Apolinary Szeluto (23 July 1884 – 22 August 1966) was a Polish pianist and composer of the

Mloda Polska Young Poland ( pl, Młoda Polska) was a modernist period in Polish visual arts, literature and music, covering roughly the years between 1890 and 1918. It was a result of strong aesthetic opposition to the earlier ideas of Positivism. Young ...

style.

Life and career

Apolinary Szeluto was born in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, and began the study of piano at age nine. He studied music at the

Saratov Conservatory Saratov Conservatory is a music conservatory in Russia. The conservatory in Saratov, was founded in 1912, and was the first provincial conservatory to be founded in Russia, after St Petersburg Conservatory and Moscow Conservatory. Saratov was, at ...

with

Stanislav Echsner Stanislav Kasparovich Echsner, pl, Stanisław Eksner (Exner), russian: Станисла́в Каспа́рович Экснер ''Stanislav Kasparovič Eksner'' (May 7 ?/May 19, 1859, Radoszyce, Congress Poland November 28, 1934, Warsaw) was a ...

, composition at the

Warsaw Conservatory The Chopin University of Music ( pl, Uniwersytet Muzyczny Fryderyka Chopina, UMFC) is a musical conservatorium and academy located in central Warsaw, Poland. It is the oldest and largest music school in Poland, and one of the largest in Europe.

from 1902 to 1905 with

Roman Statkowski Roman Statkowski (24 December 1859 – 12 November 1925) was a Polish composer, most notable for his operas and chamber music. Early life Statkowski was born in Szczypiorno, near Kalisz, and initially trained as a lawyer. When he deserted the ...

and Zygmunt Noskowski, and piano performance in

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

from 1905 to 1908 with

Leopold Godowsky Leopold Mordkhelovich Godowsky Sr. (13 February 1870 – 21 November 1938) was a Lithuanian-born American virtuoso pianist, composer and teacher. He was one of the most highly regarded performers of his time, known for his theories concernin ...

. He also completed studies in law at the

University of Dorpat The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...

. After completing his education, he worked as a concert pianist, actively performing from 1909 until 1931. In 1909 Szeluto took a position as a professor at the Berlin Conservatory, and later relocated to work as a judge near Astrachan, Russia. He took part in the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

, and was named Chairman of the local Revolutionary Committee. Afterward he worked for a time in the Ministry of Justice in Poland. His compositions from this period reflected his dedication to the ideal of

Socialist realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...

. In 1934 he settled in

Słupca Słupca is a town in Greater Poland Voivodeship, central Poland, and the seat of Słupca County. It has 13,773 inhabitants (2018). History History of Słupca dates back to the Middle Ages. On November 15, 1290 Polish Duke Przemysł II granted ...

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; german: Großpolen, sv, Storpolen, la, Polonia Maior), is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city ...

, where he worked as a notary and later as a judge. When the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

occupied Poland, he worked as a baker and street trader, while continuing to compose. In his later years, he suffered from a progressive mental illness. He died in a nursing home in

Chodzież Chodzież (german: Kolmar in Posen) is a town in northwestern Poland with 17,976 inhabitants as of December 2021. Situated in the Chodzież County, Greater Poland Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Piła Voivodeship (1975–1998). Geogr ...

, and was buried at the Słupca Cemetery. His papers are housed in the

National Library A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, or significant w ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...

. A music school in Słupca bears his name.

Works

Szeluto was a prolific composer, producing symphonies, orchestral suites, piano, violin and cello concertos, masses, choral music and songs, and instrumental and various chamber works. Selected compositions include: *''Cyrano de Bergerac'', symphonic poem, 1933 *''Macbeth'', symphonic poem, 1933 *''Piano Concerto No. 1'', 1933–37 *''Piano Concerto No. 2'', 1936–37 *''Piano Concerto No. 3'', 1940 *''Violin Concerto'', 1942 *''Cello Concerto'', 1942 *''Piano Concerto No. 4'', 1944 *''Piano Concerto No. 5'', 1948 *''String Quartet'', 1931 *''String Quartet'' "Tatra Mountains" *''Trio'', for violin, cello and piano, 1940 *''Violin Sonatas'' *''Cello Sonatas''

References

Polish composers Polish music educators Musicians from Saint Petersburg 1884 births 1966 deaths Saratov Conservatory alumni {{Poland-composer-stub