Konstanty Antoni Gorski

Konstanty Gorski was a Polish composer, violinist, organist and music teacher. He was born in Lida, then part of the Russian Empire, and began his musical education in Warsaw and St. Petersburg. He studied violin with Leopold Auer and composition with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. He traveled extensively in Russia and Georgia, performing as a soloist and conductor. In 1890, he settled in Kharkov, where he taught at the Kharkov Musical Secondary School, founded the Polish and Church Choir, and became a respected interpreter of Tchaikovsky's works. He was also a social activist and a co-founder of the Polish House cultural organization in Kharkov. After the October Revolution in 1917, he returned to Poland with his family. He first worked as a taper in cinemas in Warsaw, and then moved to Poznań, where he became the concertmaster of the Great Theatre orchestra. He died of a heart attack in 1924. His opera Margier was staged in Poznań Opera in 1927, three years after his death. He also composed a Missa Solemnis, a symphonic poem Vicious Circle, an Organ Fantasy, and many songs and instrumental pieces. He is regarded as one of the most prominent Polish composers of his time.