Polish soprano Aleksandra Kurzak is a recipient of one of this year’s Readers’ Awards for opera singers of the year at the 2015 International Opera Awards. The awards were presented on April 26, 2015 during a gala at the London Savoy theatre. According to Filip Lech of Culture.pl: The International Opera Awards are presented by Opera…Continue Reading Kurzak Wins International Opera Award
The International Competition for Young Composers “Generance” has been organized by the Janaček in May Festival in Ostrava, Czech Republic for 37 years already. The competition is aimed at young composers from four countries: the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. The subject of this year’s compositions was: for a solo instrument with accompaniment, for…Continue Reading Young Polish Composers Honored In Ostrava
Violinist Kinga Augustyn, who is already known to audiences in California after appearing at the 2012 Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles (pictured at right), has just been recognized with the 2015 “Outstanding Pole Abroad” Award [Wybitny Polak za granicą]. This year marks the fifth anniversary of this prestigious competition organized by the Polish National Emblem Foundation [Fundacja…Continue Reading Laurels for Augustyn
Two Polish musicians were recently awarded the Decoration of Honor “Meritorious for Polish Culture” from the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage [MKiDN]: virtuoso violinist and cultural organizer Janusz Wawrowski, and pianist, theoretician and composer Marcin Tadeusz Łukaszewski. They were officially decorated at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw by University Rector,…Continue Reading Wawrowski & Łukaszewski Decorated
From February 20 to March 1, the 9th US National Chopin Piano Competition was organized by the Chopin Foundation of the United States in Miami. Following eight days of grueling competition, the nine Competition Jury members—Agustin Anievas, Chair, Sergei Babayan, Ian Hobson, Krzysztof Jabłoński, Kevin Kenner, Dean Kramer, Jon Nakamatsu, Katarżyna Popowa-Zydroń and Margarita Shevchenko—announced…Continue Reading US Nat’l Chopin Competition Winners
An equivalent of the American Grammy Awards, the Fryderyk Awards are organized by the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry to honor the year’s best recordings by Polish musicians and of Polish music. On March 4, the nominations for the 2015 Fryderyk Awards were announced. Highlights from the category of classical music include: PENDERECKI Chamber…Continue Reading 2015 Fryderyk Award Nominations
Following the celebrations accompanying the release of the last volume of Szymanowski’s Collected Works last October (see the November Newsletter for details), Teresa Chylińska was honored by the Rector of the Jagiellonian University with the “Plus ratio quam vis” medal on December 9, 2014. The ceremony was held at the Pusłowski Palace in Kraków, the…Continue Reading More Honors For Chylińska
Gramophone Magazine Editor Martin Cullingford selected twelve of his favorite recordings from the February issue for his Editor’s Choice list, and three of these recordings featuring several Polish composers and performers. See below: No. 1: JS BACH English Suites Nos 1, 3 & 5 Piotr Anderszewski – piano Warner Classics “This is a glorious disc….Continue Reading Gramophone Editor’s List (Feb 2015)
The winners of the Polish National Chopin Competition were announced at the end of auditions held in Warsaw during the first week of February. The first three winners—Andrzej Wierciński, Łukasz Krupiński and Krzysztof Książek—will be able to bypass the first stage of the International Chopin Competition that will begin in Warsaw on October 1, 2015….Continue Reading Polish National Chopin Competition Winners
The results of the first round of the Tadeusz Baird Competition for Young Composers were announced on January 16. The jury—including Jerzy Bauer, Zbigniew Bagiński, Krzysztof Baculewski and Sławomir Czrnecki—selected the following works: Smugi cienia [The Streaks of Shadows], Goliady, Tick!—Time (time is ticking), Trzy jedności [The Three Unities], and Ménilmontant Fluctuations. The composers’ names…Continue Reading Baird Competition: First Round Results