Mieczysław Karłowicz (, 11 December 18768 February 1909) was a Polish
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and def ...
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
(now in
Belarus
Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
) into a
noble
A noble is a member of the nobility.
Noble may also refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Noble Glacier, King George Island
* Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land
* Noble Peak, Wiencke Island
* Noble Rocks, Graham Land
Australia
* Noble Island, Gr ...
family belonging to Clan Ostoja. His father Jan was a Polish linguist, lexicographer, and musician. As a child, Karłowicz studied violin, for which he later composed his only
concerto
A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ...
.
Karłowicz studied in
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
with Heinrich Urban, to whom he dedicated his ''Serenade for Strings'', which he composed and performed while Urban's student. From 1906 to 1907 he studied conducting with
Arthur Nikisch
Arthur Nikisch (12 October 185523 January 1922) was a Hungary, Hungarian conducting, conductor who performed internationally, holding posts in Boston, London, Leipzig and—most importantly—Berlin. He was considered an outstanding interpreter ...
.
Career
Karłowicz's music is of a late Romantic character. He was a great admirer of
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popula ...
whose Symphony No. 6 he praised. Tchaikovsky's influence can be heard in Karłowicz's earlier works, most notably the E minor symphony and the Violin Concerto. Like most of the late Romantics he also fell under the considerable influence of
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
, especially with ''
Tristan und Isolde
''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is a music drama in three acts by Richard Wagner set to a German libretto by the composer, loosely based on the medieval 12th-century romance ''Tristan and Iseult'' by Gottfried von Stras ...
''. Nevertheless, he managed to develop an original musical language expressed in harmony and orchestration, the latter of which he mastered like few other composers and wrote some of the most colourful orchestral music ever found.
Among his works are a Symphony in E minor (''Rebirth'', Op. 7), a Violin Concerto in A major (Op. 8), incidental music to a play ''The White Dove'', and six
tone poem
A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement (music), movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. T ...
s, which include ''The Returning Waves'', ''Eternal Songs'', '' Lithuanian Rhapsody'', ''Stanisław i Anna Oświecimowie'', '' Smutna opowieść'', and ''Epizod na maskaradzie''. The Violin Concerto was written for and dedicated to his former teacher Stanisław Barcewicz, who premiered the work under Karłowicz's baton in Berlin on 21 March 1903 with the
Berlin Philharmonic
The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world.
Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922â ...
.
He also wrote a number of songs for voice and piano, setting words by Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer, Adam Asnyk, and others. Much of the rest of his small output was lost during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Karłowicz spent much of his later life in
Zakopane
Zakopane (Gorals#Language, Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy SÄ…cz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has ...
in southern Poland, often enjoying one of his favorite hobbies,
photography
Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...
, in the nearby mountain scenery. Karłowicz died at the age of 32 in an
avalanche
An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a Grade (slope), slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, othe ...
while
skiing
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...
on an excursion in the Tatra Mountains in 1909. He was buried at
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
's
PowÄ…zki Cemetery
PowÄ…zki Cemetery (; ), also known as Stare PowÄ…zki (), is a historic necropolis located in Wola district, in the western part of Warsaw, Poland. It is the most famous cemetery in the city and one of the oldest, having been established in 179 ...
.
The Szczecin Philharmonic bears the name of Mieczysław Karłowicz as a recognition of the composer's musical legacy.
