Joachim Grubich

Joachim Grubich
Grubich in 1985
Born
Joachim Antoni Grubich

(1935-01-16)16 January 1935
Chełmno, Poland
Died16 August 2025(2025-08-16) (aged 90)
Occupations
  • Concert organist
  • Academic teacher
OrganizationChopin University of Music
AwardsGloria Artis Medal for Merit to Culture

Joachim Antoni Grubich (16 January 1935 – 16 August 2025) was a Polish concert organist who performed internationally and an academic teacher. He served as head of the department of organ and harpsichord at the Academy of Music in Warsaw. He participated in the reconstruction of the organ in St. Anne's Church in Warsaw, and the building of a new organ in the Philharmonic Hall.

Life and career

Grubich was born on 16 January 1935 in Chełmno,[1][2] where he attended the Nicolaus Copernicus Primary and Secondary School.[3] From 1956 to 1961, he studied at the State Higher School of Music in Kraków,[1][4] under Artur Malawski, Ludwik Stefański and Bronisław Rutkowski.[5] In 1961, he began working in the music department of Radio Kraków.[5] He returned to the Academy to teach, starting in 1964, and became a full-time professor.[3]

He became professor at the Academy of Music in Warsaw, where he also served as the head of the department of organ and harpsichord.[3] He was a visiting professor of postgraduate studies in Seoul from 1994 to 1995.[3][1][6]

As a performer, he made his debut at the International Organ Festival in Oliwa in 1960.[3] He garnered international recognition upon winning the National Early Music Competition in Łódź in 1961. He achieved the first prize of the Geneva International Music Competition the following year.[7] He performed with symphony orchestras in Poland and abroad, in halls such as the Royal Festival Hall in London, De Doelen in Rotterdam, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Konzerthaus Berlin, Victoria Hall in Geneva, Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California, and Strasbourg Cathedral.[3][7] He appeared in television programs in Poland, Romania and the United States, and served as a juror of organ competitions around the world.[3]

Grubich recorded more than 30 albums.[8] He participated in the reconstruction of the organ in St. Anne's Church in Warsaw,[1][7][9] and in the building of new instruments in Warsaw's Philharmonic Hall.[7][1] His album "Organs of St. Anne's Church in Warsaw" (Organy kościoła św. Anny w Warszawie) was nominated for the 1996 Fryderyk Award as the Album of the Year – Solo Music in the classical music category.[10] In 2004, he won the same award for the album "An Organ Evening in the Lublin Philhamonic" („Wieczór organowy w Filharmonii Lubelskiej”).[11]

In 2015, Grubich was awarded the gold medal of the Gloria Artis Medal for Merit to Culture.[7][12]

In March 2025, he was bestowed the Golden Fryderyk Award, an honorary lifetime achievement award for his career as a musician, educator, and leader in Polish organ music.[13][14][8]

Grubich died on 16 August 2025, at the age of 90.[2][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Joachim Grubich". Grand Orgues de Chartres. 2025. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Professor Joachmi Grubich has passed away". chopin.edu.pl (in Polish). Chopin University of Music. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Szkoła – Absolwenci". zso1chelmno.edupage.org (in Polish). Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  4. ^ "Zmarł śp. prof. Joachim Grubich" [The late Professor Joachim Grubich has passed away]. Akademia Muzyczna im. Krzysztofa Pendereckiego w Krakowie (in Polish). Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  5. ^ a b Ciupka, Mateusz (17 August 2025). "Joachim Grubich (1935–2025)". ruchmuzyczny.pl (in Polish). Ruch Muzyczny. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  6. ^ "Akademia Muzyczna im. Fryderyka Chopina – Aktualności: honoris causa 2007". www.chopin.edu.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 30 June 2007. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Odszedł Joachim Grubich, pionier muzyki organowej w Polsce – Dwójka". Polskie Radio (in Polish). 17 August 2025. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Fryderyk Awards 2025 – Classical Music Winners Announced". polishmusic.usc.edu. Polish Music Center, USC Thornton School of Music. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  9. ^ "Joachim Grubich | Życie i twórczość | Artysta". Culture.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  10. ^ "Nominees and winners 1996". fryderyki.pl (in Polish). Fryderyk. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  11. ^ "Nominees and winners 2004". fryderyki.pl (in Polish). Fryderyk. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  12. ^ "MKiDN - Medal Zasłużony Kulturze - Gloria Artis". mkidn.gov.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 4 October 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  13. ^ "Laureaci Fryderyków 2025 - muzyka klasyczna - FRYDERYKI 2025 [2025 Fryderyk Laureates – Classical Music]". fryderyki.pl (in Polish). Fryderyk. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  14. ^ "Poznaliśmy pierwszych laureatów Fryderyków [We met the first Fryderyk laureates]". CGM.pl (in Polish). Daily Music Newspaper. 11 March 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
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