On June 30, 2016, Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra closed out the 2015/2016 Barbican season in London with Polish pianist Krystian Zimermanperforming Brahms’s Piano Concerto No 1 in D minor. Excerpt from a concert review by Andrew Clements for The Guardian: The first half of the concert had obviously been conceived as a unity: Rattle began by…Continue Reading Rare Zimerman Appearance in London
On the occasion of Ignacy Jan Paderewski’s 75th death anniversary, the National Center of Culture in Warsaw organized a Musical Marathon to commemorate the great composer. It was held on June 29, 2016 at Krakowskie Przedmieście 15/17. Well known virutosi as well as many rising young talents, including music students from Warsaw’s music high schools and students…Continue Reading Paderewski Musical Marathon
On May 11 as a part of the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, New York-based Polish violinist Kinga Augustyn performed a recital with pianist Benjamin Laude at the beautiful Preston Bradley Hall of Chicago’s Cultural Center. The concert was broadcast live on WFMT 98.7 fm and streamed live at wfmt.com. The program consisted of: Henryk Wieniawski (1835 – 1880): Legende,…Continue Reading Augustyn Recital: Live and Streaming
On May 11, the Beethoven Academy Orchestra presented the next installment of their series “Jeszcze polska muzyka…” [More Polish Music]. The program included Suita pamięci Piotra Czajkowskiegoop. 13 by Henryk Pachulski, Finale molto presto by Franciszek Lessel, Symphony No. 7 in A Major op. 92 by Ludwig van Beethoven, as well as Canticum Canticorum by young Iranian composer Mohammad Hadi Ayanboda,…Continue Reading Jeszcze Muzyka Polska
On May 26, ChamberMusicNY presented the American Modern Ensemble in a season finale evening of vocal works by composers who are (or were) percussionists. The concert was held in Merkin Concert Hall at the Kaufman Music Center. Entitled “Voice of Thunder,” the program included Liquid Light for mezzo-soprano by Marta Ptaszyńska, a Polish composer and percussionist who, since 1998, has served on the music…Continue Reading Ptaszyńska’s Music in NY
The Goethe Institute in Los Angeles is an elegant and modern venue located in the Mid-Wilshire/Museum-Mile district. With a well-stocked library of books, magazines, sound recordings and many rare DVDs, it is a very attractive place to visit and become familiar with German culture today. On Saturday, June 4, the Institute hosted a special event celebrating 25 years of Polish-German…Continue Reading Polish Accents at the Goethe Institute – a Review by Marek Zebrowski
Following the release of his Deutsche Grammophon recordings of Chopin’s 24 Preludes (DG 028948119103, Sept. 2015)and Chopin’s Ballades 1-4, Berceuse and 4 Mazurkas (DG 028948124435, Feb. 2016), Chinese pianist and youngest-ever winner of the Chopin Competition in Warsaw Yundi Li took his Chopin repertoire on a multi-city Asian tour in November 2015 – January 2016. Starting with venues in…Continue Reading Yundi Li Takes Chopin Recordings on Tour
The Neo Temporis Group traveled on a Ukrainian tour entitled “New Music. DIALOGUE WITHOUT BORDERS” from April 20 – 24, 2016. Conducted by Łukasz Wodecki, concerts took place in four cities of Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, and Odessa, where the ensemble presented works by eight different Polish and Ukrainian composers: Sławomir Kupczak, Karol Nepelski, Dariusz Przybylski, Jerzy Kornowicz, Oleksij Shmurak,…Continue Reading Neo Temporis Group Ukranian Tour
Karol Szymanowski’s elusive yet ever-successful opera, Król Roger [King Roger], took the stage once again at the Kraków Opera on April 28 and 30. Directed by Michal Znaniecki, the opera saw new staging changes as compared to other European productions. The resulting performances were deemed to be masculine and with a softened homosexual plot, though still a deep and moving…Continue Reading Król Roger at Kraków Opera
On April 29, British pianist Jonathan Plowright performed Paderewski’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 17 alongside the Szczecin Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. Plowright’s interest in rarely performed piano works as an ambassador for Polish Romanticism led to the collaboration concert, in which Panufnik’s Heroic Overture and Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 7 in C sharp minor, Op….Continue Reading Plowright Plays Paderewski