On May 10, 2025, San Diego’s Balboa Park became the stage for a truly unconventional opera experience with a new staging of Park Opera by Polish composer Wojtek Blecharz. Set entirely outdoors, the performance invited audiences to explore the park with a map in hand, discovering live music, movement, and visual art installations. First commissioned…Continue Reading Wojtek Blecharz’s “Park Opera” in San Diego
Regarding Word War II During the month of June, the Polish Music Center received several books related to Poland’s history. Dr. Jarosław Rabiński, director of the Centrum Badań nad Historią Polskiego Państwa na Uchodźstwie [Center for historical studies of the Polish Government-in-Exile] at the John Paul II Catholic University in Lublin sent us a large…Continue Reading June 2024 PMC Gifts – Books on Polish History
The 42nd General Assembly of the Polish Composers’ Union (ZKP), held on June 13–14, 2025, concluded with the election of new leadership and the conferral of honorary memberships. Four distinguished figures of Polish music—Zbigniew Bargielski, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Teresa Malecka, and Marta Ptaszyńska—have been named Honorary Members of ZKP, in recognition of their outstanding contributions to…Continue Reading Polish Composer’s Union (ZKP) Elects New Leadership
The Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles announces the Summer 2025 Cultural Exchange Program. Carried out by the Festival Board in collaboration with the USC Polish Music Center, as well as other partners in California and Poland, this year’s Exchange will send two students—winners of the annual Youth Piano Competition in Paso Robles—on all-expenses paid study…Continue Reading 2025 Paderewski Festival Cultural Exchange Program
During World War II, Polish-Jewish luthier Franciszek “Franz” Kempa was imprisoned at Dachau, the first concentration camp established by the Nazis in 1933 in southern Germany. Based on the discovery of a note hidden in a recently examined instrument, it seems that Kempa masterfully crafted a violin out of the crude materials available to him…Continue Reading Violin Made in K. L. Dachau Discovered!
Janusz Wawrowski, acclaimed Polish violinist and professor at the Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, is using an extraordinary instrument — the Stradivarius Polonia — to record violin works by Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz. In his latest project, Wawrowski explores Bacewicz’s dynamic violin works, bringing attention to one of Poland’s most important composers of the…Continue Reading Wawrowski records Bacewicz on a Stradivarius
During their recent tour of the U.S. and Switzerland, the Karolina & Iwo Duo visited the Morgan Library and Museum in Washington to perform their arrangement of a previously unknown Waltz by Fryderyk Chopin. Discovered by curator Robin McClellan while cataloging the Arthur Satz Collection, this significant piece is the first major Chopin discovery since…Continue Reading Karolina & Iwo Duo Perform Recently Discovered Chopin Waltz
From June 13–18 in New York City, the 2025 Jazztopad Festival will present a lineup including: Immanuel Wilkins with the Lutosławski Quartet (World Premiere – watch live here), Michiyo Yagi with Hamid Drake, Patricia Brennan & Maciej Obara, Maciej Obara NYC Quartet with John Patitucci & Nasheet Waits, Wacław Zimpel with Brooklyn Raga Massive with…Continue Reading 2025 Jazztopad NYC Festival
The 2025 season finale of the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic on May 30 will mark a significant artistic moment with the world premiere of the Non-Academic Overture by Agata Zubel. Born in Wrocław, composer Agata Zubel returns to her hometown with a new composition commissioned by the National Forum of Music as part of the “Composers’…Continue Reading Zubel’s “Non-Academic Overture” Premieres in Wroclaw
The 35th edition of the International Music Course in Opole, held in conjunction with the 18th Silesian Summer of Music Festival, will take place from August 5 to 16, 2025. Supported by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage through the Culture Promotion Fund, this special anniversary year welcomes both solo performers and chamber ensembles….Continue Reading 35th Int’l Music Course in Opole