M. J. Niedzielski

M. J. Niedzielski,[1] also known as Jean Niedzielski,[2] (1851 – 3 June 1925) was a Polish violinist and composer. He toured as a concert violinist throughout Europe and the United States, ultimately settling in America.[3]

Early life and education

M. J. Niedzielski was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1851.[1] He studied violin with Lambert Massart[3] and with Pablo de Sarasate at the Conservatoire de Paris.[1] A child prodigy, he made his professional concert debut at the age of 7 performing with the cellist Adrien-François Servais.[1]

Performances in Europe

Niedzielski toured widely in Europe as a concert violinist.[3] In August 1864 he made his first appearance in England at the Royal Opera House performing in a concert series organized and conducted by Alfred Mellon.[4] That same month he performed a concert in London under conductor Enrico Bevignani.[5] He performed in a concert at St James's Hall in March 1866,[6] and the following May was performing in London's Beethoven Rooms with pianist William Cusins among other musicians.[7][8] In June 1866 he performed in a concert at the Hanover Square Rooms organized by composer Francesco Berger and his wife, the contralto Annie Lascelles.[9] The following month he performed in a benefit concert organized by the London gentry at Messers. Collard's Concert-room, in Grosvenor Street. Patrons included Louisa Beresford, Marchioness of Waterford, Frances Vane, Marchioness of Londonderry, and Agnes Duff, Countess Fife among other society women.[10]

In August 1866 Niedzielski performed a concert at Birmingham Town Hall with James Stimpson as his conductor.[11] The reviewer in the Birmingham Daily Post described him as an "imitator of Henryk Wieniawski" who "displayed tastes and talent of no mean order. His tone is light, his style playful and spirited, and his execution generally very neat and finished."[12] After this he worked as a violinist in Paris,[13] before briefly returning to England in October 1868 to perform in concert with Charles Baetens at St George's Hall, Bradford.[14]

In 1874 Niedzielski was engaged as the concertmaster of an orchestra led by Edouard Audibert which performed at several venues in England, including the Royal Drill Hall, Beckett St in Derby,[15] St George's Hall, Bradford,[16] and the Assembly Rooms, Cheltenham.[17] In 1875 he toured England in concerts with mezzo-soprano Stella Bonheur, soprano Madame Sinico-Campbello, and the latter's husband, baritone Enrico Campobello (real name Henry McLean Martin) for performances in Ormskirk[18] Tunbridge Wells,[19][20] Warrington,[21] Leamington Spa,[22] Bradford,[23] and Bournemouth.[24] After this he played in the first violin section of the Royal Opera House and was concertmaster of the orchestra at the Theatre Royal, Leicester.[25]

In 1877 Niedzielski played as a solo violinist in concerts of music given by an Italian opera company led by sopranos Emma Howson and Madame Sinico, and tenor William Shakespeare.[26][27] That year he performed in concerts at the Kibble Palace in Glasgow,[28] the Exhibition Palace in Dublin,[29][30] Ulster Hall in Belfast,[31][32] Portland Hall in Southsea,[33][34] Victoria Hall in Exeter,[27] the Victoria Rooms, Bristol,[35] The Great Hall in Tunbridge Wells,[36] Kinnaird Hall in Dundee,[37] the Greenock Municipal Buildings,[38] the Bath Assembly Rooms,[39] and Music Hall in Worcester, England.[40][41] In October 1877 he accompanied soprano Emma Albani in a concert given in Brighton.[42] He was still with the Italian opera company led by Howson and company in January 1878 for performances at Victoria Hall in Carlisle.[43] In July 1879[44] and July 1880 he gave recitals at Steinway Hall in London.[45]

In 1880 Niedzielski performed in concert with the Belfast Choral Association,[46] and in performances of Rossini's Stabat Mater at the Exhibition Palace in Dublin.[47] He then appeared as a concert violinist in Spain, and was awarded the title of Knight of the Order of Isabella the Catholic by King Alfonso XII in March 1881.[48][49] By the following June he was once again back in England where he was engaged once again for concerts at Steinway Hall.[50] In July 1881 he performed in London at the convention of the British Homeopathic Society,[51] and the following October and November he performed in concerts with the Belfast Philharmonic Society.[49][52]

In June 1882 Niedzielski performed once again at London's Steinway Hall.[53] Later that year he was a member of the first violin section in the orchestra at the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival under Prosper Sainton as concertmaster and Michael Costa as conductor.[54] He concluded the year touring the United Kingdom in concerts whose chief aim was raising money for the newly created Royal College of Music.[55] One of the musicians whom he performed with on this tour was singer Frederick Bevan.[56] In October 1883 he performed a concert at Borough Hall in Guildford,[57] and that same year his violin composition Souvenir de Varsovie was published by the London publishing firm F. W. Chanot.[58]

In 1884 Niedzielski appeared in concerts at the Bath Assembly Rooms.[59] In January 1886 he performed in concerts at Prince's Hall in London.[60][61]

