Karol Szymanowski Philharmonic in Cracow.

"The first mentions of attempts to create a professional symphonic orchestra in Cracow date back to the end of the 18th century. However, a symphonic orchestra, having a status of a professional ensemble under the leadership of Feliks Nowowiejski - was established as late as in 1909 and operated, with a war break (1914 - 1918), till September 1939. During its thirty years of existence it was a division of the Trade Union of Polish Musicians in Cracow. The organisation was established in 1909 associating professional musicians working in various restaurants, cafes and mute cinemas. The Union's aim was to defend the associated musicians' welfare conditions, take care of artistic level of their production and moral level in the community. As the second objective, the Union propagated musical culture in the society by organising symphonic concerts. This activity was suspended during the World War I. The Union was reactivated in 1919. Immediately, an 80-person ensemble was created which, as a Symphonic Orchestra, inaugurated its concerting activity on 18 May that year in a performance to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Stanisław Moniuszko's birthday. In the first years after inauguration, the ensemble concerted only occasionally, but in successive seasons the number of concerts systematically increased, particularly after the subsidy granted by the city authorities in the early 1920s. There were cases that over 20 events were organised in a concert season. At that time, most often the orchestra performed with such master conductors as: Zdzisław Górzyński, Piotr Stermich-Valcrociata, Bolesław Wallek - Walewski, Adam Dołżycki, or Walerian Bierdiajew. Programmes included symphonies by: Haydn, Beethoven, Berlioz, Brahms, and Tchaikovsky; overtures and symphonic poems by: Liszt, Karłowicz, Strauss, Debussy and many other symphonic works. Also instrumental concerts were played, and oratorios. In 1937, the Management of the Music Association opened within its framework an independent section called Cracow Philharmonic. After the Music Association's resignation of the section, initiative was taken by the Cracow Concert Office of Eugeniusz Bujański running a professional musical impresarios' office and organising concerts on its own account. The orchestra was named the Cracow Symphonic Orchestra. Concerts were organised till the outbreak of World War II. The last one was held on 21 May 1939 under the leadership of Bronisław Wolfstal. Then Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and violin concert by E. Młynarski were played. Irena Dubiska was the soloist.

During the war, at the order of General Governor Hans Frank, in July 1940, an orchestra was created under the name the General Government Philharmonic. It consisted of Polish professional musicians (distinguished instrumentalists, professors of schools of music, former members of the Poznań and Warsaw Philharmonics). The only German in the orchestra was the first violin concert master, Fritz Sonnleitner. First, the orchestra was conducted by Hans Rohr with Rudolf Erb being the second conductor. After sudden death of Rohr, the position of the conductor was given to Rudolf Hindemith in 1942 (brother of composer Paul Hindemith), and in 1944 to Hans Swarowsky. In the then circumstances the orchestra constituted some sort of an enclave, oasis for musicians playing in it. Thanks to their membership cards, musicians avoided deportations to labour camps in the Reich, call-ups to Baudienst and transports to the Auschwitz concentration camp. The credit for this undoubted immunity should be given to Rohr for whom music and musicians were the supreme value. The repertoire of those times included mostly music of German and Austrian composers, e.g.: Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, or Strauss, but from 1942, after the ban to play Polish composers was lifted, also national music was played: Kurpiński, Chopin, Moniuszko, Noskowski, Karłowicz, Żeleński, etc. Paradoxically, despite so difficult conditions of work, and living "under the pressure" of the invader, at that time the orchestra was one of the best European orchestras as "an outstanding ensemble of impressive cohesion and expression capacity"."

[Source: www.filharmonia.krakow.pl]

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