On Saturday, March 23 at 4:00 pm, the USC Polish Music Center presents the annual PMC Spring Concert, featuring the Verona String Quartet with USC Thornton faculty member Bernadene Blaha. The program highlights works by pioneering female Polish composer and polymath, Grażyna Bacewicz, as well as the father of Polish modern music, Karol Szymanowski. Acclaimed…Continue Reading Save the Date: PMC Spring Concert (March 23)
In anticipation of the upcoming PMC Spring Concert, we invite you to participate in our carpooling initiative. Complete the brief form below to allow us to connect you with fellow concertgoers. It’s an opportunity to meet new people who share the same interest in Polish Music as you do. Please note that PMC is serving…Continue Reading Share a Ride to PMC Concerts
At the beginning of February, a unique film made in 1946, Wielka Droga [The Great Way], will be screened several times in the Los Angeles area. It will be presented by the Modjeska Art & Culture Club in Tujunga, CA on February 4, and the USC Polish Music Center in downtown Los Angeles on February 5. Both…Continue Reading “Wielka Droga” Film Screening & Lecture in LA-area
EDA Records and Polish Music Frank Harders-Wuthenow, the executive producer for Berlin-based EDA Records, has successfully completed yet another fascinating recording project that features music by Polish composers. The first of the two CDs that we received from Mr. Harders-Wuthenow, is a monographic presentation of music for violin and piano by Krzysztof Meyer, issued in…Continue Reading PMC Gifts: January 2024
Polish pianist and conductor Krystian Zimerman was in London last October to receive his seventh Gramophone Award. While in the UK, he recorded a podcast for Gramophone Magazine with James Jolly, touching upon such wide-ranging subjects as the music of Karol Szymanowski, conducting and retirement. The Gramophone Award honors his latest Deutsche Grammophon album, one…Continue Reading Zimerman: Gramophone Award for Szymanowski CD
The Meccore String Quartet, an ensemble long devoted to the chamber music of Krzysztof Penderecki, has just released a new album. This album consists of Penderecki string quartets, trios, and one of his clarinet concertos, featuring the guest appearance of acclaimed Polish clarinetist Jan Jakub Bokun. As a commemoration, this album was released on the…Continue Reading Meccore String Quartet Plays Penderecki
As a part of their project “Anothology of Polish A Cappella Works,” the Polish Chamber Musicians of Collegium Cantorum has just released their latest album: “Tadeusz Paciorkiewicz – Choral Works.” Released on the DUX label, the album focuses on the music of Polish composer Tadeusz Paciorkiewicz. Aside from being a decorated composer, Paciorkiewicz is considered…Continue Reading New Album of Paciorkiewicz Works
The “Chain XXI” Witold Lutosławski Festival will take place from January 20 – February 4, 2024 in Warsaw’s iconic W. Lutosławski Concert Studio of Polish Radio. This year’s festival celebrates the 30th anniversary of Lutosławski’s passing. The name of the festival, “Chain” (or “Łańcuch” in Polish) refers to a series of iconic compositions by Lutosławski…Continue Reading “Chain XXI” Witold Lutosławski Festival in Warsaw
Thanks to a timely initiative by Dean Jeff DeCaen and Marvin Munson of USC Thornton Operations and Eric Johnson, Director of Operations at USC Landscape and Grounds, the Paderewski monument—which stand right next to the main Thornton School of Music building—has been brought back to its original gleaming look. This restoration project was carried out…Continue Reading Paderewski in Full Splendor at USC
USC Thornton professor, pianist Bernadene Blaha, and Swiss violinist Laurence Kayaleh are featured on a new album of Polish romantic music released in December on Naxos (8.574220). These internationally renowned artists perform the unjustly neglected violin sonatas of Władysław Żeleński (1837-1931)and Zygmunt Noskowski (1846-1909). From the Naxos website: Both Zygmunt Noskowski and Władysław Żeleński were…Continue Reading Blaha and Kayaleh Perform Żeleński and Noskowski