In the latter quarter of the twentieth century,
Antoni Wit was often called by critics one of the most underrated conductors of his time. Indeed, he had numerous acclaimed recordings to his credit and held distinguished conducting posts in Poland, but remained largely little known until the new century. Perhaps he had unwittingly impeded his career by championing the music of many contemporary Polish composers:
Penderecki,
Wojciech Kilar, Krysztof Meyer, Eugeniusz Knapik, and a long list of others. But then
Wit's choice of repertory ultimately had been, and remains, broad, with particular focus on the works of
Schumann,
Brahms,
Tchaikovsky,
Mahler,
Rachmaninov,
Bartók,
Prokofiev, and a spate of others.
Wit has made over 100 recordings, mostly for the Naxos label. He also teaches conducting at the Warsaw-based
Frédéric Chopin University of Music.
Antoni Wit was born in Krakow, Poland, February 7, 1944. He enrolled at the Krakow Academy of Music, where his most important teachers were Henryk Czyz (conducting) and
Penderecki (composition). He had further training in Paris at the Ecole Normale de Musique with
Pierre Dervaux, and then studied composition with
Nadia Boulanger (1967-1968).
From 1967-1969
Wit was an assistant to
Witold Rowicki at the
Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. After further studies in conducting at Tanglewood with
Stanislaw Skrowaczewski and
Seiji Ozawa in 1973,
Wit was appointed artistic director of the Pomeranian Philharmonic Orchestra (Poland), holding the post from 1974-1977.
Wit next served as director of the Krakow-based Polish Radio and Television Orchestra and Chorus from 1977-1983. During his tenure there,
Wit premiered many important new works, including the
Penderecki Lacrimosa (1980).
From 1983-2000
Wit served as director of the
National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Katowice. It was with this ensemble that
Wit has made most of his recordings. His 2000 Naxos CD of
Messiaen's Turangalîla Symphony, with the
National Polish RSO, received the Cannes Classical Award at Midem Classique 2002.
During the 1980s and '90s,
Wit also actively freelanced across the globe, conducting major orchestras in Berlin, Dresden, London, Dublin, Rome, Budapest, Barcelona, Tokyo, Montreal, and Mexico City.
Wit also conducted the
Orquestra Filharmónica de Gran Canaria from 1987, first as artistic director (until 1988), then as visiting conductor (1988-1992).
From 2002
Wit has served as general and artistic director of the
Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra. Among
Wit's recordings is the 2008 Naxos CD of Volume 1 of the Symphonic Poems of Mieczyslaw Karlowicz. In 2008, his Naxos recording of
Penderecki's Symphony No. 7, with the Warsaw National Philharmonic Choir and the
Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of best choral performance.