Feliks Nowowiejski was born, the fifth of eleven siblings, in Wartenburg [now Barczewo, near Olsztyn] in 1877.
In 1883 he became a pupil at the elementary school in the rectory of St. Anne's Church. After that he entered the convent school in Heiligelinde, where he was taught harmony, violin, cello, French horn, piano, and organ.
In 1893 he became a violinist in the orchestra of the Prussian Regiment of Grenadiers, a development that enabled him to assist his parents and siblings. He composed works for military bands and amateur orchestras.
He next completed a three-month course in counterpoint, Palestrina, and Gregorian chant at the College of Catholic Church Music and Musical Education in Regensburg and took lessons from Dvorák in Prague. He subsequently studied at the Stern Conservatory in Berlin, learning theory and counterpoint, composition, and Gradus ad Parnassum, simultaneously perfecting his organ technique and playing in the orchestra.
For his oratorio Return of the Prodigal Son, Nowowiejski won his first Giacomo Meyerbeer Prize. With the 4,500 marks of prize money, he financed an educational tour of Germany, Bohemia, Moravia, Austria, Italy, Africa, France and Belgium.
He was director of the Kraków Music Society from 1909 to 1914, and from 1919 he taught at conservatories in Berlin and Poznan, where he was professor of church music and organ.
Nowowiejski’s earliest works, among them the first two symphonies, are in a Germanic style considerably influenced by Bruch and Dvorák. Thereafter he began to draw on newer techniques.
His greatest successes did come from his more eclectic works, such as the large-scale oratorio Quo Vadis, after Sienkiewicz’s celebrated novel. First performed at Amsterdam in 1909, this work was soon repeated over 200 times in 150 cities throughout Europe and the colonies.
His principal achievement:
Beatrice (symphonic poem), 1903
Ellenai (symphonic poem), 1915
Symphony no. 1, 1903, withdrawn and lost
Symphony no. 2, opus 15, 1904
Symphony no. 3, 1937
Symphony no. 4, 1939
Symphony no. 5, 1941
9 organ symphonies opus 45 (circa 1929–31)
4 organ concertos opus 56 (circa 1930–40)
In paradisum, poem for organ, 1941
Cello concerto, opus 55, 1938
Piano concerto, opus 60, 1941
The Return of the Prodigal Son, oratorio opus 3, 1901
Quo vadis, oratorio opus 30, 1909
The Founding of the Holy Cross, oratorio opus 14, 1905
Opera, The Emigrants, 1917
Opera, The Legend of the Baltic, opus 28, 1924
Ballet, The King of the Winds, opus 37, 1929
Missa pro pace, male voices, 1941
a string quartet
In 1883 he became a pupil at the elementary school in the rectory of St. Anne's Church. After that he entered the convent school in Heiligelinde, where he was taught harmony, violin, cello, French horn, piano, and organ.
In 1893 he became a violinist in the orchestra of the Prussian Regiment of Grenadiers, a development that enabled him to assist his parents and siblings. He composed works for military bands and amateur orchestras.
He next completed a three-month course in counterpoint, Palestrina, and Gregorian chant at the College of Catholic Church Music and Musical Education in Regensburg and took lessons from Dvorák in Prague. He subsequently studied at the Stern Conservatory in Berlin, learning theory and counterpoint, composition, and Gradus ad Parnassum, simultaneously perfecting his organ technique and playing in the orchestra.
For his oratorio Return of the Prodigal Son, Nowowiejski won his first Giacomo Meyerbeer Prize. With the 4,500 marks of prize money, he financed an educational tour of Germany, Bohemia, Moravia, Austria, Italy, Africa, France and Belgium.
He was director of the Kraków Music Society from 1909 to 1914, and from 1919 he taught at conservatories in Berlin and Poznan, where he was professor of church music and organ.
Nowowiejski’s earliest works, among them the first two symphonies, are in a Germanic style considerably influenced by Bruch and Dvorák. Thereafter he began to draw on newer techniques.
His greatest successes did come from his more eclectic works, such as the large-scale oratorio Quo Vadis, after Sienkiewicz’s celebrated novel. First performed at Amsterdam in 1909, this work was soon repeated over 200 times in 150 cities throughout Europe and the colonies.
His principal achievement:
Beatrice (symphonic poem), 1903
Ellenai (symphonic poem), 1915
Symphony no. 1, 1903, withdrawn and lost
Symphony no. 2, opus 15, 1904
Symphony no. 3, 1937
Symphony no. 4, 1939
Symphony no. 5, 1941
9 organ symphonies opus 45 (circa 1929–31)
4 organ concertos opus 56 (circa 1930–40)
In paradisum, poem for organ, 1941
Cello concerto, opus 55, 1938
Piano concerto, opus 60, 1941
The Return of the Prodigal Son, oratorio opus 3, 1901
Quo vadis, oratorio opus 30, 1909
The Founding of the Holy Cross, oratorio opus 14, 1905
Opera, The Emigrants, 1917
Opera, The Legend of the Baltic, opus 28, 1924
Ballet, The King of the Winds, opus 37, 1929
Missa pro pace, male voices, 1941
a string quartet