On June 24, the 48th J. K. Mertz Guitar Festival in Bratislava brought us world premieres of music written for classical guitar by renowned Polish and Slovak composers. The concert featured a combination of guitar, flute, and string quartet. Polish guitarists Marek Nosal and Jakub Moroźiński performed on stage with musicians from Slovakia—Ondrej Veselý (guitar),…Continue Reading World Premieres of Guitar Music in Bratislava
The manuscript of the Nobel-prize winning epic novel Chłopi [The Peasants], the dethronement act of Tsar Nicholas I, the “golden bull” of the Polish language from 800 years ago, the works of Henryk Wars, the legacy of Jerzy Kukuczka and 12 other priceless historical documents were included this year on the UNESCO Memory of the…Continue Reading Exhibition: “Memory of Poland. UNESCO Memory of the World Program National List – 5th Edition”
PWM has released a new publication about Polish composer Marta Ptaszyńska. Written by Ptaszyńska in collaboration with noted musicologist Iwona Lindsted, Siła intuicji [The Power of Intuition] is the third publication in PWM’s series “Ludzie Świata Muzyki” [People of the World of Music]. Marta Ptaszyńska is a true phenomenon. Few people are able simultaneously to…Continue Reading New Book About Marta Ptaszyńska
A review by Marek Zebrowski Cellist Jan Kalinowski and pianist Marek Szlezer—also known as the Cracow Duo—are quite familiar to audiences in California after their numerous appearances at USC, the Holocaust Museum, and the Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles, among others. Their latest Los Angeles performance was on March 10 in Ramo Hall on the…Continue Reading Virtuosity and Passion
We regret to inform our readers that Ewa Podleś, the great Polish opera singer, passed away on January 19, 2024 at the age of 71. Possessing a beautiful and rare true contralto voice with a range of three-plus octaves, Ewa Podleś sang in the most prestigious houses around the world—Teatro alla Scala, Deutsche Oper Berlin,…Continue Reading Obituary: Ewa Podleś, an Opera Legend
Poland’s Phonographic Academy [Akademia Fonograficzna] and the Association of Audio Video Producers [Związek Producentów Audio Video – ZPAV] have announced the recipients of the 2024 Golden Fryderyk Awards. This year, four artists have joined the exclusive group of musicians who received this prestigious lifetime achievement award. The official ceremony dedicated to jazz and popular music will take…Continue Reading Krzysztof Meyer Receives a 2024 Golden Fryderyk 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
The Phonographic Academy [Akademia Fonograficzna] and the Association of Audio Video Producers [Związek Producentów Audio Video – ZPAV] have opened up the first round of voting for the FRYDERKI 2024 Awards—Poland’s equivalent of the American Grammy Awards. Since 1995, the FRYDERKI Awards have been recognized by Polish musicians as the most prestigious awards in the…Continue Reading SMPK Members Nominated For FRYDERYKI 2024 Awards
This has been a very exciting half a year at the USC Polish Music Center, so exciting that we’ve barely had time to properly digitally welcome our newest staff member, Dr. Tomasz Fechner. Tomasz, or Tomek, has been a good friend of the PMC since 2015 when he was a classical guitar student at the…Continue Reading PMC Welcomes New Staff Member: Dr. Tomasz Fechner
On Wednesday March 22nd, mezzo-soprano Katarzyna Sadej will be at USC as a guest speaker in collaboration with USC Levan Institute for the Humanities’ “Sound In Sacred Spaces” series. As a speaker for this, Sadej will be presenting her Earth Singing Project, a project in which she records herself singing live in natural landscapes to…Continue Reading Earth Singing Project with Katarzyna Sadej