Composer and musicologist Jan Węcowski died in Warsaw on 11 February 2021, at the age of 89. Since 1964, he was a member of the Polish Composers’ Union (ZKP) and in 1973-1975 he was president of the ZKP’s Warsaw Branch. He was a long-term lecturer at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy Music in Warsaw and the editor-in-chief of…Continue Reading Jan Węcowski Obituary
Composer, pianist, arranger, teacher, and music journalist Zbigniew Ciechan passed away on 24 January 2021 at the age of 91. Initially, Ciechan studied at the State Higher School of Music in Poznań and then at the State Higher School of Music in Warsaw, from which he graduated in 1962. He was a student of Witold…Continue Reading In Memoriam Zbigniew Ciechan
The tragic news about the death of Elżbieta Markowska, former director of the Polish Radio – Channel 2 and president of the Witold Lutosławski Society, was announced on 24 January 2021. Elżbieta Markowska graduated in musicology from the University of Warsaw under the supervision of Professor Józef Chomiński. From 1970 she was associated with the…Continue Reading Obituary: Elżbieta Markowska
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
By Marek Zebrowski One cannot predict anything, but I would nonetheless like my music to survive, just like Szymanowski’s. Times have changed, yet Chopin’s music remains. Thus, I hope, my music will also remain.” [Penderecki for National Chopin Institute, quoted at onet.pl] Krzysztof Penderecki died in Kraków in the early hours of Sunday morning, March…Continue Reading In Memoriam Krzysztof Penderecki
By Marek Zebrowski Joseph Anthony Herter, conductor, author and scholar, professor of music and concert producer, died in Warsaw on 12 December 2019. He was 74 years old. It was a long journey from Detroit—a great Midwestern metropolis with a huge Polish émigré community—to Warsaw, which eventually became Joe Herter’s adopted homeland. This continental crossing…Continue Reading In Search of Harmony: An Obituary of Joe Herter
Jan Kulma, theater and television director, musician, philosopher, writer, Home Army soldier, participant in the Warsaw Uprising, husband of poet Joanna Kulmowa, and co-founder of the Warsaw Chamber Opera, passed away on 30 August 2019. He was born in 1922. During the Warsaw Uprising, Jan Kulma belonged to the 125th platoon of the second company…Continue Reading Jan Kulma Obituary
Polish composer Boguslaw Schaeffer died on July 1, 2019 in Salzburg. Born on June 6, 1929 in Lviv, he was 90 years old. Schaeffer made his compositional debut at the age of 17. Over the course of his life, he wrote about 550 pieces of music in 23 different genres, including symphonic, chamber, solo, sacred…Continue Reading Bogusław Schaeffer Obituary
By Marek Żebrowski With great sadness, we note the passing of Dr. Zbysław Petryka, a longtime friend and supporter of the Polish Music Center. He died on January 18 and was 88 years old. He is survived by his sister, niece and her family in Poland. Born on 11 February 1930 in Warsaw, Dr. Petryka…Continue Reading Farewell Dr. Zbysław Petryka
The Polish premiere of Epitaph for Paweł Adamowicz composed by Katarzyna Kwiecień-Długosz will take place on January 18. Monika Kaźmierczak will perform the piece on the carillon of the St. Catherine’s Church in Gdańsk. The composer dedicated the Epitaph to the recently murdered Mayor of Gdańsk, Paweł Adamowicz, whose name and city are referenced within the composition of the work…Continue Reading Musical Epitaph in Memory of Paweł Adamowicz