Later life and career in the United States

In November 1886 Niedzielski performed in concert with the Oratorio Society of Baltimore under conductor Fritz Finke.[62] He gave a concert at the Lotos Club in New York City the following month.[63] In January 1887 he performed in a concert series organized by the New York Press Club.[64] The following December he performed with the Brooklyn Choral Society at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.[65]

In January 1888 he performed in a concert at the Manhattan Athletic Club.[66] In February 1888 he performed in concert with the Caecilia Society chorus of Brooklyn.[67] The following September he performed Niccolò Paganini's variations on the Carnival of Venice" at a concert in Richmond, Virginia.[68] In November 1888 he performed in concerts at New York's Steinway Hall organized by tenor Italo Campanini,[69] and on Christmas Day 1888 he performed in a variety concert at Stillman Music Hall in Plainfield, New Jersey.[70]

In 1890 Niedzielski was appointed head of violin faculty at Albert E. Ruff's Chicago College of Vocal and Instrumental Art.[71] In March 1890 he performed in concert with Wilhelm Carl Ernst Seeboeck at Central Music Hall.[72] His photograph was featured on the front cover of The Musical Courier on November 12, 1890. He composed several works for the violin, including nocturnes, reveries, a grand bolero de concert, and "Souvenir de Varsovie".[73]

