FROM THE FILES OF FELIKS HALPERN, A MUSIC CRITIC (1866-1942)

Abstract

Feliks Halpern is considered one of the most important music critics who worked in d in the first decades of the 20th century. Apart from that he was an active pianist, piano teacher and composer of piano works, regular and cabaret songs. He was part of ds musical life as concert lecturer and member of numerous representative bodies. Titled Professor, he enjoyed respect in the towns music community.The article includes a few new facts and corrections related to the biography of Feliks Halpern. The main part of the discussion is devoted to his activity as a music critic. The text reports on the previous studies on his achievements which were conducted by Hanna Pitkowska-Baszczyk and Aneta Stawiszyska and which covered the publications in the ds press from the second and third decades of the 20th century. Then it analyses the articles printed in the 1930s. Based on archive music criticism texts, it singles out the views of Feliks Halpern on the topic of the role and function of music criticism, it follows their transformations and the way they were expressed. The author of the present article indicates a noticeable transformation of Halperns attitude as a reviewer: from a very firm stance during WWI, with polemical verve being a result of his belief that music criticism had a mission, to the impression-based reporting on musical life in the last years before WWII with a tinge of reflection or humour. Calling Feliks Halpern a chronicler of those times does not fully reflect the nature of his activity and achievements because he was not only a vigilant rapporteur, inquisitive commentator, and an active participant of concert life, but also thanks to his profession he had an opportunity to influence the musical community and the society, which he did many times. Even a preliminary look at his work of a music critic allows to conclude that it meets all functions attributed to that field: informing, commenting the reality and inspiring to ask questions and solve problems.