June – December Anniversaries The iconic festival of contemporary music, Warszawska Jesień [Warsaw Autumn], celebrated its 60th anniversary this year. Held in various venues around Warsaw from September 15-23, its programs will examined the phenomenon of the avant-garde, featuring works by the composers of the original avant-garde juxtaposed with the composers of the past sixty years. See more below….Continue Reading 2017 In Review Part 2
January – June, 2017 Anniversaries UNESCO proclaimed the year of 2017 as “Year of Kosciuszko” honoring the bicentennial of his passing in 1817. General Thaddeus Kosciuszko (1746-1817) was a national hero in Poland and the US, a freedom fighter and military leader, and an ardent advocate for the rights of European serfs, African Slaves, Native…Continue Reading 2017 in Review Part 1
On 24 November, Feliks Nowowiejski’s oratorio Kreuzauffindung [Finding the Holy Cross] was presented for the first time in Warsaw at a special “Professor Mieczysław Nowakowski in memoriam” free concert on the occasion of the Feliks Nowowiejski year. It was performed at the Basilica of the Holy Cross by Sinfonia Varsovia and the Warsaw Philharmonic Chorus under the baton of…Continue Reading Sinfonia Varsovia Performs Nowowieski Oratorio
The world renown pair of Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman and Polish conductor Grzegorz Nowak were on tour of Italy together in November. On the program was a combination of works by Berlioz, Bernstein, Beethoven and Mussorgsky. They performed with the Arturo Toscanini Philharmonic for the first three concerts, and then ended the tour with the Teatro Petruzzelli Orchestra. The tour stops included:…Continue Reading Zimerman and Nowak in Italia
Roman Maciejewski Piano Music Lullaby • 4 Miniatures • Mazur (version I) • Mazur (version II) • Mazurka ”Echo from the Tatras” • Sparking dance • Fandango • Triptych Mariusz Ciolko (piano) DUX 1410 Feliks Nowowiejski To Those Who Love Me Weihnacht in der uralten Marienkirche zu Krakau. Fantasie op. 31 nr 3 • Polish Phantasy…Continue Reading New on DUX
Penderecki / Dvořák / Sinfonia Varsovia Penderecki: Symphony #2 “Christmas” (1980); Dvořák: Symphony #7 in D minor, Op. 70 (1885). Sinfonia Varsovia, Krzysztof Penderecki – cond. Warner Classics 0190295732721 The new album by the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra, released with Warner Classics, is a musical gift on the birthday of Maestro Krzysztof Penderecki, the artistic director of…Continue Reading Penderecki/Sinfonia Varsovia on Warner Classics
The 3rd edition of the Kwadrofonik Festival will be held on December 14-15, 2017 at the Museum of the History of Polish Jews (POLIN) in Warsaw. Protest and the energy it creates are the leitmotif of this year’s Festival. Members of the Kwadrofonik ensemble—Emilia Sitarz, Magdalena Kordylasińska-Pękala, Miłosz Pękala and Bartek Wąsik—along with their guest musicians, will recall works confronting…Continue Reading Kwadrofonik Festival
On November 24, 2017, the jury of the 10th International Grzegorz Fitelberg Competition for Conductors announced the winners of this year’s edition. The jury—composed of: Juozas Domarkas – Chairman of the Jury, Mirosław Jacek Błaszczyk, Tomasz Bugaj, Mykola Diadiura, Piotr Gajewski, Eugeniusz Knapik, Charles Olivieri-Munroe, Jorma Panula, Marek Pijarowski, Ken Takaseki and Michael Zilm—awarded the following prizes…Continue Reading G. Fitelberg International Competition for Conductors
The following albums featuring Polish composers and artists have been nominated for prestigious International Classic Music Awards (ICMA) for 2018. The winners of the Awards will be published on January 18, 2018, and the Award Ceremony will be held in Katowice, Poland on April 6, 2018. Of the 357 finalists, the following were among the final…Continue Reading ICMA Finalists Announced
“Simplicity is the final achievement. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art.” ~ Frédéric François Chopin On December 10, 2017, the exclusive ‘Le Salon de Musiques’ series presented a program entitled “Frederic Chopin, the Poet & Musician” in Downtown…Continue Reading Chopin, the Poet and Musician