Janotha, Juliusz (EN)

Janotha Juliusz, *1819 in Germany, †27 June 1883 Warsaw, Polish pianist, composer, and teacher. In 1850, he came to Poland, where he married Anna Oleszczyńska (†1886), daughter of the famous lithographer Seweryn and a dramatic artist. Juliusz Janotha’s name appeared in the Polish musical press after concerts in 1857–59 with the participation mainly of A. Kątski, K. Studziński and M. Reszkówna (among others, in the Nowa Resursa hall, in the August Potocki palace in Warsaw, in Lublin, in Volhynia at K. Lubomirski). On 4 April 1869, Janotha performed with M. Kalergis at one of the concerts organised for the newly established Music Institute in Warsaw, playing Chopin’s Rondo for 2 pianos. In the fall of that year, at the request of A. Kątski, Janotha was appointed the second piano teacher at the Music Institute. In 1872–73. I.J. Paderewski studied with him and wrote about the teacher: “I owe him nothing because he taught me shamefully, but I feel sorry for him. I was a bit used to him” (letter to his father from 4 February 1883). Janotha was a member of the institute’s programme committee and was the creator of the lower-class piano course program. Towards the end of his life, he began to compose small pieces for piano and arrangements of famous operas. His repertoire, apart from his own compositions, included, among others: Les contrastes for 2 pianos by Moscheles, Gounod’s Meditations, works by Thalberg, Lafont’s Fantasia on Auber’s La muette de Portici, Kątski’s Fantasia on Bellini’s The Puritans for violin and piano, and Kullak’s transcriptions from Bellini’s Norma, Kątski’s Hommage à Paganini for violin and piano, etc. Reviews of his concerts emphasized the beauty of sound production, modesty and good artistic taste. Janotha was an excellent accompanist.

Literature: J. Kleczyński Muzycy zmarli w 1883 roku, “Echo Muzyczne i Teatralne” 1884 No. 22.