Following the release of his Deutsche Grammophon recordings of Chopin’s 24 Preludes (DG 028948119103, Sept. 2015)and Chopin’s Ballades 1-4, Berceuse and 4 Mazurkas (DG 028948124435, Feb. 2016), Chinese pianist and youngest-ever winner of the Chopin Competition in Warsaw Yundi Li took his Chopin repertoire on a multi-city Asian tour in November 2015 – January 2016. Starting with venues in…Continue Reading Yundi Li Takes Chopin Recordings on Tour
The Neo Temporis Group traveled on a Ukrainian tour entitled “New Music. DIALOGUE WITHOUT BORDERS” from April 20 – 24, 2016. Conducted by Łukasz Wodecki, concerts took place in four cities of Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, and Odessa, where the ensemble presented works by eight different Polish and Ukrainian composers: Sławomir Kupczak, Karol Nepelski, Dariusz Przybylski, Jerzy Kornowicz, Oleksij Shmurak,…Continue Reading Neo Temporis Group Ukranian Tour
Karol Szymanowski’s elusive yet ever-successful opera, Król Roger [King Roger], took the stage once again at the Kraków Opera on April 28 and 30. Directed by Michal Znaniecki, the opera saw new staging changes as compared to other European productions. The resulting performances were deemed to be masculine and with a softened homosexual plot, though still a deep and moving…Continue Reading Król Roger at Kraków Opera
Brahms & Bridge: Piano Trios J. Brahms: Piano Trio No. 1 in B Major, Op. 8 (revised version, 1889); F. Bridge: Phantasie Piano Trio in C Minor, “Piano Trio No. 1” Rafał Zambrzycki-Payne – violin, Hyung-ki Joo – piano, Thomas Carroll – cello Paladino Music PMR0076 (also available on naxos.comand amazon.com) – April 2016 Former principal of the Ensemble…Continue Reading Recent Recordings of Zambrzycki-Payne
On April 29, British pianist Jonathan Plowright performed Paderewski’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 17 alongside the Szczecin Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. Plowright’s interest in rarely performed piano works as an ambassador for Polish Romanticism led to the collaboration concert, in which Panufnik’s Heroic Overture and Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 7 in C sharp minor, Op….Continue Reading Plowright Plays Paderewski
Augustyn: Choral Music (sub iove) 3 Nokturny rzymskie [3 Roman Nocturnes] for mixed choir, Missa semibrevis for choir and organ, Od Sasa. Sounds-Pauses-Events for mixed choir, and Vagor ergo sum. Small cantata to words by Zbigniew Herbert, Emperor Hadrian and Italian National Railways for mixed choir and gongs Agnieszka Drożdżewska – soprano [1]-[9]; Monika Michaliszyn – mezzosoprano [1]-[9]; Joanna Rot – alto…Continue Reading Augustyn: Choral Music
The XXVI “Gaude Mater” International Sacred Music Festival will take a place from April 30 – May 8, 2016. The event has been organized annually for 25 years in Częstochowa, and it musically represents the city and the region. The 2016 edition of the Festival is supported by Polish president, Andrzej Duda. The 26th edition of the…Continue Reading Gaude Mater Festival in Częstochowa
This year’s edition of the “KODY” [Codes] Festival of Traditional and Avant-garde Music will be held on May 11-14, 2016 in various venues in Lublin, Poland. The Festival is an international event devoted to the idea of combining the archaic and the new in music. The mixture of two distinctive canons of aesthetics forms a unique experience,…Continue Reading Kody 2016
The full-length documentary film Bridging Urban America: The Story of Master Engineer Ralph Modjeski had its world premiere on April 13, 2016 at the NASCC Steel Conference – Gaylord Palms Convention Center. Created by filmmakers Basia and Leonard Myszynski, it celebrates master engineer Ralph Modjeski— a Polish-born, Paris-trained immigrant who contributed to the building of a modern…Continue Reading Premiere of Bridging Urban America
The IV Festival of Contemporary Music “Nowa Muzyka” will be presented by the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Department of The Polish Composers Union (ZKP) and the City Culture Center in Bydgoszcz from May 6-8, 2016. Admission to all concerts will be free. This festival has been held in the Bydgoszcz concert halls for four years and garners more…Continue Reading ‘Nowa Muzyka’ Festival