Zygmunt Białostocki (15 August 1897 – c. 1942)
[http://www.altango.art.pl/postacie/zygmunt-bialostocki/ Wojciech Dabrowski biography at altango] was a
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
musician and composer. He composed many popular Polish pre-war songs, and worked as conductor and a première pianist in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
between the World Wars.
Life
Białostocki was born in
Białystok
Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area.
Białystok is located in the Białystok Up ...
,
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 ...
. Between 1925–1930 he worked as music director and conductor in the Municipal Theatre in
Łódź
Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...
. Later he moved to Warsaw, where he worked in “revue-theaters” and cabarets (within what is known in
Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
as ''kleynkunst''), including ''Perskie Oko'', ''Morskie Oko'', ''Nowy Momus'', and ''Nowy Ananas''.
He worked with the
lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment.
Royalties
A lyricist's income ...
Zenon Friedwald Ludwig Zenon Friedwald (Louis Fox, Zenon Frivald-Vardan, Wardan) (17 April 1906 in Lviv – 3 December 1976 in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – ...
(Zenon Frivald-Vardan). His song ''M’ken nisht tsvingen tsu keyn libe'' was popularized by the film actor and singer
Eugeniusz Bodo
Eugeniusz Bodo (born Bohdan Eugène Junod; 28 December 1899 7 October 1943) was a film director, producer, and one of the most popular Polish actors and comedians of the interwar period. He starred in some of the most popular Polish film produc ...
in the Polish version called ''Nie można kogoś zmuszać do miłości''. His tango ''Rebeka'', built on
Chasidic
Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...
motifs and sung by Chasidic Jews as a
zemer
Zemer ( he, זמר, ar, زيمر) is an Arab local council in the Central District of Israel. It is located in the Arab Triangle area, between Baqa al-Gharbiyye and Bat Hefer on Road 574. Zemer is the result of a merger of four villages – Bi ...
was popular in nightclubs, coffee houses and restaurants across Warsaw between the wars. The lyrics were written by
Andrzej Włast
Andrzej Włast (aka Gustaw Baumritter) (17 March 1885 – 1942 or 1943) was a Polish Jewish songwriter. He wrote the lyrics for the 1929 hit song "Tango Milonga" / "Oh, Donna Clara". He died in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II.
Biography
W ...
; the song was first recorded by
Zofia Terne (1932) and premiered at the Morskie Oko cabaret, performed by Dora Kalinówna.
In 1932 he was the music director and composer of the score for ''Biała trucizna (White Venom)'' movie. In 1933 he worked as accompanist in the Warsaw ''Nowy Momus'' and ''Oasis'' cabarets, in the Warsaw-Prague ''Perskie Oko'' cabaret and in the Warsaw ''Nowy Ananas'' theater. His musical comedy called ''Miłość i złoto (Love and gold)'', written with
Józef Haftman, opened in December 1933 at the ''Teatr 8:30''.
[http://www.bibliotekapiosenki.pl/Bialostocki_Zygmunt Biblioteka Piosenki]
Apart from ''Rebeka'', Białostocki's other ''szlagiery'' (hits) included:
*foxtrots: ''Ach, te Rumunki'', ''Katiusza'', ''Andriusza'', ''Ecie-pecie'' (lyrics by himself);
*tangos: ''Jesienne marzenia'', ''Andrusowskie tango'', ''Pomalutku, po cichutku'' (lyrics by Andrzej Włast), ''Szczęście trzeba rwać jak świeże wiśnie'' and ''Zoboth'' (lyrics by W. Jastrzębiec).
[http://www.spotkaniazpiosenka.org/ANTOLOGIA/00antologia2.pdf Anthology of Polish song] and ''Choć goło lecz wesoło'' (lyrics by Alexander Jellin), ''Nasze kawalerskie'', ''Noc jesienna'' (lyrics by Zbigniew Drabik Argus, 1936), ''Na dnie serca'', ''Nie można zmuszać do miłości'', ''Pieśń o matce (Song about mother)'' (lyrics by Tadeusz Zeromski and Jerzy Wrzos, sung by
Stefan Witas, 1933),
His wife Sofia was also a composer.
After the German invasion on Poland in 1939 and
German occupation of Poland
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
the Białostockis were forced to live in the
ghetto in Warsaw. They are mentioned in
Stanisław Adler’s Warsaw ghetto memoir.
Zygmunt Białostocki was murdered by Germans during the liquidation of the
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
ghetto, most probably in 1942.
[
]
See also
*Music of Poland
The Music of Poland covers diverse aspects of music and musical traditions which have originated, and are practiced in Poland. Artists from Poland include world-famous classical composers like Frédéric Chopin, Karol Szymanowski, Witold Lutos ...
*List of Poles
This is a partial list of notable Polish or Polish-speaking or -writing people. People of partial Polish heritage have their respective ancestries credited.
Science
Physics
* Czesław Białobrzeski
* Andrzej Buras
* Georges Charpak ...
References
External links
*
Songs and Songwriters at yivoencyclopedia.org
Antalogia at spotkaniaziosenka.org
*
Scores by Zygmunt Białostocki
in digital library Polona
Polona is a Polish digital library, which provides digitized books, magazines, graphics, maps, music, fliers and manuscripts from collections of the National Library of Poland and co-operating institutions. It began its operation in 2006.
Colle ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bialostocki, Zygmunt
1897 births
1942 deaths
Jewish cabaret performers
People from Białystok
Polish composers
Polish conductors (music)
Male conductors (music)
Polish cabaret performers
Jewish composers
Jewish songwriters
People who died in the Warsaw Ghetto
Polish Jews who died in the Holocaust
20th-century conductors (music)
20th-century Polish pianists
20th-century comedians
20th-century male musicians
Artists from Białystok