the best Polish orchestras in the second half of the 20^th century. With the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, which he introduced to the group of world-class ensembles, he performed 445 times in the country and 358 times abroad during 48 tours, the longest of which in 1970 included Egypt, Lebanon, Iran, India, Singapore, Australia, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Japan. He has conducted concerts at the “Warsaw Autumn” International Festival of Contemporary Music many times. He has performed numerous premieres of works by contemporary Polish composers, including G. Bacewicz (Concerto for large symphony orchestra), T. Baird (Cassazione, Four essays, Egzorta, Variations without a theme), W. Lutosławski (Venetian Games, Concerto for orchestra, commissioned in 1951 by Rowicki for the Warsaw Philharmonic and dedicated to him), B. Szabelski (Symphony No. 5). He has guest conducted the most outstanding symphony orchestras in Europe, Asia and both Americas; in 1947–89, he conducted over 900 concerts, and his repertoire included approximately 450 works by 150 composers. He recorded over 150 songs on albums by PN, DGG, Philips and others. He was a valued interpreter of neo-romantic and contemporary music, a propagator and an excellent performer of K. Szymanowski’s works. His experience, passion and intuition resulted in the ability to create new sound visions and his own interpretations. He wrote memoirs titled Bez batuty (two fragments were published in Ruch Muzyczny 1989, no. 18 and 20).

Literature: T. Marek Wielka Orkiestra Symfoniczna PR, Kraków 1960; L. Terpiłowski, M. Holzman Witold Rowicki, Kraków 1961; M. Gołębiowski Witold Rowicki w Filharmonii Warszawskiej i Narodowej, Warsaw 1991.