Georges Martin Witkowski

Georges Martin Witkowski (6 January 1867, Mostaganem, French Algeria – 12 August 1943, Lyon) was a French conductor and composer of classical music.

Portrait of Georges Martin Witkowski with his wife

Witkowski started out in the army, becoming a cavalry officer and meeting Louis Vierne during that time.[1] He later studied with Vincent d'Indy at the Schola Cantorum of Paris, and, after settling in Lyon, was appointed director of the conservatory there in 1924.[2]

He founded the "Société des Grands Concerts in Lyon, forerunner of the Orchestre National de Lyon, which organized hundreds of concerts and introduced to the public the creations of French composers such as Pierre de Bréville, Jacques Ibert, Paul Le Flem, André Caplet, Albert Roussel, Francis Poulenc, Jean Roger-Ducasse, Henri Rabaud, Pierre-Octave Ferroud and Adrien Rougier, as well as works by Foreign composers such as Igor Stravinsky, Isaac Albéniz, Sergei Prokofiev, Arthur Honegger, Ottorino Respighi, Alexandre Glazounov, etc.

His son was the conductor and cellist Jean Witkowski.[3][4]

The list of Georges Martin Witkowski's compositions includes two symphonies and three operas among other works.[3]

References
  1. Smith, p. 307.
  2. Smith, p. 306.
  3. Biography at Schola Witkowski site.
  4. Jean Witkowski succeeded Georges Martin as director of the Conservatory, is mentioned by Poulenc and Messiaen in their correspondence, and was the dedicatee of Robert Casadesus' cello sonata op. 22 of 1935-6 - see "Description of Casadesus Cello Sonata" (in French). Retrieved 2009-01-07.

Bibliography
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