Czyz, Henryk

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Czyż, Henryk

Czyż, Henryk , Polish conductor and composer; b. Grudziadz, June 16, 1923. He studied law at Torun Univ.; then went to the Poznan Academy of Music, where he studied conducting with Bierdiajew and composition with Szeligowski. In 1952 he was appointed conductor at the Poznán Opera; from 1953 to 1956 he conducted the Polish Radio and Television Sym. Orch. in Katowice. He was subsequently chief conductor of the ód Phil. (1957–60); from 1964 to 1968 he conducted the Kraków Phil.; from 1971 to 1974 served as Generalmusikdirektor of the Diisseldorf Sym. Orch.; from 1972 to 1980 he was again chief conductor of the ód Phil. He made his American debut with the Minn. Orch. in 1973. In 1980 he became a prof, at the Warsaw Academy of Music. Among his works were the stage pieces Biaowosa (The Girl with the Flaxen Hair; Warsaw, Nov. 24, 1962; rev. version, 6d, Oct. 2, 1971); Knyolog w rozterce (Cynologist at a Loss; Polish TV, 1965; stage premiere, Karkow, Nov. 19, 1967), and Inge Bartsch (Warsaw, Dec. 11, 1982); several orch. works, including Etude (1949) and Symphonic Variations (1952), etc.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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