In 2015, the Artur Rubenstein Philharmonic Orchestra in Łódź is celebrating its centenary. In celebration, on February 17 the ARPO will hold an Anniversary Gala Concert featuring the World Premiere of Musica festiva for two organs and orchestra by Krzysztof Meyer. Musica festiva was commissioned by the ARPO especially for the occasion. It will be…Continue Reading Meyer Premiere In Łódź
…an engagingly unsettled chamber work that alternated abruptly between passages of eerie calm and others of frantic unsteadiness.” —Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle (1/26/2015) On January 25, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players [SFCMP] performed the World Premiere of Polish composer and vocalist Agata Zubel’s new chamber piece, entitled Where To, at Cal Performances…Continue Reading Zubel Premiere In California
The World Premiere of Overture for symphony orchestra by Zbigniew Bagiński will take place during a concert at the Philharmonic in Kielce on February 6, 2015. The Kielce Philharmonic commissioned this new piece by Bagiński under the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage’s “Composing Commissions” program, as implemented by IMiT. Also on the program is…Continue Reading Bagiński Premiere In Kielce
Led by Mirosław Jacek Błaszczyk, the Henryk Mikołaj Górecki Silesian Philharmonic will give the Polish premiere of Górecki’s Fourth Symphony in the concert hall of the Łódź Philharmonic. Left unfinished by the composer at the time of his death in 2010, the work was completed and orchestrated by his son, Mikołaj, and presented to the…Continue Reading Polish Premiere of Górecki’s 4th in Łódź
On January 28, Poland’s Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (MKiDN) published the results of the call for applications for the 4th edition of the ministry’s program “Collections – Composing Commissions,” which is operated by the Institute of Music and Dance in Warsaw (IMiT). 90 pairs of composers and music organizations were awarded grants amounting…Continue Reading “Composing Commissions” 2015-2016 – Results
Music of beauty and enormity… it is a perfect masterpiece… it is a hymn to humanity… to the international solidarity of those who, subjected to the most terrible evil, stood up against fascism. –Dmitri Shostakovich about The Passenger The Lyric Opera of Chicago presents the Chicago premiere of Polish-Jewish composer Mieczysław Weinberg’s The Passenger…Continue Reading Exploring Mieczyław Weinberg in Chicago
Award-winning Polish composer Marta Ptaszyńska will succeed Shulamit Ran as the artistic director of Contempo, the University of Chicago’s renowned contemporary music collective. Ran, the Andrew MacLeish Distinguished Service Professor of Composition and a Pulitzer Prize winning composer, will retire in June after more than 40 years of service to the University and 12 years…Continue Reading Ptaszyńska to Lead Chicago’s Prestigious ‘Contempo’
The SYNTHETIS 2015 International Summer Course for Composers will take place in Radziejowice (near Warsaw) between July 13 – 25, 2015, organized by the Music Gardens Foundation. Young composers (up to 35 years old) from all over the world are invited to apply by April 30, 2015 for the opportunity to attend lectures and individual…Continue Reading Synthetis 2015
There was a strong Polish presence at the January 29 opening of the Metropolitan Opera’s new double-bill of two rarely performed operas: Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta and Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle. A co-production of the Met and Warsaw’s Teatr Wielki-Polish National Opera, both operas are staged by acclaimed Polish director Mariusz Treliński, in his Met debut. The double-bill…Continue Reading Treliński & Beczała at The Met
One of the newest installments in Google’s Cultural Institute initiative is the exhibit Witold Lutosławski 1913-1994, an interactive exploration of the life and works of the famous Polish composer, through images and text. This is the third Cultural Institute exhibit to be curated by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute’s flagship website, Culture.pl. The images are culled from…Continue Reading Lutosławski on Google