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
Saturday, April 2, 2016 | 8:00 p.m. Alfred Newman Recital Hall, USC (see AHF on campus map) 3616 Trousdale Pkwy, Los Angeles, CA Reception following the concert Admission is FREE and open to the public Campus Parking: $12 – enter Gate 3 at Figueroa St. & McCarthy Way (Parking Structure X) From PMC Newsletter March 2016…Continue Reading 2016: A Tribute to Roman Ryterband
The music of 20th century Polish composer Roman Maciejewski was showcased at the Warsaw Rising Museum on March 30. Organized by the Warsaw Rising Museum, PWM Edition and Polish Radio Program 2, the concert included various piano, orchestral and chamber works performed by the Chopin Piano Duo. The program emphasized the composer’s modern style, as influenced by his teacher…Continue Reading Maciejewski at the Warsaw Rising Museum
Twenty-three years after its world premiere, Witold Lutoslawski’s “Symphony No. 3” was once again performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, to whom the work was dedicated along with then Artistic Director Sir Georg Solti. The performance was conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, who himself knew the composer well and has conducted much of his music (pictured at…Continue Reading Lutosławski at CSO
The chic Ace Gallery on Wilshire Blvd. just east of Beverly Dr. played host to the Szymanowski Quartet on Saturday evening, February 20—the Polish ensemble’s only Los Angeles appearance in their 8-concert California tour this February. The gallery offers infrequent but fantastic concerts of chamber music, regular guests in recent seasons being the Takács and Emerson String Quartets. Founded…Continue Reading Szymanowski Quartet in Beverly Hills – A Review by Lars Hoefs
The Philharmonic Society of Orange County presented the Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa on March 15. This concert marked one of the last stops on Baltic Phil’s extensive tour of the U.S. that began on the East Coast in early January. For the southern California program,…Continue Reading Beethoven by the Baltic – A Review by Marek Zebrowski
The 3rd International Symposium ‘Colloque international Maria Szymanowska (1789-1831) et son temps’ [International Colloquium ‘Maria Szymanowska (1789-1831) and Her Times’] took place on November 25-27, 2015 at the Polish Academy of Sciences’ Paris Center, the site of two earlier conferences cosponsored by Maria Szymanowska Society in 2011 and 2014. This edition of the Symposium was dedicated to “Talents…Continue Reading 3rd International Maria Szymanowska Symposium
Solo pianist and chamber musician Julia Samojlo made her debut at Carnegie Hall on November 11, in a collaborative concert with cellist Karolina Jarowszewska. Their joint performance included Chopin’s Polonaise brillante in C Major, Op. 3 and various classical pieces by polish composers, like Penderecki, Franck and Ysaye. Samojlo’s performance was applauded by the New York Concert Review: Samojło…Continue Reading Debut of Samojlo at Carnegie Hall
Organized by the Chicago Chopin Foundation, in cooperation with the Polish Museum of America, a concert dedicated to Frederic Chopin took place on February 28th in the PMA’s Sabina P. Logisz Great Hall in Chicago. Internationally acclaimed violinist Daniel Kurganov and violist Aurelien Fort Pederzoli were featured at this event, where they performed the musical masterpieces of…Continue Reading Chopin in Chicago