Category: 2024

“Spring and Valentine” – Concert feat. Wojciech Kocyan with Ken Aiso

Save the date (February 11) for a heartwarming afternoon in Los Angeles with pianist Wojciech Kocyan and violinist Ken Aiso. Celebrate the upcoming Valentine’s Day and the approaching Spring season as Kocyan and Aiso perform timeless works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Fryderyk Chopin, and Claude Debussy. Sunday, February 11 | 3:00 pm“Spring and Valentine” –…Continue Reading “Spring and Valentine” – Concert feat. Wojciech Kocyan with Ken Aiso

Save the Date: PMC Spring Concert (March 23)

On Saturday, March 23 at 4:00 pm, the USC Polish Music Center presents the annual PMC Spring Concert, featuring the Verona String Quartet with USC Thornton faculty member Bernadene Blaha. The program highlights works by pioneering female Polish composer and polymath, Grażyna Bacewicz, as well as the father of Polish modern music, Karol Szymanowski. Acclaimed…Continue Reading Save the Date: PMC Spring Concert (March 23)

“Wielka Droga” Film Screening & Lecture in LA-area

At the beginning of February, a unique film made in 1946, Wielka Droga [The Great Way], will be screened several times in the Los Angeles area. It will be presented by the Modjeska Art & Culture Club in Tujunga, CA on February 4, and the USC Polish Music Center in downtown Los Angeles on February 5. Both…Continue Reading “Wielka Droga” Film Screening & Lecture in LA-area

PMC Gifts: January 2024

EDA Records and Polish Music Frank Harders-Wuthenow, the executive producer for Berlin-based EDA Records, has successfully completed yet another fascinating recording project that features music by Polish composers. The first of the two CDs that we received from Mr. Harders-Wuthenow, is a monographic presentation of music for violin and piano by Krzysztof Meyer, issued in…Continue Reading PMC Gifts: January 2024

Zimerman: Gramophone Award for Szymanowski CD

Polish pianist and conductor Krystian Zimerman was in London last October to receive his seventh Gramophone Award. While in the UK, he recorded a podcast for Gramophone Magazine with James Jolly, touching upon such wide-ranging subjects as the music of Karol Szymanowski, conducting and retirement. The Gramophone Award honors his latest Deutsche Grammophon album, one…Continue Reading Zimerman: Gramophone Award for Szymanowski CD

Meccore String Quartet Plays Penderecki

The Meccore String Quartet, an ensemble long devoted to the chamber music of Krzysztof Penderecki, has just released a new album. This album consists of Penderecki string quartets, trios, and one of his clarinet concertos, featuring the guest appearance of acclaimed Polish clarinetist Jan Jakub Bokun. As a commemoration, this album was released on the…Continue Reading Meccore String Quartet Plays Penderecki

New Album of Paciorkiewicz Works

As a part of their project “Anothology of Polish A Cappella Works,” the Polish Chamber Musicians of Collegium Cantorum has just released their latest album: “Tadeusz Paciorkiewicz – Choral Works.” Released on the DUX label, the album focuses on the music of Polish composer Tadeusz Paciorkiewicz. Aside from being a decorated composer, Paciorkiewicz is considered…Continue Reading New Album of Paciorkiewicz Works

“Chain XXI” Witold Lutosławski Festival in Warsaw

Chain XII Witold Lutoslawski Festival in Warsaw

The “Chain XXI” Witold Lutosławski Festival will take place from January 20 – February 4, 2024 in Warsaw’s iconic W. Lutosławski Concert Studio of Polish Radio. This year’s festival celebrates the 30th anniversary of Lutosławski’s passing. The name of the festival, “Chain” (or “Łańcuch” in Polish) refers to a series of iconic compositions by Lutosławski…Continue Reading “Chain XXI” Witold Lutosławski Festival in Warsaw

Paderewski in Full Splendor at USC

Thanks to a timely initiative by Dean Jeff DeCaen and Marvin Munson of USC Thornton Operations and Eric Johnson, Director of Operations at USC Landscape and Grounds, the Paderewski monument—which stand right next to the main Thornton School of Music building—has been brought back to its original gleaming look. This restoration project was carried out…Continue Reading Paderewski in Full Splendor at USC

Blaha and Kayaleh Perform Żeleński and Noskowski

USC Thornton professor, pianist Bernadene Blaha, and Swiss violinist Laurence Kayaleh are featured on a new album of Polish romantic music released in December on Naxos (8.574220). These internationally renowned artists perform the unjustly neglected violin sonatas of  Władysław Żeleński (1837-1931)and Zygmunt Noskowski (1846-1909). From the Naxos website:  Both Zygmunt Noskowski and Władysław Żeleński were…Continue Reading Blaha and Kayaleh Perform Żeleński and Noskowski