Jerzy Petersburski (20 April 1895 – 7 October 1979) was a Jewish

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

pianist and composer of popular music, renowned mostly for his

Tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...

s, some of which (such as ''

To ostatnia niedziela ''To ostatnia niedziela'' (; 1935) is one of the long-time hits of Jerzy Petersburski. A nostalgic tango with lyrics by Zenon Friedwald describing the final meeting of former lovers just before they break up. It was performed by numerous artists ...

'', ''Już nigdy'' and ''Tango milonga'' / English and German versions: '' Oh, donna Clara'') were milestones in popularization of the musical genre in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and are still widely known today, almost a century after their creation.

Early life

Jerzy Petersburski was born on 20 April 1895 into the well-known Warsaw family of Jewish musicians, (on his mother's side). He graduated from the Warsaw Conservatory, where he was taught by professor . Having graduated, Petersburski moved to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, where he continued his studies in conducting at the faculty of piano of the local Music Academy. A talented pianist, he was persuaded by his friend Imré Kálmán to devote himself to popular rather than

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

. In Vienna he also debuted as a composer for

Alexander Vertinsky Alexander Nikolayevich Vertinsky (; – May 21, 1957) was a Russian and Soviet artist, poet, singer, composer, cabaret artist and actor who exerted seminal influence on the Russian tradition of artistic singing. Early years Alexander Vertinsky ...

, a renowned Russian poet and songwriter, famous for his romances.

Return to Poland

Upon his return to

, with his cousin

Artur Gold Artur (Arthur) Gold (born 17 March 1897, Warsaw, died 1943 in Treblinka) was a Polish Jewish violinist and dance-music composer during the Interbellum. He closely collaborated with his brother Henryk Gold and with Jerzy Petersburski with who ...

, he co-founded the Petersburski & Gold Orchestra, which performed at the fashionable nightspot ''Adria''.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1k-7MGb_jQ biographical notes attached to Petersburski's song ''Ty albo zadna'' He became well known for music for

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

and theaters in

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 ...

. Among them was

Julian Tuwim Julian Tuwim (13 September 1894 – 27 December 1953), known also under the pseudonym Oldlen as a lyricist, was a Jewish-Polish poet, born in Łódź, then part of the Russian Partition. He was educated in Łódź and in Warsaw where he studied ...

's and

Marian Hemar Marian Hemar (1901–1972), born Marian Hescheles (other pen names: Jan Mariański, and Marian Wallenrod), was a Polish poet, journalist, playwright, comedy writer, and songwriter. Hemar himself stated that before the outbreak of World War II he ...

's ''Qui Pro Quo'', one of the most famous Polish cabarets of the interbellum. In late 1920s and 1930s, Petersburski became one of the most popular Polish composers as several of his songs became hits on

Polish Radio The Polish Radio (PR; Polish: ''Polskie Radio'', PR) is a national public-service radio broadcasting organization of Poland, founded in 1925. It is owned by the State Treasury of Poland. On 27 December 2023, the Minister of Culture and Nationa ...

and in music theatres throughout the country. Apart from Marian Hemar, the list of lyricists for his songs included some of the most renowned of their times:

Andrzej Włast Andrzej Włast (aka Gustaw Baumritter) (17 March 1885 – 1942 or 1943) was a Polish Jewish songwriter. He wrote the lyrics for the 1929 hit song "Tango Milonga" / "Oh, Donna Clara". He died in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. Biography ...

Emanuel Szlechter Emanuel Schlechter (pseudonyms Eman, Olgierd Lech) (Emanuel Szlechter) (9 October 1904 – 1943) was born and died in Lwów. He was a Polish-Jewish artist, lyricist, screenwriter, librettist, writer, satirist, translator, composer and director. ...

, and . Also the performers of Petersburski's songs added to his popularity: Wera Bobrowska (''Już nigdy''),

Hanka Ordonówna Hanka Ordonówna or Ordonka (born Maria Anna Pietruszyńska; 4 August 1902 in Warsaw – 8 September 1950 in Beirut) was a Polish singer, dancer and actress. Life She began her career at the age of 16 in a Warsaw cabaret named Sfinks and then ...

