According to the external news service of Polish radio, thenews.pl: Polish jazz singer Urszula Dudziak has been chosen as a UNESCO Artist for Peace on account of her efforts to promote women’s rights and cultural diversity. A letter from UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova was presented to the artist by Deputy Foreign Minister Artur Nowak-Far over…Continue Reading Dudziak Named Unesco ‘Artist For Peace’
Paweł Łukaszewski—well-known composer, conductor, choirmaster, and 2011 Paderewski Lecturer—is this year’s winner of the Jerzy Kurczewski Prize. The artist was chosen for his outstanding achievements in the field of choral works, which have been presented at over 100 festivals in Poland and abroad, and were recorded on 70 CDs. The award ceremony will take place…Continue Reading Kurczewski Prize For Łukaszewski
The First Karol Szymanowski International String Quartet Competition was held from September 24–28, 2014 in Katowice, Poland. Organized by the Karol Szymanowski Music Society in collaboration with the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, the competition is open to string quartets of all nationalities with cumulative age of the quartet members not to exceed 120 years….Continue Reading 1st Szymanowski String Qtet Competition Winners
Held from October 16-19, the Best Music For Film Award at the 2014 Be there! Corfu Animation Festival went to composer Tomasz Jakub Opałka and his score for Ex animo (Poland 2014). The film was directed by Wojciech Wojtkowski and produced by FUMI Studio. The award was given for “the great power of imagination shown through the perfection connection of image…Continue Reading Opałka Animation Score Lauded
Maestro Tadeusz Strugała was feted by the Kraków Philharmonic on October 4 with a gala concert celebrating his 60 year-long career in music. He received the Polonia Minor Award from the Marshall of the Małopolska Region Seymik and the Honoris Gratia Medal from the Deputy Mayor of Kraków. After the ceremony, Maestro Strugała stepped up to…Continue Reading Strugala Honored In Kraków
On September 16, the committee of the 2014 Koryfeusz Polish Music Award announced the nominees in advance of the September 30 award ceremony. This year’s edition of this prestigious award was given under the theme of “Kolberg. (Re)interpretations.” The nominees in the Music Personality of the Year Award category included saxophonist Paweł Gusnar, Artistic Director…Continue Reading 2014 Koryfeusz Polish Music Award Winners
Using rare documentary footage and materials from a number of libraries around the world, Wiesław Dąbrowski’s Paderewski: The Man of Action, Success and Famepresents the history of the great Polish patriot, world-famous pianist and composer, statesman, diplomat, politician and philanthropist who was one of the transformative figures in the modern era. This documentarycontinues to garner…Continue Reading Paderewski Wins Around The World
During the final concert of the Transatlantyk Festival in Poznań on August 14, 2014, once again the prestigious prizes in the Instant Composition Contest and Film Music Competition were awarded. The juries have awarded the following prizes: Transatlantyk Instant Composer 2014 / First Prize (30 000 PLN): Mateusz Dębski Second Prize: Michał Wróblewski Third Prize:…Continue Reading Transatlantyk Competition Winners
Mironczarnia, Jakub Neske’s choral composition based on Miron Białoszewski’s poem, ranked 3rd in the 1st International Competition of Choral Composition juried by legendary film music composer Ennio Morricone. Jakub Neske composed Mironczarnia (English pronunciation: Meeroncharnya) for the 60th anniversary of Białoszewski’s debut in Życie Literackie, a Polish literary magazine. The poet had published his work…Continue Reading Neske Wins Composition With Białoszewski Poetry
Laureates of the 1st International Zbigniew Seifert Jazz Violin Competition—held as part of the Summer Jazz Festival in “Piwnica pod Baranami” on July 16-19 in Kraków, Poland—are as follows: 1st prize (10.000 EURO): Bartosz Dworak (Poland) (pictured at right) 2nd prize (5.000 EURO): Apel-les Carod Requesens (Spain) 3rd prize (ex-aequo, 2.000 EURO each): Dawid Lubowicz…Continue Reading Seifert Jazz Violin Competition