Jerzy Semkow (12 October 1928 – 23 December 2014) was a Polish conductor. Semkow was born in

Radomsko Radomsko is a city in southern Poland with 44,700 inhabitants (2021). It is situated on the Radomka river in the Łódź Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been in Piotrków Trybunalski Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the county seat ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, later took French citizenship and resided in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. He studied in Cracow and Leningrad. His conducting mentors included

Erich Kleiber Erich Kleiber (5 August 1890 – 27 January 1956) was an Austrian, later Argentine, conductor, known for his interpretations of the classics and as an advocate of new music. Kleiber was born in Vienna, and after studying at the Prague Conservato ...

Bruno Walter Bruno Walter (born Bruno Schlesinger, September 15, 1876February 17, 1962) was a German-born conductor, pianist and composer. Born in Berlin, he escaped Nazi Germany in 1933, was naturalised as a French citizen in 1938, and settled in the U ...

, and

Tullio Serafin Tullio Serafin (1 September 18782 February 1968) was an Italian conductor and former Musical Director at La Scala. Biography Tullio Serafin was a leading Italian opera conductor with a long career and a very broad repertoire who revived many 19t ...

. He was an assistant conductor with

Yevgeny Mravinsky Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Mravinsky (russian: Евге́ний Алекса́ндрович Мрави́нский) (19 January 1988) was a Russian conductor, pianist, and music pedagogue; he was a professor at Leningrad State Conservatory. Biog ...

with the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra. Semkow held posts as artistic director of the National Opera in Warsaw (1958-1959), principal conductor of the National Opera in Warsaw (1959–62), principal conductor of the Royal Danish Opera and the Royal Danish Orchestra in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

(1966–76), as well as Music Director of the Orchestra of Radio-Televisione Italiana (RAI) in Rome. In the USA, Semkow served as music director of the

St. Louis Symphony The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1880 by Joseph Otten as the St. Louis Choral Society, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) is the second-oldest professional symphony or ...

Orchestra (1975–79), and as music advisor and principal conductor of the Rochester Philharmonic (1985–89). He was a regular guest conductor of the National Philharmonic in Warsaw and of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra over a 40-year period, including guest appearances over 24 consecutive seasons from 1986 to 2009. Semkow lectured on music at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

and conducted master classes at Yale University and New York's Manhattan School of Music. He recorded commercially with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra for the Vox/Turnabout label. Awarded the French order Arts et Lettres (2000) and received honorary doctorate from the Music Academy in Warsaw (2005) and from Music Academy in Łódź (2013). Semkow died near

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

on 23 December 2014, aged 86. His biography was published the same year, authored by

Małgorzata Komorowska Małgorzata () is a common Polish female given name derived through Latin ''Margarita'' from Ancient Greek μαργαρίτης (margarítēs), meaning "pearl". It is equivalent to the English " Margaret". Its diminutive forms include Małgośka, ...

References

External links

Jerzy Semkow
at the

Orchestra
Polish Radio, '"Był księciem batuty". Jerzy Semkow nie żyje' 24 December 2014 (article in Polish)

1928 births 2014 deaths Naturalized citizens of France Polish emigrants to France Polish conductors (music) Male conductors (music) French male conductors (music) 20th-century French conductors (music) 21st-century French conductors (music) People from Radomsko 20th-century French male musicians 21st-century French male musicians {{poland-conductor-stub