Rodziński Artur, *1 January 1892 Split (Croatia), †27 November 1958 Boston, Polish conductor, naturalised in 1933 in the USA. He started learning music in Lviv, where his father was a medical officer, and later he studied at the Vienna Conservatory with E. Sauer and J. Lalewicz (piano), F. Schreker and J. Marx (composition), F. Schalk (conducting) and at the Vienna University (law). In 1918, he became a tutor at the opera in Lviv and that year in December, he debuted as a conductor there (Verdi’s Ernani). He performed at the Warsaw Opera for the first time in May 1919, invited by E. Młynarski (The Dead Eyes by E. d’Albert); later, as a second conductor of that theatre, he conducted performances of An. Rubinstein’s Demon (1920), L. Różycki’s operas Eros and Psyche (1920) and Casanova (premiere 8 June 1923), R. Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier (1922), Wagner’s Tannhäuser (1923) and Ravel’s L’heure espagnole (1923). Several stagings conducted by him became social events, like Puccini’s operas: Tosca (with S. Belina-Skupiewski and M. Polińska-Lewicka, 1923) and Giannini Schicchi (with J. Kiepura, 1926); and especially Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1925), after which L. Stokowski, who was then in Warsaw, offered Rodziński the position of assistant conductor at Philadelphia Orchestra (1926–29). During this time, Rodziński was also engaged to conduct the orchestra and opera class at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. In 1929–33, he headed the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, and in the 1930–31 season, he conducted the San Francisco Opera. In 1933–43, he was music director of the Cleveland Orchestra, from which he created one of the best orchestras with a world reputation. He performed with it at symphony concerts and opera performances. He expanded the orchestra’s repertoire with new or rarely performed works, including American premieres of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk by D. Shostakovich (1935) and Harnasie by K. Szymanowski (1937). Rodziński’s guest appearances with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (1934, 1937) were enthusiastically received, including concert performance of R. Strauss’s Elektra (1937). Rodziński also performed in Europe, among others, in Warsaw (1934), at the Salzburg festival (1936–37), in London, Prague, Vienna and Paris (1937). In 1937, he co-organised the NBC Orchestra in New York with A. Toscanini. In 1943, he took over the directorship (after J. Barbirolli) of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. This ensemble also raised Rodziński to the highest world level. Due to a conflict with the orchestra’s manager, he resigned in 1947. In 1947–48, he was music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, but he left this position in an atmosphere of conflict and misunderstandings, although the season under his direction was extremely attractive (a memorable performance of Tristan und Isolde with K. Flagstad). In 1948–49, Rodziński performed as a guest in North and South America and Europe, then settled permanently in Italy, where he conducted concerts and opera theatres (the first performance of S. Prokofiev’s War and Peace outside the Soviet Union was a sensation, Florence 1953). His last memorable production was Tristan und Isolde at the Chicago Lyric Opera (1958).
Rodziński made an enormous contribution to the American orchestras he conducted. He provided them with a truly world-class level of virtuosity and enriched their repertoire with works by 20th-century composers. He introduced Shostakovich’s American symphonies to the stage – No. 1 (1928), No. 5 (1940), No. 7 (1942/43) and No. 8 (1944). Under his direction, many premieres took place: works by S. Barber (Symphony No. 1, 1937), W. Schuman (Symphony No. 4, 1942), B. Martinů (Memorial to Lidice, 1943), P. Hindemith (Symphonic Metamorphosis, 1944), A. Schoenberg (Ode to Napoleon, 1944), A. Copland (Appalachian Spring, 1945) and others. Rodziński’s interpretations, always deeply experienced, full of spontaneous power and heat, made a strong impression on the listeners. After Rodziński’s guest performance at the Warsaw Philharmonic, critics (J.S. Bach, J. Brahms, I. Albéniz, F. Schreker) wrote about “technical perfection” and “finite mastery of performance,” emphasising “rare perfection in finishing details, arrangement of dynamic effects and distribution of instrumental colours” (P. Rytel, “Gazeta Warszawska” 13 May 1934).
Literature: H. Rodzińska (O-ur Two Lives, New York 1976, Polish ed. Nasze wspólne życie, translated by A. Szpakowska, Warsaw 1980.
