Gustavus Arnold Fibiger III (1912-1989)

He was born on September 23, 1912 in Kalisz. He was great-grandson of Karol Gottlob Fibiger-Graf, who moved from the Austrian town of Vidim to the Silesian town of Stein. Following his career, he eventually settled in Kalisz, where his family was permanently Polonized.

Gustaw Arnold graduated from the Tadeusz Kościuszko Secondary School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences in Kalisz in 1930, and a year later he entered the Warsaw School of Economics, where he was forced to interrupt his studies due to his military service. 

In 1934, he graduated from the Reserve Ensign School in Włodzimierz Wołyński, gaining the rank of Reserve lieutenant.

Until the outbreak of the war, Gustaw was an apprentice at the piano factory under the supervision of Karol Broniszowski, where he learned the next stages of producing these instruments. He also graduated from WSE, and in 1937 passed the diploma exam. 

From 1938 to 1939 he moved to Vienna to continue his apprenticeship at the Bösendorfer factory. 

In 1939 he was drafted to the 25th Artillery Regiment in Kalisz. He defended his country during the September campaign. He participated in the battles of Łęczyca, Kutno and Młodziszyn. As a liaison officer, he headed to Warsaw together with the 25th Light Army Artillery Regiment „Poznań”. During the Battle of Bzura he was wounded in the head. After the defeat, he was sent to The Prisoner of war camp in Waldenberg. The Germans tried to force him to sign the Volkslist numerous times, but he refused every time. He was thus exposed to various inconveniences on the part of the occupiers.

On January 19, 1945, Gustaw’s sister Elvira was executed. The reason behind it was her resistance activity. Just four days later, his mother Wanda Fibiger also died. Gustaw Arnold survived the war, and finally managed to return home only on February 19, 1945. For his services on the battlefield, he was awarded the Cross of Valour in 1960.

On May 15, 1945, Fibiger became the director of the nationalized piano factory in Kalisz, which instead of instruments was supposed to produce furniture from then on. However, without the authorities’ consent,  while dealing with a large part of the destroyed machines,  tools, and a shortage of materials, the employees and the new director decided to start producing instruments again. Their first piano, branded with serial number 20698, was completed in late 1946.

On December 11, 1948, Fibiger was awarded a master’s diploma at the Poznań Chamber of Crafts and Trades, thanks to which he also received a certificate on January 18 with the title of Master of Piano Construction. He became the director of the Piano Factory „Calisia” on August 1, 1949. After four years, he moved to the position of Chief Designer. 

In 1950 alone, his factory built 136 pianos and doubled that number the following year. Of the 269 pianos produced in 1951, as many as 150 were intended for foreign export to their final destination in Finland, Norway, and Switzerland.

In 1953, Fibiger began work on a new model of the M-280 concert grand piano. For its production, he was also awarded the Golden Cross of Merit by the Ministry of Culture and Art three years later. 

Fibigier did not give up on his work, and after receiving the award in 1956, he built a model of the M-165 cabinet grand piano. In 1966, he built the „Super” M-165 type. In total, with the participation of Gustav Arnold, 21 different models of pianos were constructed at „Calisia”.

On May 31, 1968, Gustaw was promoted to the position of head of the piano department.

Despite his impending retirement, Fibiger had no intention of retiring. He began to make plans to establish a school that would train piano builders. He wanted to share his experience with young people.

After many efforts, the Ministry of Culture and Arts finally gave permission to create a Piano Building School. The institution had its first place of residence in the halls of the Kalisz Musical School. Employees of The Piano factory were delegated to act as teachers, of professional subjects. The first teachers of theoretical subjects were employees of the engineering and technical staff.

The first students started their education with a two-week delay in September of 1954. In the following school year, Gustav Fibiger, as its originator and creator, officially received the title of director of the institution. Later, the school was located in the building of the Adam Asnyk High School, and on January 1, 1961, the school came under the supervision of the Ministry of Education and training. In 1964, it was again transferred to the Vocational Metalworking School.

In 1960 Fibiger became a member of the European Union of Piano Makers Association, and five years later he attended the Europiano Congress in West Berlin.

He left the school in 1977 and retired from the factory a year later. He died on January 22, 1989. He was buried at the Evangelical-Augsburg Cemetery in Kalisz.