Witold Maliszewski

Witold Maliszewski (Russian: Витольд Осипович Малишевский, Ukrainian: Вітольд Йосифович Малишевський), (20 July 1873, Mohyliv-Podilskyi – 18 July 1939, Zalesie), was a Polish composer, founder and first Rector of Odessa Conservatory, and a professor of Warsaw Conservatory.

Maliszewski graduated from Saint Petersburg Conservatory, in the class of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. He was a member of the composer group known as M. Belyayev's Circle. In 1913 he became a founder and the first Rector of the Odessa Conservatory, which gave the world a number of outstanding musicians, such as David Oistrakh, Emil Gilels and Yakov Zak.

After the Russian revolution, because of the imminent threat of Bolshevik persecution, Maliszewski immigrated to Poland in 1921. In 1925–1927 he was teaching at the Chopin Music School and was the Director of the Warsaw Music Society. In 1927 he served as Chairman of the First International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition. From 1931 to 1934 Maliszewski was the Director of the Music Department at the Polish Ministry of Education. From 1931 to 1939 he was a Professor at the Warsaw Conservatory.