The popular weekly magazine Polityka has announced the 2014 nominations for its annual Passport Award. Candidates for this coveted cultural prize are chosen from the fields of film, literature, popular music, classical music, theatre, and visual arts. The “Passports” recognize talented young people who, with their activities in a given year, exert unquestionable influence on Polish culture and serve…Continue Reading 2014 Nominations: ‘Polityka Passports’
Polish-American composer Mikolaj Stroinski, who created the score for the game The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, has been nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition at the 18th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards. The D.I.C.E. Awards ceremony will take place on Thursday, Feb. 5 at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas at the…Continue Reading Stroinski Nominated for “Ethan Carter” Score
The idea behind the Łańcuch [Chain] Festivals is to showcase the music of Witold Lutosławski in an appropriate context. The 12th Łańcuch Festival encompasses five concerts, taking place in Warsaw from January 25 until February 7. Each evening, Lutosławski’s works will be juxtaposed against other works, including masterpieces by Bartok and Beethoven, as well as Scandinavian music,…Continue Reading ŁAŃCUCH 2015
The Complete Piano Works of Szymanowski Karol Szymanowski: 20 Mazurkas, Op. 50; Metopy (Metopes), Op. 29; 4 Studies, Op. 4; Piano Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 21; 20 Mazurkas, Op. 50; Variations on a Polish Theme, Op. 10; Masques, Op. 34; Fantasia in C Major, Op. 14; 20 Mazurkas, Op. 50; 12 Studies,…Continue Reading New on NAXOS
Jerzy Semkow, one of the most prominent Polish conductors and champions of Polish music around the world, died on December 23 near Lausanne, Switzerland after a long illness at the age of 86. Born in Radomsko, Poland, he first studied conducting in Kraków and later continued with the legendary Evgenii Mravinsky, the Artistic Director and…Continue Reading Jerzy Semkow (1928-2014)
Paweł Buczyński, a composer and lecturer at the Chopin Music University, and member of the Polish Composers’ Union, died January 5 at the age of 62. He studied composition with Tadeusz Baird in Warsaw and later with Roman Haubenstock-Ramati in Vienna. Since 1979 he was associated with the Warsaw Music Academy and during the 1980s…Continue Reading Pawel Buczyński (1953-2015)
The annual Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles was held November 5-9, 2014 in the charming Central Coast town that Ignacy Jan Paderewski once considered his second home in America. Paderewski’s legacy is still felt in the Paso Robles region, which has grown exponentially since Paderewski introduced large-scale Zinfandel and Petit Syrah wine production to this…Continue Reading Looking Back at the 2014 Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles
During a meeting in Warsaw, composer Joanna Bruzdowicz presented PMC Director Marek Żebrowski with her new CD, “Joanna Bruzdowicz: String Quartet No. 1 ‘La Vita,’ From the Fever World, World” (Acte Prealable CD 329, 2014). The album was recorded by Liliana Górska, mezzo-soprano, Tomasz Jocz, piano and the NeoQuartet. Żebrowski also met with composer Krzysztof…Continue Reading Recent Donations
Panufnik In New York Times On November 28, the New York Times published an interesting article about the life and music of Polish émigré composer Sir Andrzej Panufnik on the 100th anniversary of his birth. Entitled “His Nightmares Starred Communists, Not Nazis – Celebrating Panufnik, a Polish Composer in London” and written by Michael White,…Continue Reading 2014 Anniversary Year
The world premiere of Dies Illa—a 2014 Krzysztof Penderecki composition for three soloists, three mixed choirs and orchestra—was given on November 9 at Koekelberg Basilica in Brussels. The performance was conducted by the Estonian conductor Andres Mustonen during the Flanders Festival, where Nikolay Didenko, Johanna Rusanen and Poland’s Angieszka Rehlis appeared as the soloists. Themed…Continue Reading Penderecki Premiere