(''Sam mi mówiłeś''), Tola Mankiewiczówna (''Ty, miłość i wiosna''),

Ludwik Sempoliński Ludwik Sempoliński (18 August 1899 – 17 April 1981) was a Polish film actor. He appeared in twenty films between 1935 and 1966. Selected filmography * '' Jaśnie pan szofer'' (1935) * '' Barbara Radziwiłłówna'' (1936) * '' Róża'' ( ...

(''Cała przyjemność''), Chór Dana and

Mieczysław Fogg Mieczysław Fogg (born Mieczysław Fogiel; 30 May 1901, Warsaw3 September 1990, Warsaw) was a Polish singer and artist. His popularity started well before World War II and continued well into the 1980s. He had a characteristic way of staying ...

(''Bez śladu'') and

Adolf Dymsza Adolf Dymsza (born Adolf Bagiński; 7 April 1900 – 20 August 1975) was a Polish comedy actor of both the pre-World War II and post-war eras. He starred in both theatre and film productions, mainly before World War II. He and Kazimierz Krukowski ...

(''Ja i żonka ma''). Despite having composed numerous

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

es and

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 ...

s, as well as two

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

s (''Kochanka z ekranu'' and ''Robert i Bertram''), Petersburski is best known for his

tangos Tangos may refer to: * Tangos (song), "Tangos" (song), a song popularized in Spain * Tangos (district), a district or barangay in Navotas, Philippines * ''Tangos'', a 1973 album by Buenos Aires 8 * Tangos (album), ''Tangos'' (album), a 2014 album ...

. In 1928 he composed a song for Stanisława Nowicka ''Tango Milonga''. The song became a major hit and was almost instantly translated to several languages, gaining much popularity abroad, both in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and in

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(the English and German title being ''Oh, Donna Clara''. The song was sung by many foreign artists, including

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson, ; May 26, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-born American singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. Self-billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," Jolson was one of the United States' most famous and ...

, Henry Varny and

Édith Piaf Édith Giovanna Gassion (19 December 1915 – 10 October 1963), known as Édith Piaf (), was a French singer and lyricist best known for performing songs in the cabaret and modern chanson genres. She is widely regarded as France's greatest popu ...

"Another of his tango compositions that attained international recognition was ''To ostatnia niedziela (The last Sunday)'' (1933) with lyric by Zenon Friedwald describing the final meeting of former lovers who are parting. In Poland, ''To ostatnia niedziela'' is commonly and erroneously called the ''Suicide Tango'' - although the true Suicide Tango was the Hungarian art song ''Smutna niedziela (Gloomy Sunday)''. During the 1930s eterburski's tangobecame an enormous evergreen in the Soviet Union as ''Utomlyonnoye sontse'', where it was played on virtually every street corner. It was so popular, that it was considered their own Russian tune."

Petersburski also wrote music for four Polish films in the 1930s, including

Eugeniusz Bodo Eugeniusz Bodo (born Bohdan Eugène Junod; 28 December 1899 7 October 1943) was a film director, producer, singer, pianist and one of the most popular Polish actors and comedians of the interwar period. He starred in some of the most popular Pol ...

's successful ''Królowa przedmieścia'' of 1938.

Air Force Service

During the

German invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

in 1939, Petersburski was drafted into the

Polish Air Force The Polish Air Force () is the aerial warfare Military branch, branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 26,000 military personnel an ...

. After Poland was overrun by both, Nazi German and Soviet Russia, he escaped Jews-hunting Germans to the Soviet-occupied eastern part of Poland. In 1940, he was allowed to continue his career and became the leader of the ''Belarusian Jazz Orchestra'' band. He performed many of his pre-war hits with new lyrics in Russian. Among the original compositions of that time was the very popular

''Sinii Platochek'' (''The Blue Handkerchief'', Polish title ''Błękitna chusteczka'') performed by

Klavdiya Shulzhenko Klavdiya Ivanovna Shulzhenko (, ; – June 17, 1984) was a Soviet popular female singer and actress. Biography Shulzhenko started singing with jazz and pop bands in the late 1920s. She rose to fame in the late 1930s with her version of Seba ...

, which became a popular folk song under the name ''The 22 June''. Another of his popular Russian songs (performed by, among others, the

Isaak Dunayevsky Isaak Osipovich Dunayevsky ( ; also transliterated as Dunaevski or Dunaevskiy; 25 July 1955) was a Soviet film composer and conductor of the 1930s and 1940s, who composed music for operetta and film comedies, frequently working with the film dire ...

