Zdzisław Szostak – composer, conductor and lecturer at the Grażyna and Kiejstut Bacewicz Academy of Music in Łódź, a member of Polish Composers' Union, a man of great heart and talent has died on 7 September 2019 at the age of 89.
Zdzisław Szostak was a graduate of the State College of Music in Katowice. He worked as a conductor at the Silesian Philharmonic and Poznań Philharmonic. In 1967 he became the artistic director of the latter. He performed at the Poznań Concerts, the "Poznań Music Spring" Festival and the Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Competition. He founded the Cantata and Oratorio Choir of the Henryk Wieniawski Musical Society in Poznań. He was also one of the founders of the Academic Choir of Adam Mickiewicz University. In the 1971/1972 season, at the invitation of Henryk Czyż, he moved to Łódź, taking the position of the deputy artistic director and conductor of the State Philharmonic in Łódź, which he held for sixteen years, until 1987. In 1972 he started working at the State College of Music in Łódź, where he lectured until 2000. In the years 1972–95 he led the student symphony orchestra, with which he performed, among others, in Germany and Italy.
Since 1957, Szostak systematically cooperated with the Documentary Film Studio in Warsaw and the Educational Film Studio in Łódź. He wrote music for about 20 feature films as well as a dozen or so documentaries and educational films, including two historical series: Queen Bona by Janusz Majewski and Chancellor by Ryszard Ber. The artist has recorded music for about 200 Polish and foreign films, mainly with the Łódź Philharmonic and WOSPR. Zdzisław Szostak conducted almost all symphony orchestras in the country. He accompanied accomplished world-famous soloists. He has received many state awards, including the Golden Cross of Merit, the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta and the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis.