62nd Warsaw Autumn

Festival Overview The 62nd annual ‘Warsaw Autumn’ [Warszawska Jesień] International Festival of Contemporary Music took place from 20-28 September. The theme “Pneuma – ExpandedReality” was incorporated in over 50 events, including two at Warsaw Autumn Hits the Club, seven at Little Warsaw Autumn, and a dozen fringe events. This year’s Warsaw Autumn concluded a triptych…Continue Reading 62nd Warsaw Autumn

7th Krzysztof Penderecki International Festival

World-class artists Cameron Carpenter, Rafael Payare, and Jerzy Stuhr took part in the 7th Krzysztof Penderecki International Festival at level 320 in Zabrze from 14-19 September 2019. The Festival was inaugurated by Maestro Penderecki himself, conducting his Adagio from the Symphony No.3 for string orchestra and Mazur from Moniuszko’s opera The Haunted Manor, in honor…Continue Reading 7th Krzysztof Penderecki International Festival

7th Wojciech Kilar Contemporary Music Festival

The 7th Wojciech Kilar Contemporary Music Festival will be held from 11-25 October in Gorzów. This year’s theme is “Polish sequences.” During the inaugural concert, Polish pianist Marek Żebrowski and the Gorzów Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Monika Wolińska will perform a one-part Piano Concerto by Henryk Wars, whose 40th death anniversary falls this…Continue Reading 7th Wojciech Kilar Contemporary Music Festival

Concert Marking Piotr Moss’s 70th Birthday and 50th Anniversary of His Creative Work

On 11 October, the Mieczysław Karłowicz Philharmonic in Szczecin hosted a concert to celebrate composer Piotr Moss’s 70th birthday and 50th anniversary of his creative work. Although his studies (with Grażyna Bacewicz, Piotr Perkowski and Nadia Boulanger) were influenced by the neoclassical trend, Moss himself is referred to as a neo-romantic. A versatile composer, he…Continue Reading Concert Marking Piotr Moss’s 70th Birthday and 50th Anniversary of His Creative Work

Polish Music Around the World in October

October 1 Nantes (France): Zygmunt Noskowski’s Morskie Oko performed by National Orchestra of the Pays de la Loire, conducted by Marzena Diakun Kiev (Ukraine): Witold Lutosławski’s Funeral Music performed by Kiev Camerata, conducted by Valery Matiuchin; Marcel Chyrzyński’s Ukiyo-e No. 4 performed by Kiev Camerata, Joanna Domańska (pf), Roman Widaszek (cl), Tadeusz Tomaszewski (cr); Mikołaj Górecki’s Concerto…Continue Reading Polish Music Around the World in October

Recent PMC Donations

From Betty Harford-Naszódy Frederic Chopin: Nocturnes. Edition Peters, No. 1904 (Herrmann Scholtz, Ed.) Mark Hambourg: “Nocturne in C Minor by Chopin.” [2 pages] Clipping from the Etude Magazine, April 1937 Rowena Gailey, “Why Professional Pianists Practice Slowly.” [1 page] Clipping from the Etude Magazine, April 1937   From Dr. Ewa Muchnick Zephyr Records 70-002: Good…Continue Reading Recent PMC Donations

Commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the Outbreak of World War II

Two concerts commemorating the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II took place on 1 September. At Warsaw’s New Theater, Lidia Zielińska’s composition I don’t like it for ensemble, electronics and choir of young amateurs (2018/2019) was premiered. The work includes sung and recited texts illustrating the escalation of aggression to war from…Continue Reading Commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the Outbreak of World War II

Music and Medicine: Chopin and the Power of Resilience

Psychiatrist and concert pianist Richard Kogan is renowned for his lecture/concerts that explore the influence of psychological factors and psychiatric and medical illness on the creative output of composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Gershwin, Bernstein, and Joplin. Sharing insight into some of the most creative minds, he opens his audiences’…Continue Reading Music and Medicine: Chopin and the Power of Resilience

Jan Kulma Obituary

Jan Kulma, theater and television director, musician, philosopher, writer, Home Army soldier, participant in the Warsaw Uprising, husband of poet Joanna Kulmowa, and co-founder of the Warsaw Chamber Opera, passed away on 30 August 2019. He was born in 1922. During the Warsaw Uprising, Jan Kulma belonged to the 125th platoon of the second company…Continue Reading Jan Kulma Obituary

11th ‘Music on the Heights’ International Festival

The 11th “Music on the Heights” International Chamber Music Festival, organized by the Mieczysław Karłowicz Association in Zakopane, will be held from 7-14 September 2019. The festival’s name refers both to the Tatra Mountains which lie next to Zakopane, the resort town where the festival is held, and is also a reference to the high…Continue Reading 11th ‘Music on the Heights’ International Festival