Stanisław Skrowaczewski - NOSPR

Stanisław Skrowaczewski was born in Poland, in Lvov. His musical education started when he was four. At the age of 7, he composed his first symphonic work and four years later, he made his début as a pianist. After the war, he studied composition in Paris, at Nadii Boulanger’s class. He was one of the founders of the Zodiaque avant-garde group, there. In Poland, he worked with the Silesian Philharmonic (the artistic director in the years 1949-53) and the National Philharmonic as well as with Philharmonic Orchestras in Wrocław and Kraków. After winning in 1956 the Conducting Competition in Rome, he received an invitation from George Szell and made his début in the United States with the Cleveland Orchestra (1958). This lead to performances with other leading orchestras in the USA as well as to appointment in 1960 for the position of the musical director of Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra (at present the Minnesota Orchestra) – he fulfilled the function for 19 years. In the years 1984-1991, he was the 1^st conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester. He conducted the best orchestras of the world (including the New York Philharmonic, Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Symphoniker, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, Concertgebouw) and worked with leading opera houses (Staatsoper in Vienna, the Metropolitan Opera).
He regularly gave concerts in both Americas, Australia, Asia, Scandinavia and in leading European centres. In Japan, he performs with the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo and the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. He has made numerous recordings for leading labels (RCA, Chandos, Pickwick/Carlton, Philips, CBS, EMI/Angel, Erato, Denon, Mercury, Vox, Muza, Arte Nova and Oehms Classics and others); many of his records have been awarded. His interpretation of Bruckner's symphony brought him a Golden Medal of the Mahler-Bruckner Society. In 2002, he recorded for Arte Nova, together with Saarländischer Rundfunk Orchestra, a cycle of eleven symphonies by Bruckner. The cycle was awarded in Cannes with a prize in the category "The best recording of symphonic music of the turn of the 18th century". Recently, he recorded Shostakovich' Symphonies no. 1 and 6, conducting the Hallé Orchestra. He has also received many awards in the field of composition. At present, Stanisław Skrowaczewski is a honorary conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra and a guest conductor of the NOSPR and the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie. In 2007, he started cooperation as the chief conductor with the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo. In 1999, Mr Skrowaczewski was decorated by the President of the Republic of Poland with the Commander's Cross with a Star of the Rebirth of Poland.
Stanisław Skrowaczewski's detailed biography, published in 2011, can be found in the book by Frederick Harris (junior) entitled Seeking the Infinite: The Musical Life of Stanisław Skrowaczewski; a review available at seekingtheinfinite.com.