Solo Voice
6 Songs, Op.1
* No. 1. Zamuconej (Saddened)
* No. 2. SkÄ…d pierwsze gwiazdy (Whence the First Stars)
* No. 3. Na śniegu (In the Snow)
* No. 4. Zawód (Disillusion)
* No. 5. Pamiętam ciche, jasne, złote dnie (I Remember Quiet, Clear Golden Days)
* No. 6. SmutnÄ… jest dusza moja (My Soul is Sad)
Drugi spiewnik, Op. 3
* No. 1. Mów do mnie jeszcze (Speak to me Still)
* No. 2. Z erotyków (From Erotica)
* No. 3. Idzie na pola (It Goes Over the Fields)
* No. 4. Na spokojnym, ciemnym morzu (On the Calm Dark Sea)
* No. 5. Åšpi w blaskach nocy (Asleep in the Splendors of the Night)
* No. 6. Przed nocÄ… wiecznÄ… (Before the Eternal Night)
* No. 7. Nie płacz nade mną (Weep not Over Me)
* No. 8. W wiecznornÄ… ciszÄ™ (In the Calm of the Evening)
* No. 9. Po szerokim morzu (Over the Wide Sea)
* No. 10. Zaczarowana królewna (The Enchanted Princess)
Najpiękniejsze piosnki, Op. 4 (The Most Beautiful Songs)
Z nowa wiosna
O nie wierz temu, co powiedza ludzie
Czasem, gdy długo
Rdzawe liście
Pod jaworem słowa
Pod naszymi okny
Piano (solo)
* Preludium i fuga podwójna, Op. 5 (Prelude and Double Fugue)
Orchestral
* Serenade for Strings, Op. 2
* Incidental music from Bianca da Molena, Op. 6 (The White Dove)
* Symfonia "Odrodzenie", Op. 7 (Symphony "Rebirth")
* Concerto for Violin, Op. 8
* PowracajÄ…ce fale, Op. 9 (Returning Waves)
* Odwieczne pieśni, Op. 10 (Eternal Songs)
* Rapsodia litewska, Op. 11 (Lithuanian Rhapsody)
* Stanisław i Anna Oświecimowie, Op. 12 (Stanislaw and Anna of Oświecim)
* Smutna opowieść, Op. 13 (A Sorrowful Tale)
* Epizod na maskaradzie, Op. 14 (Episode at a Masquerade) osthumously completed by Grzegorz Fitelberg
Antoni Wit
Antoni Wit (born 7 February 1944) is a Polish conductor, composer, lawyer and professor at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music. Between 2002 and 2013, he served as the artistic director of the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra.
Life a ...
) - (CD)
Naxos
Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...
8.570295 and 8.570452
* Complete symphonic poems (
BBC Philharmonic
The BBC Philharmonic is a national British broadcasting symphony orchestra and is one of five radio orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The Philharmonic is a department of the BBC North Group division based at Media ...
Chandos Records
Chandos Records is a British independent classical music recording company based in Colchester. It was founded in 1979 by Brian Couzens.Ilya Kaler, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Antoni Wit - (CD) Naxos8.572274
* Violin Concerto,
Nigel Kennedy
Nigel Kennedy (born 28 December 1956) is an English violinist and viola, violist.
His early career was primarily spent performing classical music, and has since expanded into jazz music, jazz, klezmer, and other music genres.
Early life and ...
, Polish Chamber Orchestra, Jacek Kaspszyk - (cd) EMI Records
* Violin Concerto and Serenade for Strings (Kaja Danczowska, Polish Radio and TV Orchestra of Krakow, Antoni Wit) - (CD) Le Chant du Monde CDM LDC 278 1088
* Symphony "Rebirth", Serenade for Strings, and Prologue from Music for The White Dove - BBC Philharmonic,
Gianandrea Noseda
Gianandrea Noseda (born 23 April 1964) is an Italian conductor. He is currently the music director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C.; general music director (''Generalmusikdirektor)'' of Zurich Opera; principal guest condu ...
Martyn Brabbins
Martyn Charles Brabbins (born 13 August 1959) is a British conductor.
Biography
The fourth of five children in his family, he learned to play the euphonium, and then the trombone during his youth at Towcester Studio Brass Band. He later studi ...
conductor ( Hyperion CDA67389, recorded September 2003, released April 2004)
* Violin Concerto in A major Op.8 - Piotr Plawner (violin), Zielona Gora Philharmonic Orchestra / Czeslaw Grabovski conductor (CD) DUX Records, DUX0540, recorded December 2005, released 2006
See also
*
List of Polish people
This is a partial list of notable Polish or Polish-speaking or -writing people. People of partial Polish heritage have their respective ancestries credited.
Physics
* Miedziak Antal
* Czesław Białobrzeski
* Andrzej Buras
* Georges ...