Artur (Arthur) Gold (born 17 March 1897,

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, died 1943 in Treblinka) was a Polish Jewish

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist and dance-music

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

during the Interbellum. He closely collaborated with his brother Henryk Gold and with Jerzy Petersburski with whom he arranged music for his famous ensembles; they were among the most popular composers in interwar Poland and many of their hits were sung throughout the whole country. Gold ran an orchestra in the "Qui Pro Quo" theater (1922) and in the Warsaw "Adria" night club (1931–1939).

Life

Artur Gold was the second son of Michał Gold, a musician in the Warsaw Opera; when Michał died an uncle took Artur to England, where he received his musical education.Isaschar Fater, ''Jewish Music in Poland Between the Two World Wars'', 1970. He later returned to Warsaw and played there for various venues including nightclubs. Some of his noted compositions were the

foxtrot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a time ...

''Gdy Petersburski razem z Goldem gra'' ("When Petersburski and Gold play together") (1926), the tango ''Gdy w ogrodzie botanicznym'' ("While in the botanical garden"), ''Jesienne róże'' ("Autumn roses"), ''Nie odchodź ode mnie'' (Don't walk away from me), ''Nie wierzę ci'' ("I don't trust you'"), ''Jaśminy'' (Jasmine), ''Kwiaciarka z Barcelony'' (Flower girl from Barcelona), ''Oczy czarne'' (Black Eyes), ''Ostatni jeszcze,'' and others. Most of the lyrics were by Andrzej Włast. Artur Gold also performed with English orchestras in the 1920s and recorded for

Columbia records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. In the 1930s he also recorded several albums for the Polish "Odeon" record company.

Treblinka extermination camp

After the German and Soviet invasion on Poland in September 1939, Artur Gold was forced into the newly created Warsaw Ghetto, in which he played with an orchestra. He was deported by the Germans with thousands of fellow inmates who boarded the Holocaust trains at the Umschlagplatz in Warsaw, destined for the

gas chamber A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. Poisonous agents used include hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide. History Donatie ...

s of German Treblinka extermination camp. He was not killed upon arrival there in 1942. He played for the Nazis in their casino, at least on one occasion dressed as a clown.Monica Whitlock
Warsaw Ghetto: The story of its secret archive.
BBC News Online. He was murdered in 1943 in Treblinka. According to recollections of some of the Treblinka survivors Gold might have been killed during the uprising at Treblinka which occurred on 2 August 1943. The melody of his song ''Chodź na Pragę (Come to Praga)'' (1930) is currently played as a Hejnał of the Warsaw borough of

Praga Praga is a district of Warsaw, Poland. It is on the east bank of the river Vistula. First mentioned in 1432, until 1791 it formed a separate town with its own city charter. History The historical Praga was a small settlement located at the e ...

, each day at noon.

References

External links

Music and the Holocaust

* [https://polona.pl/search/?query=Artur_Gold&filters=creator:%22Gold,_Artur_(1897--1942)%22,creator:%22Gold,_Artur_(1897--1942)_Kompozytor%22,creator:%22Gold,_Artur_(1897--1943)%22,creator:%22Gold,_Artur_(1897--1942)_Kompozytor_%22,creator:%22Gold,_Artur__(1897--1942)%22,public:1,hasTextContent:0 Scores by Artur Gold] in digital library Polona {{DEFAULTSORT:Gold, Artur 1897 births 1943 deaths Jewish cabaret performers Polish composers Polish male violinists Polish cabaret performers Warsaw Ghetto inmates Musicians from Warsaw Jewish composers Jewish songwriters Jewish violinists Polish civilians killed in World War II Polish people who died in Treblinka extermination camp 20th-century Polish violinists 20th-century Polish comedians 20th-century Polish male musicians