The annual Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles was held November 5-9, 2014 in the charming Central Coast town that Ignacy Jan Paderewski once considered his second home in America. Paderewski’s legacy is still felt in the Paso Robles region, which has grown exponentially since Paderewski introduced large-scale Zinfandel and Petit Syrah wine production to this…Continue Reading Looking Back at the 2014 Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles
During a meeting in Warsaw, composer Joanna Bruzdowicz presented PMC Director Marek Żebrowski with her new CD, “Joanna Bruzdowicz: String Quartet No. 1 ‘La Vita,’ From the Fever World, World” (Acte Prealable CD 329, 2014). The album was recorded by Liliana Górska, mezzo-soprano, Tomasz Jocz, piano and the NeoQuartet. Żebrowski also met with composer Krzysztof…Continue Reading Recent Donations
Panufnik In New York Times On November 28, the New York Times published an interesting article about the life and music of Polish émigré composer Sir Andrzej Panufnik on the 100th anniversary of his birth. Entitled “His Nightmares Starred Communists, Not Nazis – Celebrating Panufnik, a Polish Composer in London” and written by Michael White,…Continue Reading 2014 Anniversary Year
The world premiere of Dies Illa—a 2014 Krzysztof Penderecki composition for three soloists, three mixed choirs and orchestra—was given on November 9 at Koekelberg Basilica in Brussels. The performance was conducted by the Estonian conductor Andres Mustonen during the Flanders Festival, where Nikolay Didenko, Johanna Rusanen and Poland’s Angieszka Rehlis appeared as the soloists. Themed…Continue Reading Penderecki Premiere
On October 16 and 17, the premiere of 2014: Here and Now composed by Zbigniew Preisner was performed by the Sinfonietta Cracovia and soloists with spectacular lighting, holographic and sound design at the opening of the highly anticipated new ICE Krakow Congress Centre in Poland. This grand establishment, costing 357.5 million zloty (84.5 million euro),…Continue Reading Preisner Premiere In Krakow
The newly-established Southwest Council of the Chopin Foundation of the United States will hold its Grand Opening Gala Concert on December 6, 2014. The Rice Brothers—Polish-American brothers Johnny and Chris, who each play both the cello and piano—will present piano and cello performances of accomplished composers whose works bear a strong relationship to the world…Continue Reading Rice Brothers In California
On December 12, leading avant-garde Polish ensemble Kwartludium and British electronic artist Scanner will present a program of new works using visual scores at the 2014 Spitalfields Festival in London. Kwartludium has built a reputation for presenting striking new music across Europe and, in this rare London visit, they collaborate with Scanner to explore partially…Continue Reading Kwartludium In London
One of the first concerts in the inaugural season of the new ICE Congress Centre in Kraków will feature Sinfonietta Cracovia’s program of Viennese classics on December 17, 2014. The program will include Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto and his 29th Symphony, and the “Mercury” Symphony by Haydn. Another interesting item on the program is the Kraków…Continue Reading Sinfonietta Cracovia Celebrations
For a number of years the Katowice Music Academy has organized the Brand New Music Festival. Between the years 2001-2006 the Festival consisted of a conference and a single concert staged for the local composers and theoreticians. Held triennially, since 2009 the Festival began to invite special guests (including Per Norgard and Louis Andriessen) and…Continue Reading Brand New Music 2014
Tributes commemorating Polish jazz pianist and composer, Jan Jarczyk, continue worldwide since his untimely death in Montreal on August 3. Throughout his life, Jan had touched and enriched music-making not only in his native Poland, but also all across Europe, the United States and, finally, in Canada, where he resided for well over two decades….Continue Reading Worldwide Tributes To Jarczyk