The history of the Arthur Rubinstein Lodz Philharmonic Orchestra begins on February 17th  in 1915. Back then,  at ‘The Great’  theatre ( which is non-existent today)  on then called  Konstantynowska Street the Grand Symphonic Concert took place ‘for the benefit of poor musicians’. It was organized by the pianist, Tadeusz Mazurkiewicz, a conductor and composer, amateur violinist and the owner of compositions of notes created by Joseph Friedberg and Gotlib Teschner, the  owner of a bookshop and a musical instruments store as well as  a cello teacher. Sixty professionals and amateurs participated in the concert.

The concert turned out to be a successful event therefore it was decided to continue the venture under the name of  ‘The Lodz Symphonic Orchestra’. A temporary board of directors was appointed and Tadeusz Mazurkiewicz became the Artistic Director. 

This was the beginning of a long road for the band to establish its own headquarters and its permanent orchestra status.

The prospects of settling down appeared  on April 16 in 1915 when The Lodz Symphony Orchestra fell under the patronage of the local industrialist Karol Wilhelm Scheilbler. Since then the rehearsals took place in the The Culture Centre at Dzielna Street, erected  in 1887 by Ignacy Vogel and where the first concert (the fifth one since the foundation of the band)  took place.

In summer seasons the orchestra performed at Staszic park at 60 Dzielna Street, an exclusive Helenow Park  and  The Grand Hotel yard. The concerts were organised by the orchestra, local associations as well as  Polish and foreign impresarios. One of them was Alfred Strauch who around 1918 became the owner of the building and took over its management. At the beginning of the 1921/1922 season the building was renamed to ‘Philharmonic’. At that time also, the orchestra changed its name to ‘The Lodz Philharmonic Orchestra’. The cooperation with Alfred Strauch went smoothly on and off for many years. It was ended by Strauch’s suicide in 1934. Since then the orchestra’s activities almost came to an end. The orchestra found itself  at a disadvantage having a serious competitor – The Association of  Christian Musicians Orchestra based in the YMCA. 

The city authorities seeking to restore the ‘The Philharmonic’ activities turned to Warsaw Conservatory for help in creating one professional orchestra from the two bands performing in town. Due to the initiative of  Tomas Kiesewetter in Spring 1938 the artistic side of the bands was brought to a higher level. Followed by a joint concert it seemed to be a start of a promising cooperation. However, the venture failed to succeed due to the outbreak of World War II.

After the end of the war  The Lodz Philharmonic was the first in the entire country to resume  its concerts. However, the old building of   the ‘The Philharmonic’ had to be renovated so the first post-war concert took place at the temporary headquarters of The Lodz Philharmonic – at the Baltyk cinema auditorium  on June 15 in 1945.  The orchestra was led by the director  and conductor Zdzislaw Gorzynski with Zbigniew Drzewiecki - the pianist,  as the  soloist.

The opening  ceremony of the first  permanent Lodz Philharmonic headquarter in history did not occur until  June 4 in 1948. The joy did not last long – due to the poor technical condition and safety issues of the building it was closed in the late 80s of the 20th century. 

Fortunately, the gloomy forecasts  for the orchestra did not happen and  the continuously operating institution moved into a new building, erected in the place of the former Culture Centre building in December 2004 thus continuing the artistic history of the place. The Lodz philharmonic was created by the worldly acclaimed piano artists: Aleksander Michalowski, Maurycy Rosenthal, Zbigniew Drzewiecki, Jozef Hoffman, Raul Koczalski, Wanda Landowska Witold Malcuzynski, Henryk Melcer, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Arhtur Rubinstein, Camille Saint-Saëns, Karol Szymanowski, the violinists, including among others: Stanislaw Barcewicz, Bronislaw Huberman, Pawel Kochanski, Pablo Sarasate, Dawid and Igor Ojstrach, the cellist Leopold Roztropowicz, Eli Kochanski, huge vocal voices such as: Marcelina Sembrich-Kochanska, Ada Sari, Adam Didur, Ignacy Dygas, Wladyslaw Mierzwinski and many others. The concerts were conducted by  (among others): Walerjan Bierdjajew, Henryk Czyz, Antoni Wit, Bogdan Wodiczko and Krzysztof Penderecki. 
 
Bozena Pellowska – Chudobinska
The Lodz  Philharmonic Orchestra Archivist
 Copying on author’s approval only
b.pellowska.chudobinska@filharmonia.lodz.pl