Fitelberg, Grzegorz

Born Oct. 18, 1879, in Dvinsk, now Daugavpils; died June 10, 1953, in Katowice. Polish conductor, violinist, and composer.

Fitelberg studied the violin with S. Barcewicz and composition with Z. Noskowski at the Music Institute in Warsaw from 1891 to 1896. From 1896 he played the violin in the Teatr Wielki orchestra, and from 1901, with the Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1904 he made his debut as a conductor. Fitelberg was a founder and a leading member of the Young Poland group of composers and conducted its first concerts in Warsaw and Berlin in 1906.

From 1914 to 1919, Fitelberg was an opera conductor in Petrograd and in 1920 and 1921 he conducted at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow; from 1921 to 1924 he conducted the performances of the Russian Seasons Abroad. He headed the Philharmonic and Teatr Wielki orchestras in Warsaw from 1923 to 1934 and the Polish Radio Orchestra in Katowice, which he founded, from 1934 to 1939. Between 1939 and 1947, Fitelberg lived mainly in the USA and toured. He worked in Katowice from 1947 to 1953. Fitelberg composed works in the romantic style. He also edited the works of other Polish composers.

Fitelberg was awarded the State Prize of the Polish People’s Republic in 1951.