Fitelberg, Grzegorz (EN)

Fitelberg Grzegorz, *18 October 1879 Dźwińsk (now Daugavpils, Latvia), according to the preserved biography and death certificate *1874 Warsaw (?), †10 April 1953 Katowice, Polish conductor, composer and violinist. He was the son of the military musician Hozjasz Fitelberg. In 1891–96, he studied at the Music Institute in Warsaw under the supervision of S. Barcewicz (violin) and Z. Noskowski (composition). In 1896, he became a violinist in the orchestra of the Grand Theater in Warsaw, and from 1901, he was also concertmaster (in the second violin group) of the Warsaw Philharmonic. It was then that he attracted attention as a composer: in 1898, he won the first prize at the I.J. Paderewski competition in Leipzig for his Sonata in A minor for violin and piano, in 1901, he achieved similar success at the Count M. Zamoyski competition in Warsaw with his Trio in F minor for violin, cello and piano. In the 1904/05 season, he made his debut in the Warsaw Philharmonic as a conductor. Fitelberg’s further artistic activity developed under the sign of acquaintance (since 1901), and then friendship and cooperation with K. Szymanowski. In 1905, he co-organised and ran the Publishing Company of Young Polish Composers. In 1906, he conducted the first concerts of Young Poland, in Warsaw (6 February) and Berlin (30 March), during which – next to works by Szymanowski, M. Karłowicz, L. Różycki and A. Szeluta – he performed his own symphonic poem Pieśń o sokole. In 1906/07, he performed several times at the Berlin Philharmonic, conducting symphonic poems by R. Strauss, and in the following season, he conducted the Polish premiere of this composer’s Salome at the Grand Theatre in Warsaw. In 1908–11, he headed the Warsaw Philharmonic, also performing as a guest in Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden and Vienna. In the summer of 1910, he led the orchestra in Majorenhof near Riga, where on 12 September, he test-performed the 1^st movement of Szymanowski’s still unfinished 2^nd Symphony; he presented this work in its entirety (dedicated to him) on 7 April 1911 at the Warsaw Philharmonic. In 1912–13, he was A conductor of the Hofoper in Vienna; he also performed there with the Konzertverein orchestra, with which he visited Krakow on 25 and 26 April 1912. In 1913, he returned to Warsaw for a short time, and then, at the invitation of S. Koussevicki, he went to Russia. In 1914–19, he was active in Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg): on 19 November 1914, he conducted a concert of Polish music (Moniuszko, Fitelberg, Karłowicz, Szymanowski), then he conducted the orchestra of the Muzykalnaja Drama Theatre and the orchestra of the Mariinsky and Mikhailovsky Theatres. From 1917, he also conducted the State Orchestra, and after Kusevitsky’s departure (1920), he became its leader. In 1920/21, he was a conductor of the Grand Theater in Moscow. In 1921 – after a short stay in the country – he took over as conductor of S. Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. He collaborated with this ensemble until 1924, conducting alternately with E. Ansermet and E. Goossens, among others, in Paris, London, Monte Carlo and Brussels; on 3 June 1922, he conducted the first performance of Stravinsky’s Mavra at the Opera in Paris. In 1924–34, he directed the Warsaw Philharmonic and collaborated with the Grand Theatre in Warsaw; in 1926–33, he staged the operas: The Golden Cockerel by N. Rimsky-Korsakov, Beatrix Cenci by L. Różycki, Demon by An. Rubinstein, Faust by Ch. Gounod, Carmen by G. Bizet, Eugene Onegin by P. Tchaikovsky, La bohème by G. Puccini. He also performed abroad, including: in 1925 he gave a series of concerts at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires; in 1929, he staged operas by A. Borodin, M. Mussorgsky and N. Rimsky-Korsakov at the Opéra Privé de Paris, with which he toured Latin American countries. In 1934–39, he organised and led the PR Symphony Orchestra in Warsaw. In addition to regular radio concerts, he performed with this ensemble at public concerts in Warsaw and Kraków (Wawel concerts in 1936–39), as well as at the World Exhibition in Paris (1937), where the orchestra won a gold medal. In November 1939, Fitelberg left Warsaw and – in dramatic circumstances, via Vienna and Milan – went to Paris. In 1940, he performed here several times and gave several concerts in Bristol (for the BBC), London and The Hague in support of Polish war victims. In November 1940 he went to South America; in 1940/41 he was conductor at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. He spent the years 1942–45 in the USA, undertaking various activities (instrumenting, conducting) and accepting artistic compromises. He had “good concerts” – as he wrote to S. Spiess on 6 November 1945 – only in Montreal, Toronto and New York with W. Małcużyński and B. Huberman (J.S. Bach, Beethoven, Szymanowski). In 1946, he returned to Europe, where he developed a lively concert activity, especially in Great Britain, the Netherlands and Scandinavian countries. In October 1946, in Krakow, he conducted his first concert after returning to the country (Karłowicz’s Episode on the Masquerade, R. Palester’s Violin Concerto, Szymanowski’s Harnasie). In 1947, he took over the management of WOSPR in Katowice. He also performed with this orchestra in Warsaw, Wrocław, Kraków, Czechoslovakia (1948), Romania and Hungary (1950). In recent years, he collaborated with his successor, J. Krenz.

