Ukrainian-Polish composer, conductor, and teacher. Born in Lviv, Ukraine, on July 4, 1890, Adam Soltys began studying music at the age of six.
Life and work
His parents were the first music teachers of the future prominent composer: Mieczysław Soltys, who taught him to play the violin, and his mother, Józefa from Morawiecki, who taught him to play the piano. After his mother's death, Adam Soltys continued his studies, and in 1899 he became a student at the GTM Conservatory (violin class under the direction of Mauritsius Wolfsthal), and studied theoretical disciplines under the guidance of his father M. Soltys.
In 1911, after graduating from the Conservatory and the German Gymnasium, A. Soltys continues his studies abroad in Charlottenburg (today a district of Berlin) under the guidance of R. Kahn. He studied at the University of Berlin (in particular with Johannes Wolf), the Royal Academy of Music (composition by Karl Wolf, conducting by Robert Krazel), and from 1914 at the Academy of Arts, in the master class of Georg Schumann. In Berlin, the composer's first mature works were created, in particular the Piano Variations Op. 4, Violin Sonata (I part), and the romances Spring and Parish. During the entire period of his studies, the young artist directed choirs that operated within the framework of the Polish Harmony Music Society; he also performed as a violinist and violist in a local choir. Berlin. In 1919, Soltys became a professor at the Polish Music Society, a follower of the GTM in Lviv. At the Conservatory of the Polish Music Society (PMS), Adam Soltys teaches all musical and theoretical disciplines, immediately gaining fame as a talented teacher. He also directed the Opera School (founded by Mieczysław Soltys) and the orchestra class. In 1920, the artist returned to Berlin, where in 1921 he defended his doctoral dissertation and was awarded a doctorate in philosophy at the university, and from 1924 (during his father's lifetime) he conducted almost all of the PMS concerts, achieving great success.
After returning to Lviv in 1921, the young composer began a period of intense, multifaceted musical activity. Adam Soltys worked at the Lviv Conservatory. The priority sphere of the artist's conducting activity is the popularization of the most outstanding works of our time. In particular, in 1928, A. Soltys conducted K. Szymanowski's Symphony No. 3 "Song of the Night," which was the world premiere of the work with the full orchestra. The composer of "Song of the Night" himself came to this concert, and since then, A. Soltys and K. Szymanowski have been friends (Adam Soltys's "Gural Suite" was influenced by Szymanowski's work). After his father's death in 1929, Adam Soltys became the rector of the PMT Conservatory, and in 1936 he became the head of the music department of the Lviv Polish Radio, and was regularly published as a music critic. In the early 1930s, on the initiative of Adam Soltys and with his active participation, the Lviv Philharmonic was reactivated, which he headed as its chief conductor in 1933.
In 1932, the artist was awarded the Golden Cross of Merit for his outstanding achievements in the development of Lviv's musical culture. In the same year, Adam Soltys prepared performances of Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms, Oneger's Oedipus Rex, Kodály's Psalmus Hungarikus, and others. Thanks to A. Soltys, masterpieces of previous musical eras were performed in Lviv, including music by Bach, symphonies by Beethoven, Bruckner, Dvorak, and Mahler. In the postwar years, A. Soltys continued to teach theoretical disciplines and composition at the Mykola Lysenko Conservatory in Lviv, which had already become a state conservatory by that time, and the composer's teaching activities continued literally until the last days of his life. Adam Soltys conducted concerts of the Lviv State Philharmonic from time to time until 1956. That was the time when the composer's most important works were created, including the Second Symphony (1946), the symphonic poem "Slavs" written in 1947, the Concerto for Orchestra, and chamber music.
In 1953, A. Soltys was awarded the honorary title of Honored Artist. Adam Soltys died in Lviv on July 6, 1968. The composition class of A. A. Soltys's composition class was attended by prominent composers, including: Myroslav Skoryk, Andrzej Nikodemovych, Hennadii Liashenko, and others. The artist's oeuvre includes works of various genres, with compositions for symphony orchestra taking center stage. Adam Soltys is the author of the ballet "Lion's Heart" (1930), 2 symphonies (1927 and 1946), symphonic poems, including "Slavs" (1950), Overture - "Festive" (1950), "For Peace" (1953), and others, 2 pieces for violin and piano (1947), chamber, symphonic, piano works, romances, arrangements of Ukrainian and Polish folk songs. Music for the play "The Stone Guest" by Lesia Ukrainka.
He died in Lviv, buried at Lychakiv Cemetery, field #72.
He was the author of:
ballet "Lion's Heart" - 1930,
2 symphonies - 1927 and 1946,
symphonic poems, including "Slavs" (1950),
overtures - "Festive", 1950,
"For Peace", 1953, and others,
2 pieces for violin and piano - 1947,
chamber, symphonic, piano works,
romances, arrangements of Ukrainian and Polish folk songs.
music for the play "The Fireplace Master" by Lesia Ukrainka.
