Emil Młynarski at the Warsaw Opera (1898–1902)

Elżbieta Szczepańska-Lange

Abstract

In 1898, Emil Młynarski – a violinist taught by Leopold auer – left russia and arrived in Warsaw with his student Paweł kochański. Młynarski’s objective was to fulfil the ambition of his youth to become a conductor, particularly since the political climate was favourable to the cultural ambitions of Poles. He decided to take advantage of his acquaintance with the newly appointed (in 1897) deputy viceroy of the kingdom of Poland, Aleksander Oboleński.

‘Believing that the time was ripe for further concession to the national spirit Mlynarski ventured to the vacant post [...]. When he called on the Prince and bravely asked for the appointment, his highness laughed incredulously. But Mlynarski persevered and eventually was permitted to conduct a rehearsal of Carmen, a work with which fortunately Mlynarski was very well acquainted’ (‘Emil Mlynarski’, The Musical Times, 1 May 1915). after a successful rehearsal and an enthusiastic reception of Carmen, the prince used his influence to obtain for Młynarski a three-year engagement as a conductor, but only of the Polish opera (after cesare trombini’s death, Vittorio Podesti was appointed principal conductor of the Italian stage). Initially, the Polish repertoire was limited to three works by Moniuszko, performed only occasionally with old sets and poor casts, and one new opera: Żeleński’s Goplana. Młynarski displayed considerable creativity in his approach to Moniuszko’s scores, impressing his distinct individual stamp on the performances, primarily through his fiery temperament, which did not go unnoticed. His greatest success was a revival – in November 1898 – of Moniuszko’s The Countess, with the phenomenal Solomiya krushelnytska in the title part. another performance that made a tremendous impression was the stage premiere of the same composer’s Phantoms (drawing on Mickiewicz’s Forefather’s Eve, Part II); in both cases, Młynarski shared the credit for the success of the production with the outstanding director Józef chodakowski. Młynarski’s initiatives in the field of opera were perceived as a revival of Polish national opera. the conductor’s connections with a high-ranking representative of the tsarist authorities did not diminish his success, as is reflected by the excellent reviews he initially received.

In 1898, Młynarski started giving symphonic concerts with the orchestra of the opera house. By 22 February 1901, seventeen such concerts had been given. their programmes combined the classics (mainly Beethoven symphonies and instrumental concertos) with early romantic compositions. More recent compositions, including by Wagner and Tchaikovsky, were also played abundantly, including the latter composer’s Sixth Symphony ‘Pathétique’, which enjoyed the greatest popularity at that time. one of the concerts was devoted entirely to the output of contemporary Polish composers. on 17 March 1899, Młynarski’s student Paweł kochański, a ‘child prodigy’, was the soloist in Mendelssohn’s Violin concerto. other soloists in concerts conducted by Młynarski included violinists Tymoteusz Adamowski, Stanisław Barcewicz (three performances), Juan van Manen, Emile Sauret and Eugène ysaÿe (twice), pianists Eugen d’Albert, Ferruccio Busoni, teresa carreño, Ossip Gabrilowitsch, Josef Hofman, Henryk Melcer and Józef Śliwiński, and cellist Jean Gérardy.

Although the orchestra and its conductor were overburdened with duties, Młynarski’s concerts had an indirect influence on creating a new concert institution in Warsaw – an idea that also occurred to Aleksander Rajchman at that time. Eventually, the plans led to the founding and inauguration (on 5 November 1901) of the Warsaw Philharmonic, but already in 1899 it was clear that Młynarski would become its music director. On 15 January 1899, Ignacy Jan Paderewski gave the first of three concerts, at the Warsaw Town Hall. It proved a great event. Paderewski, accompanied by an orchestra under Młynarski, performed piano concertos by Schumann and Chopin (in F minor) and his own Fantaisie Polonaise.

In the autumn of 1899, Młynarski transformed the operatic orchestra into a large modern symphony orchestra, with a string section of fifty instruments. New musicians were recruited by competition. It was at Młynarski’s persuasion that count Maurycy Zamoyski donated to the orchestra his family collection of old Italian string instruments and sponsored the purchase of a new set of wind and percussion instruments.

As the inauguration of the Warsaw Philharmonic approached, the music critics were becoming increasingly divided, and negative reviews of Młynarski’s work were mounting. His detractors were led by a clique centred on Zygmunt Noskowski, music director of the Warsaw Music Society. In their opinion, it was Noskowski who deserved the honour of being appointed music director of the new institution. one columnist expressed this view without holding back, adding that Młynarski had spent in Warsaw only the last four years of his life (thus hinting at his many years in Russia). also, the eminent critic Antoni Sygietyński suddenly retracted his previously enthusiastic appraisal of Młynarski’s work, accusing the latter of being poorly trained and unfamiliar with the Western tradition of art ‘in the grand style’. Sygietyński ignored Młynarski’s solid and comprehensive studies in St Petersburg conservatory (including composition with Lyadov) and the fact that while was a student, Młynarski regularly attended (in the season 1885/86) the rehearsals and concerts of Hans von Bülow; also, he spent the early 1890s in Germany, where Bülow and other eminent conductors, such as Hans Richter, were active. Some of the Warsaw critics continued to support Młynarski, and the opera house was full for both operas and symphony concerts.

In 1900, Młynarski allocated a large sum of his own money to concerts of Polish music during the Exposition Universelle in Paris and was involved in efforts to organise them. When the initiative came to no avail, for reasons beyond his influence, the money was used to finance editions of Moniuszko’s works.

Some commentators continue to suggest that Młynarski’s approach to the Russians was too conciliatory, but that is difficult to prove today. From the perspective of music history, the significance of his early years of activity lies in how he used his position in opera to help to revive Polish operas, especially those of Moniuszko, raising the artistic level of performances (in the years 1898–1901), and in his numerous initiatives taken solely with Polish culture in mind.