Witold Rowicki
Illustration — Witold Rowicki during 7th Chopin Competition, Warsaw, 1965 • Illustration — Grave of Witold Rowicki at Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw. Witold Rowicki (born Witold Kałka, 26 February 1914 – 1 October 1989) was a Polish conductor. He held principal conducting positions with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra.
Witold Rowicki
Ermell · CC0
- Full name
- Witold Kałka.
- Born
- 1914. · Taganrog.
- Died
- 1989. · Warsaw.
- Nationality
- Poland.
- Occupation
- conductor, music educator, violinist and musician.
- Fields
- classical music.
- Education
- Academy of Music in Kraków.
- Honours
- Medal of the 40th Anniversary of People's Poland, Work Flag Order, 2nd class, Commander of the Order of Polonia Restituta, Officer of the Order of Polonia Restituta and Zasłużony Działacz Kultury.
- Languages
- Polish.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
Illustration — Witold Rowicki during 7th Chopin Competition, Warsaw, 1965 • Illustration — Grave of Witold Rowicki at Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw. Witold Rowicki (born Witold Kałka, 26 February 1914 – 1 October 1989) was a Polish conductor. He held principal conducting positions with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra.
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Note VALÉORINE
Witold Rowicki (1914–1989) was a Polish conductor, music educator and musician, among other activities. Born Witold Kałka in Taganrog, the conductor died in Warsaw.
Witold Rowicki studied at Academy of Music in Kraków. The conductor worked for Chopin University of Music.
Genres include classical music. Languages used include Polish. Witold Rowicki received Commander of the Order of Polonia Restituta, Medal of the 40th Anniversary of People's Poland and Officer of the Order of Polonia Restituta, among others.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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gnd · 1046392018 · wikidata · Q1358456 · wikipedia · Witold Rowicki
In this article
Biography
Biography
Witold Lutoslawski's Concerto for Orchestra was dedicated to him.
Witold Rowicki studied at Academy of Music in Kraków. the recorded working language is Polish. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are classical music. Employment is recorded with Chopin University of Music. Distinctions recorded are Medal of the 40th Anniversary of People's Poland, Work Flag Order, 2nd class, Commander of the Order of Polonia Restituta and Officer of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
Rowicki was born in Taganrog, Russian Empire in 1914. He arrived in Poland in 1923, attending schools in Żywiec and Nowy Sącz before matriculating at the conservatory in Kraków. He studied violin under Artur Malawski and theory under director Michał Piotrowski and made his conducting debut, while still a student, in 1933. Graduating in 1938, he was appointed professor of violin at the conservatory and spent the occupation years in Kraków. After the Soviet expulsion of the Nazis from Poland, Rowicki revived the defunct Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, which had disbanded during the war, in Katowice. Between 1950 and 1955, and again between 1958 and 1977, Rowicki was the director of the Warsaw Philharmonic, leading the orchestra on multiple foreign tours and receiving several decorations from the Polish government. He later moved to West Germany and directed the Bamberg Symphony from 1983 to 1985. He died in Warsaw in 1989.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1989
Witold Rowicki died at Warsaw.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Taganrog.
Birth place
Warsaw.
Death place
Discography
Rowicki was most strongly associated with the Warsaw Philharmonic, but he also made recordings as a guest conductor with orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (all in London), the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, and the Wiener Symphoniker. His recordings include: • a Dvořák symphony cycle with the London Symphony Orchestra, • works of Wojciech Kilar • the Violin Concerto, Eternal Songs and Lithuanian Rhapsody of Mieczysław Karłowicz • various works of Karol Szymanowski. • Schumann, Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev piano concertos with Sviatoslav Richter; Mozart piano concertos with Ingrid Haebler and the London Symphony Orchestra
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1358456: Witold Rowicki
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
- “Witold Rowicki”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
scholarly publication
- Conducting achievements of Witold Rowicki in Poland and abroad, Konteksty Kształcenia Muzycznego, 2017
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2017
References ==== External links
References ==== External links
• Biography (in Polish) • Obituary
7th en:Chopin Competition - conductor Witold Rowicki
Siemaszko Zbyszko · Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe, Sygnatura: 51-408-3
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Searle, Humphrey, "Reports from Abroad: Warsaw Contemporary Music Festival" (1959). The Musical Times, 100 (1401): 614.
- 2.Anderson, Robert, Review of Dvořák Symphonies Nos. 1, 2 & 4 (1971). The Musical Times, 112 (1545): p. 1077.
- 3.Samson, Jim, Reviews of recordings of Bolesław Szabelski and Wojciech Kilar (1989). Tempo (New Ser.), 169: p. 52.
- 4.Banks, Paul, "Karłowicz Riches" (1989). The Musical Times, 130 (1762): p. 753.
- 5.Polskie Nagrania Muza XL 0006
- 6.Macdonald, Hugh, Review of Szymanowski Stabat Mater Op. 53/Symphony No. 3 Op. 27 (1981). The Musical Times, 122 (1656): p. 113.
- 7.Dunnett, Roderic, "The Review Section: Records - Szymanowski" (November 1990). The Musical Times, 131 (1773): pp. 603-604.
References
Citations
References
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scholarly publication
Conducting achievements of Witold Rowicki in Poland and abroad, Konteksty Kształcenia Muzycznego, 2017Crossref registry
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
42,307 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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- Witold MaliszewskiPerson
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- Witold RudzińskiPerson
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- Witta PohlPerson
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