Tadeusz Strugała (1998)
A conductor with a well-established international reputation, he is one of the brightest graduates of the Wroclaw Academy of Music. He was born in 1935 in Katowice, where he graduated from the State Secondary Music School. He received his diploma from the State Higher School of Music in Wrocław in 1958 in the conducting class of Professor Adam Kopyciński. He remained with the university until 1975, teaching, among other things, the class of symphonic conducting.
Tadeusz Strugała's conducting career began in 1960 with his work with the State Symphony Orchestra in Opole. Subsequently, he held the posts of Director and Artistic Director of the State Philharmonic Orchestra in Wrocław (1964-80), General Manager and Artistic Director of the Great Symphony Orchestra of the Polish Radio and Television in Katowice (1975-76), General Music Director of the Presidential Symphony Orchestra in Ankara (1977-79, 1984-86). In addition, he was co-founder and conductor of the Leopoldinum Chamber Orchestra in Wrocław (1978), deputy artistic director and permanent conductor of the National Philharmonic Orchestra in Warsaw (1979-90), artistic director and first conductor of the State Philharmonic Orchestra in Kraków (1981-86), general music director of the State Symphony Orchestra in Istanbul (1989-90) and artistic director and first conductor of the New Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw (1990-93). He regularly collaborates with the Paris Symphony Orchestra FOK and served as permanent guest conductor of this orchestra from 1994-2001.
The artist's repertoire includes works by composers of all periods from the Baroque to the present day. In his work as a conductor, he achieves excellent results, taking care of the highest performance level of the orchestras he leads. The results are best exemplified by the immense popularity of the audience and musicians and great critical acclaim. Strugała also revealed his abilities in organisational activities. From the late 1960s, he co-created such Wroclaw festivals as the Festival of Polish Contemporary Music and the Festival of Organ and Harpsichord Music. In 1975-85 he was also artistic director of the International Chopin Festival in Duszniki Zdrój. In Wrocław, Strugała's name is identified primarily with the Wratislavia Cantans International Festival, which under his long-time direction (1969-96), succeeded by Andrzej Markowski, gained the rank of one of the most prestigious musical events in Europe and became a symbol of the musical culture of our city.
Tadeusz Strugała has given concerts in almost all European countries, as well as on other continents. He performed with all major Polish orchestras and with many foreign ensembles, including: Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, as well as the London Mozart Players and the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra from Tokyo. He has performed in such famous concert halls as: Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Royal Festival Hall in London, the Opera House in Sydney, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig and the Berlin Philharmonic Hall. He is invited to international music festivals every year. Under the baton of Tadeusz Strugała, most of Poland's leading soloists have performed, as well as many outstanding foreign soloists, including Maurice Andre, Victoria de los Angeles, Martha Argerich, Stefan Askenaze, Pierre Fournier, Ida Haendel, John Lill and Garrick Ohlsson.
The artist has made numerous archival radio and television recordings, as well as recordings for Polish and foreign record companies. His achievements in this field have earned him the highest marks from British and German specialist phonographic magazines. A recording of Liszt polonaises made with the Cracow Philharmonic Orchestra brought the conductor the Grand Prix du Disque Liszt (1987).
He received many awards and distinctions for his multifaceted activity and outstanding artistic achievements. In recognition of Tadeusz Strugała's great talent and his immense contribution to the development of Polish culture, and the culture of Wrocław in particular, the Senate of the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław decided to confer on its distinguished alumnus the first-ever title of Doctor Honoris Causa. The ceremony of awarding this honorary title took place in 1998, when the Academy was celebrating its 50th anniversary.