Stanislaw Pawel Stefan Jan Sebastian Skrowaczewski (; October 3, 1923 – February 21, 2017) was a

Polish-American Polish Americans () are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 8.81 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.67% of the U.S. population, ...

classical conductor and

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 ...

Biography

Skrowaczewski was born in

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

(now Lviv,

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

). His parents were Paweł and Zofia (Karszniewicz) Skrowaczewski."Skrowaczewski, Stanisław." (1996). In ''Who's Who in Polish America''. Ed. Bolesław Wierzbiański. New York: Bicentennial Publishing Corp., 417. His mother, an amateur pianist, began giving him lessons at the age of four, and he composed his first symphony by age eight. The Lwów Philharmonic performed one of his symphonies that same year.Drobnicki, John. (2011). "Skrowaczewski, Stanisław," in ''The Polish American Encyclopedia''. Ed. James S. Pula. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 486–487. He gave his first piano recital at age eleven, and then, at age thirteen, he conducted and was the soloist in

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor. He gave up any thought of pursuing a career as a soloist when, after a German bombing raid in June 1941, he suffered two broken hands and was also left with nerve damage. During the German occupation, Skrowaczewski worked as a bricklayer, and he studied physics, chemistry and philosophy at the University of Lwów. He then pursued training at the Lwów Conservatory, and then the Academy of Music in Kraków (in the composition class of Roman Palester and conducting class of ). He became the principal conductor of the

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

Philharmonic (1946–1947), then the

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

Philharmonic (1949–1954), the

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

Philharmonic (1954–1956), and finally the Warsaw National Orchestra (1956–1959). He studied composition with

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher, conductor and composer. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organis ...

and conducting with Paul Kletzki in Paris. He co-founded the avant-garde Groupe Zodiaque with Maurice Ohana. In 1956 he won the Santa Cecilia Competition for Conductors. While the

Cleveland Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". T ...

was giving a concert in Warsaw in 1957, their music director,

George Szell George Szell (; June 7, 1897 – July 30, 1970), originally György Széll, György Endre Szél, or Georg Szell, was a Hungarian-born American conductor, composer and pianist. Considered one of the twentieth century's greatest conductors ...

, invited Skrowaczewski to make his American debut the following year. He guest-conducted in Cleveland again in 1959, where he gave the US debut of his "Symphony for Strings", and then, in 1960, for Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

. He and his wife

defected In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...

from Poland to the United States in 1960, via Amsterdam, after he was offered the post of music director of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra (later renamed the

Minnesota Orchestra The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall. History Th ...

under his tenure in 1968), a position he held until 1979 when he became conductor laureate. In 1981 the American Composers Forum (then known as the Minnesota Composers Forum) commissioned the Clarinet Concerto which Skrowaczewski wrote for Minnesota Orchestra principal clarinetist Joe Longo, who premiered it in 1981. While in Minnesota, Skrowaczewski lobbied to have Orchestra Hall built, and he also introduced American audiences to the works of many Polish composers, including those of Penderecki, Szymanowski, and Lutosławski. Between 1983 and 1992 he was principal conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester. Between 1995 and 1997, Skrowaczewski served as artistic advisor to the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. In 1988, he was composer-in-residence for the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription concerts, n ...

's summer season at Saratoga. He has guest-conducted that orchestra, and many others, all over the world. In 2007, he became principal conductor of the

Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra The is a Japanese symphony orchestra administratively based in Tokyo. The orchestra primarily performs concerts in Tokyo at the Suntory Hall, but also gives concerts at the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall and also performs in Yokohama at the Yokoha ...

in Tokyo, and also made several recordings with the

NHK Symphony Orchestra The is a Japanese broadcast orchestra based in Tokyo. The orchestra gives concerts in several venues, including the NHK Hall, Suntory Hall, and the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall. History The orchestra was founded as the ''New Symphony Orchestr ...

. His complete set of recordings of the symphonies of

Anton Bruckner Joseph Anton Bruckner (; ; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer and organist best known for his Symphonies by Anton Bruckner, symphonies and sacred music, which includes List of masses by Anton Bruckner, Masses, Te Deum (Br ...

, made with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, has received much acclaim, as has his 2005/06 complete

symphony cycle with the orchestra. Another noted recording is his

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, often set within studied ye ...

Piano Concerto No. 2 with the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

in collaboration with soloist Gina Bachauer. Skrowaczewski's ''Passacaglia Immaginaria'', completed in 1995, was nominated for the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

in 1997. Commissioned by the Minnesota Orchestral Association to honor the memory of Ken and Judy Dayton, it was premiered at Orchestra Hall in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

in 1996. His Chamber Concerto was commissioned by the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in memory of Leopold Sipe, their first music director. Skrowaczewski received his second Pulitzer nomination in 1999 for his Concerto for Orchestra. He received the Commander Order of the White Eagle, the highest order conferred by the Polish government, as well as the Gold Medal of the Mahler-Bruckner Society, the 1973 Ditson Conductor's Award, and the Kennedy Center Friedheim Award's third prize in 1978 for his ''Ricercari Notturni'' for saxophone and orchestra.Tuck, Lon. (September 18, 1978). "The Composition Competition at Kennedy Center." ''Washington Post'', B9. He was the father of Paul Sebastien, founder of electronica groups Psykosonik and Basic Pleasure Model, and of Nicholas Skrowaczewski. He lived in

Wayzata, Minnesota Wayzata ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 4,434 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A suburb of the Twin Cities, Wayzata is located about west of Minneapolis al ...

, and died in St. Louis Park on February 21, 2017. Frederick Harris, Jr., director of the MIT Wind Ensemble, wrote Skrowaczewski's official biography.

Recordings

* Passacaglia Immaginaria/ Chamber Concerto/ Concerto for Clarinet in A & Orchestra – Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra; Albany TROY481 (2001); conducted by the composer *

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

cello concerto in A minor/

Édouard Lalo Édouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo (27 January 182322 April 1892) was a French composer, violist, violinist, and academic teacher. His most celebrated piece is the '' Symphonie Espagnole'', a five-movement concerto for violin and orchestra that re ...

cello concerto in D minor, Janos Starker, cello,

, conducted by S. Skrowaczewski (1963 Philips A 04910 L)

Notes

External links

*
Biography
June 27, 1987
Seeking the Infinite: The Musical Life of Stanislaw Skrowaczewski
by Dr. Frederick Edward Harris Jr., publication date: August 31, 2011.
Skrowaczewski, Here with Us
Memorial article by David Markle * {{DEFAULTSORT:Skrowaczewski, Stanislaw 1923 births 2017 deaths Musicians from Lviv People from Lwów Voivodeship Polish classical composers Polish male conductors (music) 20th-century Polish conductors (music) 20th-century Polish male musicians Alumni of the Academy of Music in Kraków Recipients of the State Award Badge (Poland) Polish defectors to the United States Polish emigrants to the United States Principal conductors of the Hallé Music directors of the Minnesota Orchestra Oehms Classics artists Burials at Lakewood Cemetery