In spite of the worldwide pandemic and music stages having fallen silent, our friends in the music world continue to be active and supply the Polish Music Center’s library with some well-timed gifts. Moniuszko & Karłowicz Recording by Beczała During the last week of September, two excellent CDs had reached our mailbox—one from a local…Continue Reading Gifts to PMC: Sept 2020
The 12th edition of the ‘Muzyka na Szczytach’ [Music on the Heights] International Chamber Music Festival, organized by the Mieczysław Karłowicz Association in Zakopane, ran from 12 to 19 September 2020. The “Music on the Heights” Festival has been held every year in Zakopane, southern Poland, since 2009. The festival’s name refers both to the…Continue Reading 2020 “Music on the Heights” Festival
The 55th International Andrzej Markowski Festival ‘Wratislavia Cantans’ was held on 11-13 September 2020 in Wrocław under the theme ‘Lights to the World’. Events were held at the National Forum of Music and the Collegiate Church of the Holy Cross and St Bartholomew. Sound and light are waves, differing in length. Sound waves need air…Continue Reading 2020 ‘Wratislavia Cantans’ Festival
English piano virtuoso, Jonathan Plowright, has devoted much of his life and career to championing works by a number of lesser-known Polish composers, including Friedman, Melcer, Różycki, Stojowski, Zarzycki, Zarębski, and Żeleński, among others. Many recordings—especially of the piano concertos by many of these composers—and Maestro Plowright’s numerous concert appearances testify to his great and…Continue Reading Piano Concerto Discovery
Maestro Jan Krenz, an outstanding conductor, composer, and honorary member of the Polish Composers’ Union, died on 15 September 2020 at the age of 94. Jan Krenz was a student of Zbigniew Drzewiecki (piano), Kazimierz Sikorski (composition) and Kazimierz Wiłkomirski (conducting). From 1947-49 he worked at the Poznań Philharmonic. In 1949, he became associated with…Continue Reading In Memoriam: Jan Krenz
On 5 September 2020, the Pomeranian Music Society in Toruń held an online concert during which the Fantasia on a rafting song, written by several Polish composers, was premiered via Facebook Event. The Raftsman’s Song, an old folk melody popular at the beginning of the 20th century, used to sound in the form of chanting from the Toruń…Continue Reading “Fantasia on a rafting song” premiere in Toruń
Music is a language, but language carries its own music. In our festival’s programme, these two elements will intertwine in various ways, touching upon issues such as: the role of words in music; words embedded in music and music embedded in words; the language of music, the music of language; common elements between music and language;…Continue Reading 2020 Warsaw Autumn Festival
Karol Rathaus, composer Works by Karol Rathaus (1895-1954) continue to be gradually rediscovered by a growing circle of performers and audiences worldwide. Born in Tarnopol, Poland (now Ukraine), Rathaus studied music in Vienna and Berlin and was a favorite pupil of the renowned Franz Schreker. His successful decade as a composer and professor of music…Continue Reading Rathaus by Stoupel
On Saturday, Sept 5, at 6 pm (PT), the limited music series Show me That! will spotlight a performance and conversation with Darek Oles along with the host of the Series, Otmaro Ruiz, a pianist, composer and arranger, and Oles’ former Cal Arts classmate. During the Facebook Livestream, Oles’ original pieces will be performed and followed with…Continue Reading Virtual Performance Darek Oles with Otmaro Ruiz
As of September 1, the Polish Music Center will now be available on a limited basis on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. PDT. If you would like to access the PMC in person during these hours, we require at least 24-hour notice via email at polmusic@usc.edu, at which point we will also provide…Continue Reading PMC Re-opens on Tuesdays!