Feliks Janiewicz, in English often Felix Yaniewicz (Vilnius

Vilnius

Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...

 1762 - 21 May 1848 Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

) was a Polish composer and violinist in exile and one of the founders of the Edinburgh Festival

Edinburgh Festival

The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...

.

He was born in Vilnius, Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

, 1762. At an early age, he was violinist at the Polish Royal Chapel, after which he travelled to Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

 about 1785 to see and listen to Haydn

Joseph Haydn

Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...

 and Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...

, and spending three years in Italy. From Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, he accompanied a Polish princess to Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, to refine his artistic abilities with the Italian masters of that day, where he lived for three years. In Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, he appeared at the Concerts Spirituels

Concert Spirituel

The Concert Spirituel was one of the first public concert series in existence. The concerts began in Paris in 1725 and ended in 1790; later, concerts or series of concerts of the same name occurred in Paris, Vienna, London and elsewhere...

 in December 1787, and was described in the Mercure de France

Mercure de France

The Mercure de France was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group....

as a pupil of the Italian violinist Giovanni Giornovich

Ivan Mane Jarnovic

Ivan Mane Jarnović was a virtuoso violinist-composer of the 18th century whose family was of possibly Ragusan origin. He had a European career, performing in almost all major centres including Paris, Berlin, Warsaw, St Petersburg, Vienna, Stockholm, Basle, London, Dublin, amongst others...

 and was immediately recognised by the Parisians as an artist of high rank. There he was employed by the Duc d'Orléons

Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans

Louis Philippe Joseph d'Orléans commonly known as Philippe, was a member of a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, the ruling dynasty of France. He actively supported the French Revolution and adopted the name Philippe Égalité, but was nonetheless guillotined during the Reign of Terror...

 and for a short time he enjoyed the pension of a musician on the establishment of Mlle. d'Orléans; on the outbreak of the revolution he left France for London in 1790 and did not reappear until his 1792 London debut at Salomon's Concerts

Johann Peter Salomon

Johann Peter Salomon was a German violinist, composer, conductor and musical impresario.-Life:...

among others.

During the subsequent years he expanded his violin performances and musical pursuits to Manchester, Liverpool, and Ireland. In Liverpool, he met Miss Breeze, whom he married in 1800.

Janiewicz played at Corri's house in London in January 1792, and at Growetz's concert on 9 February, giving a benefit concert in the same month. He performed his violin concerto at the Saloman concerts of 17 February and 3 May (for Haydn's benefit). During several seasons Janiewicz played in London, visited the provinces and Ireland as a violinist, and conducted the subscription concerts in Manchester and Liverpool. He was one of the original members of the London Philharmonic Society, and in the first season (1813) was one of the leaders of the orchestra.

For a time he kept a music-warehouse at 25 Lord Street, Liverpool, and married Miss Breeze of that town in 1800. In 1815 he went to Edinburgh.

From 1815 he was resident in Edinburgh. He retired after 1829, and died at 84 Great King Street, Edinburgh, on 21 May 1848, aged 86.

Works

• Divertimenti
• Violin concerto
• 'Six Divertimentos for Two Violins,' London, 1800?
• 'Sonata for the Pianoforte, with Accompaniment for the Violin,' in which is introduced Handel's 'Lord, remember David,' London, 1800?
• 'Go, youth belov'd,' song, Liverpool, 1810?
• 'Polish Rondo for Pianoforte,' Liverpool, 1810?

and many adaptations.