Niedzielski died in Manhattan at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital on 3 June 1925.[74]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wier 1938, p. 1307.
  2. ^ "Instruction Musical". The New York Times. December 30, 1911. p. 19.
  3. ^ a b c Straeten 1968, p. 385.
  4. ^ "Mr. Alfred Mellon's Concerts". The Morning Post. August 15, 1864. p. 4.
  5. ^ "Mons. J. Niedzielski". The Orchestra: A Weekly Review of Music and Drama. II (46). Cramer, Wood, & Co.: 734. August 13, 1864.
  6. ^ "St. James's Hall—A Grand Morning Concert". The Morning Post. March 19, 1866. p. 1.
  7. ^ "Under Royal and Distinguished Patronage". The Morning Post. May 23, 1866. p. 1.
  8. ^ "Beethoven Rooms, Harley Street". The Standard. May 31, 1866. p. 6.
  9. ^ "Mr. Francesco Berger and Mme. Berger-Lascelles Morning Concert". The Times. Jun 6, 1866. p. 1.
  10. ^ "By the Kind Permission of Messers. Collard". The Morning Post. July 3, 1866. p. 1.
  11. ^ "Birmingham". The Era. August 26, 1866. p. 12.
  12. ^ "Monday Evening Concerts". Birmingham Daily Post. August 21, 1866. p. 5.
  13. ^ "M. Niedzielski". Liverpool Daily Post. January 25, 1868. p. 1.
  14. ^ "St. George's Hall, Bradford". Telegraph & Argus. October 8, 1868. p. 1.
  15. ^ "Drill Hall, Derby". Derby Mercury. February 11, 1874. p. 8.
  16. ^ "This Evening. St. George's Hall, Bradford". The Bradford Observer. February 14, 1874. p. 1.
  17. ^ "Assembly Rooms, Cheltenham". Cheltenham Looker-On. February 21, 1874. p. 1.
  18. ^ "Ormskirk Working Men's Institute". Ormskirk Advertiser. February 4, 1875. p. 1.
  19. ^ "Grand Concert of Sacred Music". Tunbridge Wells Courier. March 5, 1875. p. 5.
  20. ^ "Grand Concert". Tunbridge Wells Courier. February 26, 1875. p. 5.
  21. ^ "Warrington". The Era. February 28, 1875. p. 7.
  22. ^ "Regent Hotel, Leamington". The Morning Post. March 1, 1875. p. 6.
  23. ^ "Saturday Night's Entertainment in St. George's Hall". The Bradford Observer. May 3, 1875. p. 3.
  24. ^ "Bournemouth". Western Gazette. April 16, 1875. p. 8.
  25. ^ "M. Niedzielski". Leicester Chronicle. September 2, 1876. p. 9.
  26. ^ "City Hall Concert". Glasgow Daily Mail. November 1, 1877. p. 4.
  27. ^ a b "La Sonnambula". Trewman's Exeter Flying Post. October 17, 1877. p. 8.
  28. ^ "Kibble Palace, Glasgow". The Herald. March 1, 1877. p. 1.
  29. ^ "Italian Promenade Concerts". Freeman's Journal and Daily Commercial Advertiser. October 30, 1877. p. 6.
  30. ^ "Exhibition Palace". Freeman's Journal and Daily Commercial Advertiser. September 3, 1877. p. 1.
  31. ^ "Belfast Choral Association". Belfast News-Letter. September 29, 1877. p. 1.
  32. ^ "Belfast Choral Association". Belfast News-Letter. October 13, 1877. p. 3.
  33. ^ "Portland Hall, Southsea". Hampshire Telegraph and Naval Chronicle. September 29, 1877. p. 4.
  34. ^ "Concert at the Portland Hall, Southsea". Hampshire Telegraph and Naval Chronicle. October 27, 1877. p. 5.
  35. ^ "Concerts at the Victoria Rooms". Western Daily Press. October 19, 1877. p. 3.
  36. ^ "A Grand Morning Concert". Tunbridge Wells Courier. October 19, 1877. p. 5.
  37. ^ "Madame Sinico in Kinnaird Hall, Dundee". The Courier and Argus. October 31, 1877. p. 1.
  38. ^ "This Evening. Town Hall, Greenock". Greenock Telegraph. November 5, 1877. p. 1.
  39. ^ "Bath. Assembly Rooms". The Era. October 21, 1877. p. 7.
  40. ^ "Music Hall". The Worcester Herald. September 8, 1877. p. 1.
  41. ^ "Mr. E. J. Sparks Grand Concert". The Worcestershire Advertiser and Agricultural Gazette. October 27, 1877. p. 5.
  42. ^ "Brighton". The Daily Telegraph. October 23, 1877. p. 1.
  43. ^ "Carlisle". The Era. January 13, 1878. p. 8.
  44. ^ "M. J. Niedzielski's Concert". The Era. July 6, 1879. p. 5.
  45. ^ "Steinway Hall". The Morning Post. July 12, 1880. p. 6.
  46. ^ "This Evening. Belfast Choral Association". Belfast News-Letter. February 20, 1880. p. 1.
  47. ^ "Exhibition Palace". The Freeman's Journal. February 16, 1880. p. 4.,
  48. ^ "Imperial Theatre". The Morning Post. March 29, 1881. p. 6.
  49. ^ a b "Belfast Philharmonic Society". Belfast News-Letter. October 11, 1881. p. 8.
  50. ^ "M. Gabriel Thorp's Concert". The Era. June 18, 1881. p. 13.
  51. ^ "The Homeopathic Convention". London Daily News. July 15, 1881. p. 6.
  52. ^ "The Philharmonic Society". Belfast News-Letter. November 8, 1881. p. 5.
  53. ^ "Steinway Hall". The Times. June 5, 1882. p. 1.
  54. ^ "Orchestra for the Birmingham Festival". The Musical World: 528. August 26, 1882.
  55. ^ "The Royal College of Music". The Gloucester Journal. October 14, 1882. p. 5.
  56. ^ "The Royal College of Music Concerts". Lichfield Mercury. November 17, 1882. p. 5.
  57. ^ "Grand Morning Concert". West Surrey Times and Guildford Gazette. October 27, 1883. p. 8.
  58. ^ "Enregristements Et Depots Des Ouvrages Publies a L'etranger". Bibliographie de la France (35): 560. September 1, 1883.
  59. ^ "Assembly Rooms, Bath". The Bath Chronicle. May 1, 1884. p. 5.
  60. ^ "Prince's Hall". The Morning Post. Jan 1, 1886. p. 1.
  61. ^ "Prince's Hall". The Times. January 11, 1886. p. 1.
  62. ^ "Oratorio Concert". The Baltimore Sun. December 1, 1886. p. 6.
  63. ^ "Business of the Clubs". The New York Times. January 2, 1887. p. 4.
  64. ^ "An Array of Talent". The Boston Globe. January 10, 1887. p. 5.
  65. ^ "Brooklyn Choral Society". The Brooklyn Citizen. December 9, 1887. p. 6.
  66. ^ "To Entertain the Athletes". The Evening World. January 11, 1888. p. 3.
  67. ^ "Musical. The Caecilia Society". The Brooklyn Daily Times. February 15, 1888. p. 2.
  68. ^ "Mozart Tomorrow Evening". Richmond Dispatch. September 23, 1888. p. 5.
  69. ^ "Campanini Operatic Concerts". New York Herald. November 14, 1888. p. 8.
  70. ^ "A Whistling Young Lady". The Courier-News. December 26, 1888. p. 1.
  71. ^ "Musical Notes". Chicago Tribune. February 16, 1890. p. 26.
  72. ^ "Musical Notes". Chicago Tribune. March 16, 1890. p. 28.
  73. ^ "Personals. M. J. Niedzielski". Musical Courier. 21 (560): 477, 480. November 12, 1890.
  74. ^ "Wills for Probate; Niedzielski, Jean". The New York Times. June 11, 1925. p. 38.

Sources

  • Straeten, Edmund S[ebastian] J[oseph] van der (1968) [1933]. The History of the Violin: Its Ancestors and Collateral Instruments From Earliest Times. Vol. II. Da Capo Press. ISBN 9780306711121.
  • Wier, Albert E., ed. (1938). "Niedzielski, M. J.". The MacMillan Encyclopedia of Music and Musicians in One Volume. The MacMillan Company.
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