Jerzy Petersburski
Polish actor and musician (1895-1979)
Jerzy Petersburski (20 April 1895 – 7 October 1979) was a Jewish Polish pianist and composer of popular music, renowned mostly for his Tangos, some of which (such as To ostatnia niedziela, Już nigdy and Tango milonga / English and German versions: Oh, donna Clara) were milestones in popularization of the musical genre in Poland and are still widely known today, almost a century after their creation.
Early life
Jerzy Petersburski was born on 20 April 1895 into the well-known Warsaw family of Jewish musicians, Melodysta family (on his mother's side). He graduated from the Warsaw Conservatory, where he was taught by professor Antoni Sygietyński. Having graduated, Petersburski moved to Vienna, where he continued his studies in conducting at the faculty of piano of the local Music Academy. A talented pianist, he was persuaded by his friend Imré Kálmán to devote himself to popular rather than classical music. In Vienna he also debuted as a composer for Alexander Vertinsky, a renowned Russian poet and songwriter, famous for his romances.
Return to Poland
Upon his return to Poland, with his cousin Artur Gold, he co-founded the Petersburski & Gold Orchestra, which performed at the fashionable nightspot Adria. He became well known for music for cabaret and theaters in Warsaw. Among them was Julian Tuwim's and Marian Hemar's Qui Pro Quo, one of the most famous Polish cabarets of the interbellum. In late 1920s and 1930s, Petersburski became one of the most popular Polish composers as several of his songs became hits on Polish Radio and in music theatres throughout the country.
The public source identifies “Jerzy Petersburski” as polish actor and musician (1895-1979). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Jerzy, Petersburski and Polish.
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Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1368401. VIAF identifies the subject as 59287287. The Library of Congress control number is n2011077643. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1895 and 1979.
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This entry incorporates text from “Jerzy Petersburski” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.