The presidents of the Association of Polish Artists and Polish Society of Contemporary Music have started a petition to support the composers and performers of classical music. They are asking Polish Radio Program 2 to increase airtime of their work and expand series of contemporary music, such as “Polish Fantasy” and “Nocturne.” Polish music is frequently…Continue Reading Music lovers, support Polish composers!
Karol Szymanowski completed his only operetta, entitled Lottery for Husbands or Fiance No. 69, in 1909. After nearly a hundred years, in 2007 the Krakow Opera gave the world premiere performance, which was professionally recorded and released on DVD. On March 27, it became available (with English subtitles) on the official YouTube channel of the Krakow…Continue Reading Szymanowski’s “Lottery for Husbands” –YouTube premiere
In honor of International Children’s Book Day (April 2), PWM Edition has published another book for young music lovers: Ignacy Jan and His Plan. Written by Katarzyna Huzar-Czub and illustrated by Zosia Dzierżawska, this book introduces Ignacy Jan Paderewski as a child, when he decided to become a famous musician. It wasn’t for fame or…Continue Reading “Ignacy Jan and His Plan” – PWM youth publication about Paderewski
The TAK Foundation is hosting a video competition as part of the “Musique est une femme” project co-financed by the Creative Europe Programme, Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland and Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia. Although women have been writing music for centuries, their work has garnered less…Continue Reading “Musique est une femme” video competition
On 30 March, the Artur Rubinstein Philharmonic in Łódź hosted the online premiere of Piano Concerto No. 1 by Aleksander Tansman, performed by Julia Kociuban and the Łódź Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Paweł Przytocki. The recording will be available on SoundCloud. The recording comes from the album Bacewicz. Tansman. Piano Concertos (DUX 1612), which was nominated for a Fryderyk award. This recording…Continue Reading Online Premiere: Tansman’s Piano Concerto No. 1
A Survey of the Triangiel Catalog In spite of the PMC being closed since March 16 due to the Covid-19 virus pandemic, gifts to our library are still arriving from near and far. We are delighted and very grateful to our supporters worldwide for thinking of us during these difficult times. A very substantial donation…Continue Reading Gifts to PMC March 2020
By Marek Zebrowski One cannot predict anything, but I would nonetheless like my music to survive, just like Szymanowski’s. Times have changed, yet Chopin’s music remains. Thus, I hope, my music will also remain.” [Penderecki for National Chopin Institute, quoted at onet.pl] Krzysztof Penderecki died in Kraków in the early hours of Sunday morning, March…Continue Reading In Memoriam Krzysztof Penderecki
Apparition Maurice Ravel – Shéhérazade; Samuel Barber – 4 Songs op. 13; George Crumb – Apparition; Karol Szymanowski – Songs of the Fairytale Princess op. 31; Fernando Obradors – Canciones Clásicas Españolas Agata Zubel – soprano, Krzysztof Książek – piano ACD263 (2019) The newest album featuring celebrated soprano Agata Zubel and pianist Krzysztof Książek recently…Continue Reading New & Award-winning on CD Accord
On Feb 29 and March 1, the semifinalists of the US National Chopin Piano Competition competed for the top prizes and special prizes. The winners were announced as follows: First Prize: Avery Gagliano Second Prize: Evren Ozel Third Prize: Parker Van Ostrand Fourth Prize (Tie): Umi Garrett & Chelsea Guo Sixth Prize: Talon Smith Best…Continue Reading US National Chopin Competition Results & Chopin Int’l Competition Dates Announced
The annual Fryderyk Awards—Poland’s equivalent of the Grammy Awards in the US—were given in ten classical music categories at a gala evening held at the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra [NOSPR] Hall in Katowice. With its phenomenal acoustics, this new hall was a perfect setting for the March 8 ceremony. The Berlin Piano Trio and…Continue Reading Fryderyk Awards 2020