Wojciech Kilar was one of Poland’s greatest twentieth century symphonic composers. He studied piano with Władysława Markiewiczówna and composition with Bolesław Szabelski at the State Higher School of Music in Katowice. His compositions range from orchestral pieces and film scores to chamber vocal-piano and instrumental scores and he had great influence on modern classical music….Continue Reading Celebration of Wojciech Kilar’s 90th Birthday
The distinguished conductor Kazimierz Kord died on 29 April 2021 at the age of 90. His artistic biography is a great chapter of Polish culture. In 1969-1973 he was director of the National Symphony Orchestra of Polish Radio and Television, from 1977 to 2001 he was director of the Warsaw Philharmonic, in 2005-2006 he was…Continue Reading In Memoriam: Kazimierz Kord
Lisa Cooper Vest—assistant professor of musicology in the Thornton School of Music, and presenter at the recent PMC Spring Górecki event—has recently published a book entitled Awangarda: Tradition and Modernity in Postwar Polish Music (University of California Press, 2020). Dr. Vest will explore this new publication at an online discussion hosted by the USC Levan…Continue Reading Book Chats—”Awangarda: Tradition and Modernity in Postwar Polish Music”
The ongoing “Distinguished Lectures” series is being offered by the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw. During 2021, the lectures will be inspired by the opening of the Legacy Gallery, which is an extension of the Core Exhibition of the POLIN Museum. The Legacy Gallery explores the contributions of Polish Jews…Continue Reading Online Lecture on Polish Jewish Music by Prof. Halina Goldberg
A teaser for the new electroacoustic work by Tomasz Jakub Opałka, entitled Party Crasher, is now up online. It features performances on the cello by Magdalena Bojanowicz-Koziak and the composer on synths, percussion, and trombone. Headphones or a good sound system are recommended for listening, because of the very interesting and loud low frequencies in…Continue Reading Preview of Opałka’s Party Crasher
The Kosciuszko Foundation in New York City will conduct an Online Piano Academy February 26-28, 2021. Open to all aspiring artists under the age of 30, the academy’s students will have an opportunity to work with distinguished pianists, as well as laureates and jurors of international piano competitions, including Piotr Paleczny, Krzysztof Jabłoński, Ewa Pobłocka,…Continue Reading Online Piano Academy
The Special Collections Department of the Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IS-PAN) recently acquired the archive of Stefan Jarociński, an outstanding musicologist, long-time head of the Institute of Music History at the Polish Academy of Sciences. The Institute received invaluable materials for research into the history of 20th-century musicology and music…Continue Reading Jarociński Archive at IS-PAN
Polish Heroines of Music Elżbieta Sikora (b. 1944): Sonosphère V. Wanda Landowska; Hanna Kulenty (b. 1961): Aisthetikos; Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-1969): Contradizione; Agata Zubel (b. 1978): In the Shade of an Unshed Tear Orchestre Pasdeloup, Marzena Diakun – cond. Anaklasis (29 Jan 2021) Women have long represented a distinctive voice in Polish music. The excellent achievements…Continue Reading New Release: Polish Heroines of Music
PWM Edition has launched a campaign and an international educational project, which brings the works by Polish composers closer to audiences worldwide. ‘Music from Chopin’s Land’ encompasses more than just pieces by Chopin – it also means Paderewski, Szymanowska, Moniuszko, Kilar, Kurpiński, and many other composers. Fryderyk Chopin’s pieces need no introduction, and no pianist…Continue Reading ‘Music from Chopin’s Land’ – an international project of PWM Edition
Very few artists earned the honor of having their family name converted into a noun describing a wildly popular fad, but this little fact is still another item on the long list of lifetime achievements of Ignacy Jan Paderewski. Somewhat delicate and graced by an engaging smile topped by a shock of auburn hair, young…Continue Reading Paddymania in Poznań!