The East-West Chamber Orchestra has just released their latest under the NAXOS label, Mieczysław Weinberg’s 2nd and 4th Chamber Symphonies. This completes the series, as they previously recorded and released Weinberg’s 1st and 3rd Chamber Symphonies in 2019. These symphonies were written near the final decade of Weinberg’s life when orchestral music was at the…Continue Reading East-West Chamber Orchestra Weinberg Recording
Polish composer and conductor Krzysztof Penderecki (1933-2020) was one of the progenitors of avant-garde music of the 1960s. Creator of his own compositional idiom, “sonorism,” which became a hallmark of the so-called Polish School of Composition, he was an early recipient of the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers Prize for Threnody to the Victims of…Continue Reading Penderecki Remembered, in Film & Podcast
For almost two decades now, four manuscript scores by Joanna Bruzdowicz—Trio dei due mondi, Tre contre tre, Concerto pour piano et orchestre symphonique, and Marlos Grosso Brasileiras—formed an important part of the rich and unique Polish Music Center’s Manuscript Collection. They were donated by the composer herself, beginning with her initial visit to USC as…Continue Reading New Bruzdowicz Collection at the PMC
On Saturday, March 12, the Chopin Music University in Warsaw will present a concert entitled “Z bliska i z oddali – In memoriam Joanna Bruzdowicz” [From up close and far away – In memoriam Joanna Bruzdowicz]. The concert program will feature three trios for flute, viola and piano by three Polish women composers—Joanna Bruzdowicz, Anna…Continue Reading Bruzdowicz Memorial Concert
Musical Messages Praised for their recordings of string quartets by Szymon Laks, Stanisław Moniuszko, Andrzej Panufnik and Krzysztof Penderecki, the Messages String Quartet has yet another exciting release to their credit. Joined by pianist Julia Kociuban, the Messages’ latest album (DUX 1792) features two Piano Quintets by Grażyna Bacewicz and Aleksander Tansman’s Musica a cinque…Continue Reading PMC Gifts: February 2022
DUX label has released a CD of Bartosz Koziak‘s recording of Krzysztof Meyer’s Concerto Canti Amadei Op. 63 for cello and chamber orchestra with Polish Chamber Philharmonic in Sopot. Winner of several international competitions, cellist Bartosz Koziak appeared as soloist with the Polish National Philharmonic Orchestra, Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra Katowice, Sinfonia Varsovia, Sinfonietta Cracovia, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte…Continue Reading Bartosz Koziak: Canti Amadei
During the second half of March, the celebrated Cracow Duo—comprised of cellist Jan Kalinowski and pianist Marek Szlezer—returns for a tour of California. The Strad magazine described the ensemble thus: “Kalinowski and Szlezer, friends since childhood, have a wonderfully natural rapport and there is an arresting quality to their playing that gives life to the music”….Continue Reading Cracow Duo Back in California
Dariusz Swoszowski’s new work–Dźwięki historii Tarnowa–premiered during a concert at the Music School Complex in Tarnów. The concert, entitled “In the World of Rhythm,” was held on February 21, 2022. Paweł Swoszowski, a percussionist and pedagogue, was the soloist. Swoszowski graduated from Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice and has worked with many renowned…Continue Reading Dariusz Swoszowski Premiere
The results for the First Composer’s Competition for an Instrumental Duo with Harp, have been announced. Organized by the Stanislaw Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk, this competition consisted of submitting an original compositional work for two instruments, with one of them being harp. Sixteen works were submitted and judged by high profile members of…Continue Reading Winners of 1st Composers’ Competition for an Instrumental Duo with Harp
Opus Series Records aims to present contemporary music in a manner that can be broadly understood by a wide audience. The last few decades have shown that the richness of new music styles does not allow for the easy classification of creative phenomena, which is why the Opus Series documents a wide range of music…Continue Reading New on Opus Series Records