The Blue Note Of Sorrow By Marek Żebrowski The music that filled Jan Jarczyk’s heart ever since the day he was born in Kraków in 1947 fell silent on August 3, 2014. Throughout his rich and eventful life, there was a lot of Jan’s music in places around the globe and it resonated deeply with…Continue Reading Obituary: Jan Jarczyk
The spring and summer of 2014 has turned out to be a busy season for PMC, with all kinds of new and exciting developments. On February 12, the Polish Music Center family gained a new member: Lincoln Robert Requa. This healthy and good-natured young fellow is the first born son of PMC Assistant Director Krysta…Continue Reading Things Afoot At The PMC
2013 was an anniversary year for Krzysztof Meyer, who celebrated his 70th birthday last August. In recognition of Meyer’s admirable accomplishments as a composer, many concerts and festivals throughout Europe commemorated the occasion with a slate of concerts devoted to Meyer’s opus. First and foremost, two of Meyer’s operas were premiered in Poland: Gracze [Players]…Continue Reading Meyer at 70
Already in full swing, the 2014 Panufnik Centenary celebrations are moving into festival mode for the summer, then leading towards the birthday month of September and the autumn season. Performances in the Americas will continue the tradition of American orchestras playing a prominent role in the history of works by Andrzej Panufnik: his Sinfonia Elegiaca…Continue Reading Seasons Of Panufnik
Panufnik & Lutosławski: String Quartets Andrzej Panufnik: String Quartets Nos. 1-3 /Witold Lutosławski: String Quartet Tippett Quartet Naxos 8.573164 (August 2014) 2014 is the centenary year of Andrzej Panufnik and, while his orchestral music has received attention, his innovative string quartets remain neglected. Bittersweet harmonies characterise the First Quartet. The Second Quartet, whose subtitle ‘Messages’…Continue Reading New Panufnik Recordings
The Twelfth Summer Lieder Festival at Wilanów Palace featured a performance of Kolberg’s songs at an evening concert on July 5. The beautiful atmosphere of this formal royal residence on the outskirts of Warsaw provided a splendid background for the recital featuring songs by Chopin, Moniuszko, and Szymanowski in addition to a selection of songs…Continue Reading Kolberg In Song
Commissioned by the 2014 Presteigne Festival, the Requiem for soprano, baritone, mixed choir and orchestra (2013-2014) of Paweł Łukaszewski will be premiered on Sunday, August 24 at 7:45 p.m. in St Andrew’s Church in Presteigne, Wales, UK. The premiere will be performed by Rachel Nicholls (soprano), Christopher Foster (baritone), the Joyful Company of Singers and…Continue Reading Łukaszewski World Premiere
Traditional Scottish songs performed by Poles will resound throughout the interiors of Edinburgh’s medieval churches during evenings this summer. The Polish Song of the Goat Theatre ensemble returns to Scotland following their great success presenting Songs of Lear in 2012. Their new project is entitled Return to the Voice, and it features a guest appearance…Continue Reading Poles In Edinburgh
Established by Poland’s Adam Mickiewicz Institute in 2011, the I, CULTURE Orchestra (ICO) is an ensemble of outstanding young musicians from Poland and the Eastern Partnership member states – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. Members audition and are chosen anew each season, and this year’s ensemble of 111 artists was announced in April…Continue Reading I, Culture Orchestra 2014
The Adam Mickiewicz Institute has recently published “A Foreigner’s Guide to Polish Jazz.” In this ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ style article, readers are given many ways to digest the complex and glorious history (and present) of jazz in Poland. The article was adapted from Cezary Lerski’s article “Polish Jazz – Freedom at last” by Wojciech Oleksiak, who provided…Continue Reading Foreigner’s Guide To Polish Jazz