From the Chopin University Press The Polish Music Center recently received a large package of gifts for our library from our colleagues at the Chopin Music University. Sent by Marzena Radowska, the delivery was filled with fascinating recordings made by musicians associated with this prestigious institution, many of which are award nominees or winners already….Continue Reading PMC Gifts: May/June 2024
The latest album produced by the Stowarzyszenie Polskich Muzyków Kameralistów (Society of Polish Chamber Musicians) on their in-house label, SPMK Records, features works by Szymon Laks, Mieczysław Weinberg, and Karol Rathaus. The biographies of these fascinating composers are entangled in the difficult history of the 20th century, and this rarely-heard combination of their works tells…Continue Reading New CD From SPMK
On May 28, the Silesian Philharmonic hosted a birthday gala for Joanna Wnuk-Nazarowa, featuring works of the outstanding composer. The event featured a screening of the film Under Pressure of Sound and Word, followed by a celebration with the composer on her new monographic album on the Anaklasis label (ANA 030). It concluded with a…Continue Reading Wnuk-Nazarowa Birthday Gala in Katowice
by Marek Zebrowski The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra presented two concerts last weekend that opened with Overture for Orchestra, a brief and brilliant 1943 composition by Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-1969). Bacewicz—a virtuoso violinist and excellent pianist—showed her very best neo-classical side in this compact, six-minute-long work. Effective and challenging string writing coupled with bright woodwinds and…Continue Reading New Bacewicz: On Record and On Stage
A new album by pianist and composer Aleksander Dębicz will be released by Warner Classics on April 19. The artist admitted that the idea for an album preview clip, entitled “Illusion,” was quite spontaneous and was made together with Dębicz’s friend, professional filmmaker Adam Andrzejewski. Here’s a tantalizing peak at Dębicz’s upcoming album, Magnolia… [Sources:…Continue Reading New Release by Dębicz
A recording of Elżbieta Sikora’s works for soloists and orchestra published by ANAKLASIS (ANA 024) was recently honored as one of only two albums nominated for the Fryderyk Award in the “Concertante Music” Category. Entitled Concertos, this album highlights three of Sikora’s compositions written during the past two decades. The first item on this disc…Continue Reading Sikora’s Nomination and Award
The National Philharmonic in Warsaw has released a new album – Szymanowski Reimagined (FN 08/ACD 330), featuring outstanding violinist Bartłomiej Nizioł and the National Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Andrzej Boreyko. Transporting listeners on a fascinating journey through varied musical landscapes, the album contains some of the most interesting piano compositions by Karol Szymanowski,…Continue Reading New Szymanowski Album by Warsaw Philharmonic
EDA Records and Polish Music Frank Harders-Wuthenow, the executive producer for Berlin-based EDA Records, has successfully completed yet another fascinating recording project that features music by Polish composers. The first of the two CDs that we received from Mr. Harders-Wuthenow, is a monographic presentation of music for violin and piano by Krzysztof Meyer, issued in…Continue Reading PMC Gifts: January 2024
Polish pianist and conductor Krystian Zimerman was in London last October to receive his seventh Gramophone Award. While in the UK, he recorded a podcast for Gramophone Magazine with James Jolly, touching upon such wide-ranging subjects as the music of Karol Szymanowski, conducting and retirement. The Gramophone Award honors his latest Deutsche Grammophon album, one…Continue Reading Zimerman: Gramophone Award for Szymanowski CD
The Meccore String Quartet, an ensemble long devoted to the chamber music of Krzysztof Penderecki, has just released a new album. This album consists of Penderecki string quartets, trios, and one of his clarinet concertos, featuring the guest appearance of acclaimed Polish clarinetist Jan Jakub Bokun. As a commemoration, this album was released on the…Continue Reading Meccore String Quartet Plays Penderecki