Maestro Grzegorz Nowak took the podium of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra in Manila to open the Orchestra’s 39th season on September 15. Entitled “Roman Carnival,” the concert opened with Hector Berlioz’s Roman Carnival Overture with Grieg’s celebrated Piano Concerto in A-minor and soloist Mark Bebbington to follow. After the intermission, the audience was treated to…Continue Reading Nowak Opens in Manila
Celebrating anniversaries often provides a great excuse to discover anew places, things, and people who for one reason or another became forgotten with the passage of time. This was certainly at least one of the reasons for the City Museum of Łódź to celebrate Paweł Klecki (1900-1973), a distinguished conductor and a fine composer, on…Continue Reading Klecki Remembered in Łódź
Information Goldmine for Pianists! Grzegorz Mania, a noted concert pianist, author, and President of Polish Chamber Musicians’ Association [SPMK], is a man of many ideas. His latest brainstorm was to start a brand new publication for pianists, called Notatnik pianistyczny [The Piano Notebook]. This quarterly publication covering the months of July through September came out…Continue Reading PMC Gifts: September 2023
Exciting Library Additions Sławomir Dobrzański, concert pianist, professor at Kansas State University and a biographer of Maria Szymanowska (PMHS Vol. 9), recently sent us several very interesting publications and recordings that will enrich our holdings. First, there are two orchestral scores, Canto di Aspirazione for Orchestra by Felix Łabuński (1892-1979) and Magnificat for soprano and…Continue Reading PMC Gifts: August 2023
The USC Polish Music Center presents the Paderewski Lecture-Recital, an annual concert event that commemorates pianist and composer Ignacy Jan Paderewski by spotlighting current achievements in Polish music. This year marks the anniversaries of several leading Polish composers: Witold Lutosławski, Szymon Laks, Krzysztof Meyer, Joanna Bruzdowicz, Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, Marta Ptaszyńska, and Krzysztof Penderecki. The…Continue Reading 2023 Paderewski Lecture-Recital: Oct 7-8
Maestro Grzegorz Nowak, an internationally celebrated conductor and longtime friend of the Polish Music Center, has just been appointed the Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. He will be taking over from Yoshikazu Fukumura, whose tenure with the ensemble ended in 2021. Five candidates were shortlisted for this appointment and, following…Continue Reading Nowak’s Appointment in the Philippines
July 29 marked composer Marta Ptaszyńska’s 80th birthday. This distinguished and prolific composer has had a very active year with various anniversary concerts and premieres taking place in the preceding months. Most recently, Ptaszyńska’s birthday was celebrated by Polish Radio in Chicago on August 6 with a broadcast of two of Ptaszyńska’s works: Graffito for…Continue Reading Ptaszyńska Fêted in Chicago and Warsaw
By Marek Zebrowski Christmas in July! Amazingly enough, this rather overused turn of phrase in this particular instance actually correctly describes the shower of amazing gifts and donations that the Polish Music Center received throughout the month of July. The first and historically most significant among them is a tranche of correspondence between Nancy Fierro,…Continue Reading July 2023 Gifts
By Marek Zebrowski (Paderewski Festival Artistic Director and Cultural Exchange Leader) The Youth Cultural Exchange Program of the Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles encourages the exploration of cultural, educational and musical opportunities between California’s Central Coast and the Tarnów region of Poland—two communities that share historical ties to Ignacy Jan Paderewski. Through this Exchange Program,…Continue Reading Paderewski Festival Youth Cultural Exchange: 2023 Program Diary
In November 2023, the Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk will host the 5th International Baltic Piano Competition. The prize pool is PLN 60,000. Applications should be submitted via the electronic Application Form on the Competition website by September 1, 2023. The Competition is open to pianists from all over the world (except Russia…Continue Reading Baltic Piano Competition