George de Godzinsky

Who was George de Godzinsky?

George de Godzinsky was a Russian-Finnish composer and conductor. Godzinsky is known from his Schlager music although he composed music for movies and operettas.

De Godzinsky was born to a multicultural family; his father had Polish, Czech, Georgian and Romanian ancestry; on his mothers side de Godzinsky was of Swiss and Dutch descent.

George de Godzinsky's father was a Saint Petersburg-based civil servant and businessman who had strong ties to customers in Finland. During the Russian revolution the family escaped to Finland.

Between 1930 and 1937 de Godzinsky attended the Helsinki Conservatory. In 1935–36 de Godzinsky joined, as the lead pianist, the legendary opera singer Feodor Chaliapin on his renowned Far East tour. De Godzinsky performed with Chaliapin in fiftyseven concerts in Manchuria, China and Japan. In 1939 Godzinsky emarked on a career that would make him the chief conductor at a number of prominent Scandinavian theaters such as the Swedish Theatre, Helsinki, the Royal Dramatic Theatre, Stockholm, and the Gothenburg City Theatre, Gothenburg.