Founded in 1945 on the heels of postwar Polish independence, the Polish Baltic Philharmonic [Filharmonia Bałtycka] is the largest music institution in northern Poland. Finishing their extensive tour of the US in the West, the Baltic Philharmonic will be in California for most of March. On March 9, the musicians from Gdańsk are scheduled to…Continue Reading Baltic Philharmonic in California
Kinga Augustyn, a Polish violin virtuoso now living and working in New York City, gave an extensive interview in February for Presto, a Polish-language periodical covering music, film and arts. Titled, “Ten niemożliwy Nowy Jork” [This Impossible New York], the article covers Augustyn’s artistic trajectory and provides her explanation of why New York City is sometimes…Continue Reading Augustyn Featured by Presto
Themed “Sounds of Tomorrow,” this year’s ISCM World Music Days Festival will be held in South Korea, organized and hosted by the Tongyeong International Music Foundation. The festival will begin on March 29 and last until April 3. Among the 66 works that were announced in the program is Five Miniatures for orchestra by Elżbieta Sikora and Three Polish Dances:…Continue Reading 2016 World Music Days
From mezzo soprano Katarzyna Sadej (1 CD): Rising at Dawn: Chamber Music with Brass by Carson Cooman (MSV 28538), performed by Katarzyna Sadej, mezzo soprano, Chris Gekker, trumpet & flugelhorn, Mark Nelson, tuba, Rebecca Smith, harp, and Jeffrey Grossman and Marie Sierra, piano From Agnieszke Swoinska & Dariusz Wyczolkowski (2 CDs): Gorecki: Symphony No. 4 (Nonesuch 549570),…Continue Reading Recent Donations to the PMC
On April 3 a new work by Ewa Fabiańska-Jelińska—entitled Dziadek przyjdzie [Grandfather Comes], written to the words of Maria Konopnicka—will be given. Held at the I. J. Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań, the concert will be performed by the ‘Skowronki’ Girls’ Choir, under the direction of Alicja Szeluga. [Source: pwm.com.pl]…Continue Reading Ewa Fabiańska-Jelińska Premiere
Continuing on the theme of partnership with the Paderewski Polish-Ukrainian Foundation in Warsaw, this organization has recently published the “Good Practice Handbook on Management of International Musical Projects,” a research project conducted by the Foundation’s Manager, Katarzyna Renes. Renes’ research was conducted across the United States, Canada, and Poland from June to September 2015, within the framework…Continue Reading PMC Included in the ‘Good Practices Handbook’
Educational opportunities for participants in the 2016 Paderewski Festival Youth Cultural Exchange continue to flourish. Thanks to a fruitful relationship with Adam Bala, Director of the Paderewski Polish-Ukrainian Foundation that has developed over the last year, 2016 Exchange students from Ukraine and Poland were invited to participate in piano workshops held February 20-21 at Lviv Conservatory and perform in…Continue Reading Paderewski Festival Exchange Participants in Lviv
On April 2nd, the Polish Music Center presents an exploration of the newly re-discovered music of Polish Jewish composer Roman Ryterband (1914 – 1979). A master of the chamber ensemble, Ryterband enjoyed a career spanning half of the world before settling in Palm Springs, California. Now, an extensive collection of his personal correspondence and musical manuscripts…Continue Reading PMC Spring Concert: ‘A Tribute to Roman Ryterband’
The UK premiere of Krzysztof Penderecki’s Seven Gates of Jerusalem inspired a four-day festival of Polish culture held at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. The Seven Gates: a Journey of Discovery festival (June 23-26) was filled with works by Polish composers from Szymanowski to Zubel and accompanied by film screenings and works inspired by Polish music. The Karol Szymanowski…Continue Reading 2015 in Review – Festivals
Boguslaw Kaczynski passed away in Warsaw on January 21. He was 73. Not only was he a journalist, music theorist, popularizer of opera and operetta, TV presenter, and author of many TV broadcasts, but Kaczynski was also the founder of the Jan Kiepura European Festival in Krynica and world-famous Music Festivals in Łańcut. Between 1994…Continue Reading Boguslaw Kaczynski Obituary