Two Polish or Polish-related directors, a composer and an opera manager were nominated for the 2019 International Opera Awards. The winners were announced on April 29. Director Krzysztof Warlikowski was nominated for his staging of Leos Janacek’s opera From the House of the Dead at the Royal Opera House in London. Fifty-six-year-old Warlikowski is one…Continue Reading Poland at the Prestigious International Opera Awards
For four years in a row, cellist Lars Hoefs has organized and led as the artistic director a festival devoted to Polish music in Campinas, Brazil. Held April 3-5, 2019 at the Institute de Artes UNICAMP—part of the São Paulo State University in Campinas—the IV Festival de Música Polonesa presented several interesting concerts and lectures…Continue Reading Polish Music Festival in Brazil
A concert to commemorate the 85th birthday of Krzysztof Penderecki was held on April 17 at the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic – European Art Center in Białystok. Three oratorios written for mixed choir a cappella—Song of Cherubim, Missa brevis and O gloriosa virginum—were performed. One of the most renowned works of sacred music, Mozart’s Great…Continue Reading Concert for Krzysztof Penderecki’s 85th Birthday
Finally, the time has come to recognize and commemorate a great Polish pianist and composer, Zygmunt Stojowski (1870-1946) with a street named after him in Warsaw. Notwithstanding the profusion of streets and squares in the center of Poland’s capital that could have competed for this honor, the powers-that-be finally decided to locate Stojowski Street in…Continue Reading Stojowski Street in Warsaw
The 31st International Festival of Kraków Composers will take place from May 11-19, 2019. This year’s festival will present Polish composers, especially those from Kraków, in the context of world music under the theme of “an image of inspiration / image as inspiration / inspiration from images.” Compositions inspired by such things as Japanese woodcuts,…Continue Reading 31st International Festival of Kraków Composers
Vivid Reveries Held on May 25, the concert ‘Vivid Reveries’ will cap the 2018/2019 Jacaranda Music Series season. ‘Vivid Reveries’ will feature highly acclaimed former LA Phil principal clarinetist, Michele Zukovsky, and Los Angeles contemporary music scene favorite, pianist Gloria Cheng, for a classic pair of 20th century duos: Alban Berg’s expressionist Four Pieces, and…Continue Reading Polish Music at Jacaranda
Polish-Canadian pianist Daniel Wnukowski makes his Carnegie Hall debut showcasing the work of Karol Rathaus, a Polish exiled composer who settled in New York soon after his works were banned by the Nazis. Rathaus’s third piano sonata joins the works of two other émigré composers—Handel and Chopin. Wnukowski recently released a recording of solo piano works by…Continue Reading Daniel Wnukowski Carnegie Hall Debut