Fitelberg was also involved in teaching: in 1927–30, he ran the conducting class and the orchestra at the conservatory in Warsaw, and in 1950/51 he was a professor at the State Higher School of Music in Katowice. His students included, among others: M. Mierzejewski, M. Neuteich, O. Straszyński and K. Stryja. Fitelberg was a knight of many orders: the Officer’s Cross of Polonia Restituta (1928), the Golden Cross of Merit (1932), the Commander with the Star of Polonia Restituta (1947), the Banner of Labor 1^st class (1950). He also had the Knight’s Cross of the Legion of Honor, the Commander’s Cross of Corona Italia and Greek, Yugoslav and Romanian decorations. In 1951, he received the State Award of the 1^st degree. In Katowice, the Radio House of Music and two competitions were named after him – the National Composing Competition and the International Conducting Competition (since 1980).

Until 1908, Fitelberg was intensively involved in composition and later devoted himself to conducting. Although opinions about Fitelberg’s work are divided (K. Wiłkomirski, W. Lutosławski), it should be emphasised that his activity as a composer of Young Poland was of considerable importance at that time. If the symphonic poem The Song of the Falcon was seen only as an “excellent orchestra expert based on the works of R. Strauss,” the structural advantages of Symphony No. 2 (“harmonic richness,” counterpoint, “great instrumentation”) meant that it was classified as one of “the most interesting symphonic works that Polish music has ever published” (A. Chybiński, “Museion” 1911). In later years, Fitelberg used his comprehensive musical craftsmanship in arranging, orchestrating or editing works by Stefani, Elsner, Kurpiński, Chopin, Moniuszko, Karłowicz (he completed and orchestrated Episode on the Masquerade) and Szymanowski.

As a conductor, Fitelberg made enormous contributions to Polish musical culture. Already during his first term at the Warsaw Philharmonic (1908–11), he influenced the change of audience habits and tastes. He initiated symphonic concerts without the participation of soloists, and in addition to the interesting popular repertoire (Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Bruckner, Mahler), he introduced new compositions by R. Strauss, Debussy, Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Sibelius and works by composers of Young Poland. In the interwar period, he introduced Warsaw listeners to the works of Roussel, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Hindemith, Honegger, Milhaud and others. Above all, however, he devoted himself to popularising contemporary Polish music in Poland and abroad (189 concerts in the years 1906–53). Most of the world premieres of Szymanowski’s works took place under his direction; he also introduced to the stage many works by composers of the next generation: R. Palester, M. Kondracki, J.A. Maklakiewicz, B. Woytowicz, P. Perkowski, G. Bacewicz and others. Fitelberg had a special bond with Witold Lutosławski, for whom he was – just like for Szymanowski – a mentor, friend, admirer and promoter of his work in Poland and abroad. He premiered the Symphonic Variations (1939), Symphony No. 1 dedicated to him (1948), the Overture for string orchestra (1949), the Little Suite version for symphony orchestra (1951) and the Silesian Triptych (1951), and encouraged Lutosławski to take up conducting professionally. On the title page of the preserved copy of the Little Suite, there is a dedication: “To my dear Ficio, in memory of the first conducting lesson he gave me on 23 January 1952 – a very grateful Witold.” “In the context of young Polish music – wrote Lutosławski – Fitelberg played the role of a real institution, without which it would have been difficult for artists at that time to develop their talents and gain the necessary experience. It can be said without exaggeration that Fitelberg had a huge share in the Polish compositional achievements of that time.”

Literature: H. Opieński Najnowsze prądy w polskiej twórczości muzycznej, “Biblioteka Warszawska” 1907 vol. 4; A. Chybiński Grzegorz Fitelberg, “Młoda Polska” 1908 No. 2, 3 and 5, 1909 No. 19 and 20; A. Chybiński “Młoda Polska” w muzyce, “Museion” 1911 issue 3; W. Lutosławski Nad grobem Grzegorza Fitelberga, “Przegląd Kulturalny” 1953 No. 2; J. Iwaszkiewicz Wspomnienie o wielkim artyście, “Radio i Świat” 1953 No. 25; W. Lutosławski O Grzegorzu Fitelbergu, “Muzyka” 1954 No. 7/8; S. Spiess, W. Bacewicz Ze wspomnień melomana, Kraków 1963 (includes Grzegorz Fitelberg’s letters from 1945–53); K. Wiłkomirski Wspomnienia, Kraków 1971; I. Bias Katalog tematyczny dzieł Grzegorza Fitelberga, Katowice 1979; D. Cvetko Ein Fragment aus den Beziehungen von Grzegorz und Jerzy Fitelberg zu Slavko Osterc, in: Studia musicologica aesthetica, theorica, historica, Z. Lissa’s festschrift, ed. E. Dziębowska et al., Kraków 1979; I. Bias, L.M. Moll Grzegorz Fitelberg. Kalendarium życia i twórczości, Katowice 1983; L. Markiewicz Grzegorz Fitelberg. Życie i dzieło, Katowice 1995; E. Jasińska-Jędrosz Rękopisy kompozytorów Młodej Polski. Katalog, Warsaw 1997; Korespondencja Grzegorza Fitelberga z lat 1941–1953, published by L. Markiewicz, Katowice 2003.