Emil Młynarski

(1870, Kibarty [Poland] – 1935, Warsaw [Poland])

Emil Młynarski was a Polish violinist, conductor, composer, and educator. At the age of 10, he entered the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, where he studied under Leopold Auer (violin) and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (instrumentation), among others. After graduating with honors in 1889, he began performing with the local Music Society Orchestra and also became the second violinist in Auer's string quartet. However, the following year, in 1890, he ceased his chamber music and orchestral work to focus on his career as a soloist. Over the next few years, his performance tours took him to various cities across Europe, both East and West, primarily in what are now Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

In 1893, Młynarski concluded his solo career and began teaching as an instructor of the violin class at the Odessa Music Society. Concurrently, he was involved in directing the orchestra and organizing and managing a string quartet. In 1898, his Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 11, received a prestigious award at the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Composition Competition held in Leipzig.

In 1900, Emil Młynarski was appointed director of the newly established Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. For several years thereafter, he toured extensively, conducting orchestras in Russia, England, and Scotland. From 1918 to 1929, he remained in Warsaw, serving as director of the Conservatory and as director and conductor of the Warsaw Opera.

From 1929, Młynarski resided in the United States, where he served as dean of the orchestral and opera departments at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and also as director of the local opera house. He toured North America for just under three years but fell ill and returned to Poland in 1931. He died in Warsaw in 1935.

Major Works

• Album Leaf for piano, Op. 1
• Romance for piano, Op. 3
• Polonaise, Slavonic Lullaby, Humoresque for violin and piano, Op. 4
• Krakowiak, Nocturne, Fleeting Moments for piano, Op. 5
• Reverie, Musette, Reminiscence for violin and piano, Op. 6 (1893)
• Mazurka in G major and Mazurka in A major for violin and piano, Op. 7
• Schlaf ein (Song with piano accompaniment)
• Ambrosische Nacht (Song with piano accompaniment)
• Piano Sonata (before 1895)
• Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 11 (c. 1897)
• Opera Ligia based on Henryk Sienkiewicz's Quo Vadis [unfinished] (c. 1898)
• Opera In vino veritas [unfinished] (c. 1900)
• Symphony in F major 'Polonia', Op. 14 (1910)
• Opera A Summer Night (1913)
• Fly, Eagles! for solo voice and orchestra (c. 1915)
• Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 16 (c. 1916)
• Cantata-Ballad Come, Polish Peasants! (c. 1916)
• Ancient Melodies (Orchestral work)
• The Commander's Song (Song with piano accompaniment)
• The Shepherd to Zosia (Song with piano accompaniment)
• Festive Fanfare (Orchestral work) (1925)