's Orchestra) was ''Utomlionnoye solntse'' (Weary sun), in fact a Russian version of his pre-war ''

''. See also

Burnt by the Sun ''Burnt by the Sun'' (, Transliteration, translit. ''Utomlyonnye solntsem'', literally "wearied by the sun") is a 1994 Russian drama film starring, directed, written, and produced by Nikita Mikhalkov and co-written by Azerbaijani screenwrite ...

. He also reorganized the Petersburski & Gold orchestra, this time together with Artur's brother

Henryk Gold Henryk Gold (19029 January 1977 in New York City, United States) was a Polish-American composer, arranger, and orchestra director. He was born in Warsaw to a musical family: his mother Helena was of the famous Warsaw klezmer Melodysta family, ...

. After the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement of 1941 he joined the

Polish II Corps The 2nd Polish Corps (), 1943–1947, was a major tactical and operational unit of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. It was commanded by Lieutenant General Władysław Anders and fought with distinction in the Italian Ca ...

under

Władysław Anders Władysław Albert Anders (11 August 1892 – 12 May 1970) was a Polish military officer and politician, and prominent member of the Polish government-in-exile in London. Born in Krośniewice-Błonie, then part of the Russian Empire, he serv ...

. Evacuated from the Soviet Union with the rest of the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, he moved to

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

where he started working for the Polish Radio. In 1947 he traveled, via Palestine, to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, where he had a piano duo with his friend from pre-war Poland, also a Polish Jewish composer, Alfred Schuetz. From 1948 to 1968 he lived in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, working with 'Radio El Mundo' in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. During this time, he composed the hit song ''All Roads Lead to Buenos Aires'', part of which became a famous radio jingle. He also co-led ''the El Nacional theatre orchestra'' with the famous Polish-Jewish cabaret actor Lopek ( Kazimierz Krukowski). After the death of his wife Maria Minkowska during the earthquake in 1967, Petersburski moved to

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

and in 1968 returned to Poland. In 1968, after resettling in his beloved Warsaw, he married Sylwia Klejdysz, an opera singer. His son, Jerzy Petersburski Jr., was born in 1969. Jerzy Petersburski died in Warsaw in 1979.

Decorations

*1936: Gold Cross of Merit: citation: "the first Polish composer whose music crossed our borders".JERZY PETERSBURSKI. kompozytor, pianista, dyrygent, legenda polskiej muzyki rozrywkowej.
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Death

Jerzy Petersburski died on 7 October 1979 in Warsaw and is buried in

Powązki Cemetery Powązki Cemetery (; ), also known as Stare Powązki (), is a historic necropolis located in Wola district, in the western part of Warsaw, Poland. It is the most famous cemetery in the city and one of the oldest, having been established in 179 ...

in Warsaw.

References

External links

Tango in Poland - Culture.pl
*

orchestra * music Jerzy Petersburski, lyrics

* From movie ''Co mój mąż robi w nocy? (What Does My Husband Do at Night?)'' music by Jerzy Petersburski, lyrics Emanuel Schlechter * lyrics by

, sung by

Tadeusz Olsza Tadeusz Olsza (3 December 1895 – 1 June 1975), born Tadeusz Blomberg, was a Polish film and stage actor, cabaret singer, dancer and director born in Warsaw. From 1915 to 1917, he taught vocal classes at Warsaw Conservatory. Starting in 1921 he ...

* sung by

Stefan Witas Stefan Witas (born 21 June 1908 in Warsaw, died 18 August 2006 in Warsaw), also known as Stefan Nowita, was a Polish actor and singer. In 1933, he began performing at places of entertainment in Warsaw, then in theatrical stages in many Polish cit ...

Tango in Poland

List of some of the Polish tangos

Argentine Tango in Poland - BlauTango portal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petersburski, Jerzy 1895 births 1979 deaths 20th-century Polish Jews Jewish cabaret performers Jewish songwriters Polish composers 20th-century Polish pianists Tango musicians Polish cabaret performers Musicians from Warsaw Burials at Powązki Cemetery 20th-century Polish comedians