COMPETITION
PATRON

Feliks Rybicki – pianist, conductor, teacher, and composer. Born on January 24, 1899, in Warsaw, died on August 24, 1978, in the same city.

In 1916, he graduated from the Górski Gymnasium in Warsaw. He studied at the Faculty of Law, Warsaw University. He began his music studies in the classes of Konstanty Heine and Wanda Zielińska-Kahlowa (piano) and Mieczysław Skolimowski (theoretical subjects). In 1919-25, he studied composition in the classes of Roman Statkowski and Witold Maliszewski, as well as conducting under the supervision of Emil Młynarski and Henryk Melcer at the State Conservatory of Music in Warsaw. In 1926, he made his debut as conductor at the Warsaw Philharmonic.

Feliks Rybicki was the artistic director of the Academic Music Circle in Warsaw for many years. He conducted in Warsaw theaters  (including the Polish Theater, where he collaborated with Leon Schiller) and Łódź. He also taught music theory and choral singing in secondary schools, as professor at music schools, he led chamber ensembles. In 1937-39, he conducted the Warsaw Philharmonic choir. He was artistically most active at Polish Radio. In 1951-53, he was professor of conducting at the State Higher School of Music in Sopot.

Feliks Rybicki received First Prize at the Polish Lyre Competition in Warsaw for Jej obraz — kartka z albumu (Her Picture — A Page from an Album), third prize at the Polish Lyric competition for Petite valse, and the first prize at the Singing Society “Echo–Macierz” competition for Opowieść o tęskniącej królewnie na chór mieszany (The Tale about a Longing Princess for mixed choir) (1931), the Prime Minister's Award for works for children (1952, 1977), the Cross of the Knights of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1956), a distinction from the Minister of Culture and Art for his pedagogical work (1959), and a third-degree state award for artistic work (1962).

His work has been collected in over 50 opus works for orchestra, vocal-instrumental and vocal pieces, chamber music and piano works. Among the latter, works of a pedagogical nature were particularly popular, e.g., Mały modernista (Little Modernist), Gram wszystko (I Play Everything), Zaczynam grać (I Begin to Play), Już gram (I Am Already Playing), and the very popular Koncert dla małych rąk (Concerto for Little Hands) in a version for piano, two string orchestras, and percussion.

Major compositions:

Her Picture for piano (1924)

Preludes for piano (before 1926)

Three Songs for voice and piano (before 1929)

Little Modernist for piano (1938)

Songbook of folk choirs for female choir (before 1939)

Cantata for the repatriation of Juliusz Słowacki's remains for 3-part mixed choir (before 1939)

I'm starting to play, easy pieces for beginners on piano (before 1946)

I'm already playing, a collection of easy pieces for piano (before 1946)

First Steps, a collection of pieces for beginners for two and four hands within a range of five tones for piano (before 1947)

Easy Male Choirs, a collection of 10 folk songs (before 1947)

Two Words, a song for voice and piano (before 1947)

I Don't Know Where From, song for voice and piano (before 1947)

I Play Everything for Piano (before 1948)

Folk Songs in Easy Arrangements for Piano (before 1949)

Album for Piano (before 1951)

Across the Wide, Beautiful World, a song for voice and piano (before 1951)

How Should I Write to the Boy, a song for voice and piano (before 1951)

Oberek for brass band (before 1951)

Poniatowski Bridge for mixed choir and piano (1951)

Murarski walc (A Bricklayer Waltz) , song for voice and piano (1951)

Twelve Easy Pieces for mixed choir (before 1952)

Excursion March for voice and piano (before 1952)

Concerto in F major for flute and orchestra (1952)

Podarek, song for voice and piano (1952)

A jak ja urosnę, song for voice (before 1953)

Zielony dąb for male or mixed choir (before 1953)

Piosenka pierwszomajowa for voice and piano (before 1953)

Na zlot [For the Rally], song for voice (before 1953)

Góry, doliny [Mountains, Valleys], song for voice and piano (before 1954)

Etudes for piano for the left hand (before 1964)

Ten nasz ogródeczek [Our Little Garden], Czech and Slovak folk songs for piano (1971)

Variations for 4 horns (before 1977)

Works of unknown date:

Sparrow for voice and piano

Moniuszkiana Op. 6, symphonic suite for orchestra

Oberek for orchestra

Three Nymphs, triptych for string orchestra

Short pieces for string orchestra

Wedding, overture on folk themes for orchestra

Mill for voice and piano

Engineer's song for voice and piano

Mountains, valleys for children's choir (or female choir)

Excursion march for children's choir (or female choir)

Gift for children's choir (or female choir)

Dawn for children's choir (or female choir)

In the Forest for children's choir (or female choir)

The Wind Blows for children's choir (or female choir)

The Royal Castle for voice and piano

Kluski for voice and piano

A jak ja urosnę for voice and piano

Suite for string orchestra

Concerto for Little Hands for piano and orchestra

Krakowiak for violin and piano

String Quartet in C major

Mazurkas for piano, Op. 17

Petite valse for piano

Gavotte for piano

Orphan Marysia and the Dwarfs, symphonic fairy tale for solo soprano, narrator, mixed and children's choir, and orchestra

Eight pieces for a cappella choir

School songbook for choir

Ten pieces for male choir

Pieces for female choir

Oj, nocko, nocko for female choir

Rusałka for female choir

The most beautiful Christmas carols for two voices

Spring reminds me of you, song for voice and piano

Dark, quiet, sad, song for voice and piano

My little path, song for voice and piano

Wedding celebrations, cantata for solo voices, mixed choir and symphony orchestra

Betrothal-Polonaise for orchestra

House of lights, song for mixed choir and piano

Seven songs for voice and piano