by Marek Zebrowski At USC The celebrations of the fortieth anniversary of the USC Polish Music Center, which began last fall with the ‘Celebrating Henryk Wars’ events, continued at the very end of March with more Polish music performed by truly excellent foreign-born performers. Held on Saturday March 29, our annual Spring Concert featured the…Continue Reading AKA Duo Conquers Los Angeles!
As a part of the ongoing collaborative series presented by the PMC and the Holocaust Museum LA, the AKA Duo will perform a program of historic works by Polish-Jewish composers at the Museum on March 30. The unmistakable tones of acclaimed Japanese violinist Seina Matsuoka and pianist Yuto Kiguchi will reverberate through this poignant and sonorous…Continue Reading AKA Duo Concert at the Holocaust Museum LA
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
In another collaboration with the Holocaust Museum in Los Angeles, the Polish Music Center presents one of the brightest young stars of the Polish chamber music scene: Duo Karolina & Iwo. Both virtuosos in their own right, Karolina Mikołajczyk and Iwo Jedynecki bring great energy to the stage, highlighting not only existing repertoire for accordion…Continue Reading April 2024: Karolina & Iwo Duo at HMLA
Thanks to Manuel Cini, concert pianist and professor at the University of Surrey—and thanks to his research in Holocaust music—we have learned of Leon Kaczmarek (1903-1973), a composer of vocal music and an inmate at Dachau concentration camp during the years 1940-1945. Not much is known about Kaczmarek’s early life and musical activities in Poland…Continue Reading Vocal Music from Dachau
The POLIN Music Festival, a festival celebrating Polish and Jewish music, has recently finished four exciting concert evenings. Held from February 22-25 in the POLIN Museum of Polish Jews in Warsaw, this year’s festival explored questions such as ‘What is Jewish music today?’. Performers range from new artists to international stars such the Grammy Award-winning…Continue Reading 2024 POLIN Music Festival
Originally planned for performances in Israel, our colleagues from the Stowarzyszenie Polskich Muzyków Kameralistów (SPMK), or Polish Chamber Musicians Association, are instead bringing their latest project to the US! Entitled “Muzyczne ślady Polskich Żydów” [The Musical Worlds of Polish-Jewish composers], concerts will be performed in New York City and Washington D.C. between December 5 and…Continue Reading SPMK performs ‘Musical Worlds of Polish-Jewish composers’ in NY & DC
Following on the heels of their riveting performance this past weekend at the Holocaust Museum in Los Angeles, the duo of Joanna Freszel (soprano) and Łukasz Chrzęszczyk (piano) continue their tour northward up the West Coast of the US. These two outstanding young Polish artists are individually winners of some of most prestigious awards in Poland and beyond….Continue Reading Freszel Duo: Seattle (12/5) and San Francisco (12/7)
On Sunday, December 3, the Freszel Duo will perform ‘Works by great Polish composers of Jewish descent’ at the Holocaust Museum in Los Angeles. Their program features compositions spanning the years immediately before, during, and after World War II. This event is organized by HMLA, in partnership with the USC Polish Music Center, Polish National…Continue Reading Freszel Duo at HMLA
Our partners at the Holocaust Museum in Los Angeles have curated several excellent concerts and music-related events for this fall/winter season. Entitled ‘Music and the Holocaust’ and offered with free admission, the series starts this weekend. Please see the list of events below and save the date! Recovered Voices: Exiled Composers and Hollywood Film Music…Continue Reading Upcoming at HMLA