Stanisław Skrowaczewski (1923-2017)

Stanislaw Skrowaczewski began to play the piano and violin at the age of four, composed his first symphonic work at seven, gave his first public piano recital when he was eleven, and two years later played and conducted Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Lwów Musical Association; two of his compositions were performed by the Lwów Philharmonic Orchestra in 1940. He studied composition, conducting, musicology and philosophy at the Lwów Musical Academy and University, completing his studies at the Conservatory in Kraków in 1945. A hand injury sustained during the war terminated his keyboard career, after which he concentrated on composing and conducting. He was appointed conductor of the Wrocław Philharmonic Orchestra in 1946 and in the following year won the Szymanowski Prize for Composition, which enabled him, with the help of a French government grant, to study composition with Nadia Boulanger and conducting with Paul Kletzki in Paris.

On returning to Poland in 1949 Skrowaczewski served as chief conductor of the Katowice Philharmonic Orchestra from 1949 to 1954 and of the Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra from 1954 to 1956. He took the first prize in the International Conductors’ Competition of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rome, in 1956, and as a result was appointed chief conductor of the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, Poland’s leading orchestra. At the invitation of George Szell he made his American debut in 1958 with the Cleveland Orchestra: this led to engagements with the New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestras and to his appointment as music director of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra (now the Minnesota Orchestra) in 1960, the year in which he left Poland to settle in America. Skrowaczewski remained with the Minnesota Orchestra for nineteen years, conducting it in a wide repertoire as well as touring and recording for the Mercury and Vox labels amongst others. In addition he was largely responsible for the construction of a new concert hall for the orchestra. He resigned from this post in 1979 to concentrate more on composing and guest conducting, but returned to a permanent position in 1984 when he was appointed chief conductor of the Hallé Orchestra, serving until 1991. Following his departure from Manchester, Skrowaczewski developed a close relationship with the Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra and was appointed conductor laureate of the Minnesota Orchestra. In addition to his permanent posts, Skrowaczewski toured extensively, appearing as a guest conductor throughout the USA, Europe and Japan; and composed music in an elegant as well as eclectic musical style.

A fastidious and undemonstrative conductor, Skrowaczewski eschewed immediate effect in favour of a clear delineation of the work being performed. The benefits of this approach may be heard in his conducting of the Hallé Orchestra in symphonies by Shostakovich, which possess remarkable tension. His cycle of the Brahms symphonies with the same orchestra is also noteworthy. Skrowaczewski’s mastery of orchestral colour and balance is fully displayed in his recording of the complete orchestral music of Ravel, made with the Minnesota Orchestra for the Vox label, and superbly engineered. With the Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra he recorded a complete cycle of the Bruckner symphonies which demonstrates his deep understanding of these works, as well as his strong control of structure and placing of climaxes. Skowaczewski was unusual among conductors in that while clearly displaying the American preference for execution of the highest calibre, at the same time he maintained the more European characteristic of delivering performances of great individuality and character.

© Naxos Rights International Ltd. — David Patmore (A–Z of Conductors, Naxos 8.558087–90)