Eugenia Umińska

Eugenia Umińska (1910–1980) was a Polish violinist. She graduated from the Warsaw Conservatory in 1927 and continued her education under the guidance of Otakar Ševčík (1927–28) at the Prague Conservatory and George Enescu (1932–34) in Paris. Since 1927, Eugenia Uminska had been touring around Europe; she often performed Karol Szymanowski's works. From 1932 to 1934, Umińska was a concertmaster of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. She became a second concertmaster of Orkiestra Symfoniczna Filharmonii Narodowej in 1937. During the Nazi occupation of Poland, Eugenia Umińska refused an offer to play for the Germans and joined the Polish resistance (Armia Krajowa) as a nurse. She also organized underground concerts in the occupied Warsaw with a cellist Kazimierz Wiłkomirski and his sister Maria Wiłkomirska on piano. Eugenia participated in the Warsaw Uprising and was captured by the Germans but managed to escape during transit. After the World War II, Eugenia Umińska continued her music career and became famous for performances with Irena Dubiska. Some compositions had been written for the duo, such as a Suite for Two Violins by Michał Spisak. Eugenia also became a professor at the Academy of Music in Kraków in 1945. She served as Academy's Rector from 1964 to 1966.