On December 17, 2014 in the Studio Theatre in Warsaw, the World Premiere of a new piece for harpsichord by Paweł Szymański was heard. Harpsichordist Małgorzata Sarbak performed Counterpoint Dissociative Disorder (2014), which was commissioned for Sarbak by the LADO Cultural Association and funded by the Institute of Music and Dance with funds from the…Continue Reading Szymański Premiere
On November 5-6, 2014, the FuturOpera project was presented at the Warsaw Chamber Opera. The project encompassed three chamber opera creations by contemporary composers of the young generation: Wasserstimmen by Dariusz Przybylski (a criminal opera based on a primaeval Inuit legend), Labirynt Orfeja [Orpheus’ Labyrinth] by Nikolet Burzyńska (a synthesis of selected threads from Greek and Slavic mythology) and Three Tall Tales of Doctor Monsieur Façade by Ryan Latimer (a…Continue Reading FuturOpera Premieres
The world premiere of Dies Illa—a 2014 Krzysztof Penderecki composition for three soloists, three mixed choirs and orchestra—was given on November 9 at Koekelberg Basilica in Brussels. The performance was conducted by the Estonian conductor Andres Mustonen during the Flanders Festival, where Nikolay Didenko, Johanna Rusanen and Poland’s Angieszka Rehlis appeared as the soloists. Themed…Continue Reading Penderecki Premiere
On October 16 and 17, the premiere of 2014: Here and Now composed by Zbigniew Preisner was performed by the Sinfonietta Cracovia and soloists with spectacular lighting, holographic and sound design at the opening of the highly anticipated new ICE Krakow Congress Centre in Poland. This grand establishment, costing 357.5 million zloty (84.5 million euro),…Continue Reading Preisner Premiere In Krakow
For a number of years the Katowice Music Academy has organized the Brand New Music Festival. Between the years 2001-2006 the Festival consisted of a conference and a single concert staged for the local composers and theoreticians. Held triennially, since 2009 the Festival began to invite special guests (including Per Norgard and Louis Andriessen) and…Continue Reading Brand New Music 2014
Music, passion, atmosphere, but most of all–performing stars that can be envied by the biggest concert halls in the world–these are the basic elements of a composition called Kwartesencja.” – Art Radio From November 14-16, 2014, Polish Radio’s Lutosławski Concert Studio will resonate with the unique music conjured by the Kwartesencja Festival. Inspired and…Continue Reading Premieres at Kwartesencja 2014
On Friday, October 10, during their “Concert de musique de films France Musique – SACEM / Hommage à Roman Polanski,” the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra performed the world premiere of Paweł Mykietyn’s Hommage à Oskar Dawicki. This piece was commissioned by the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra. During the same concert, the winner of the 2014 Prix France Musique…Continue Reading Mykietyn Premiered In France
The 43rd Musicological Conference of the Polish Composers’ Union [ZKP] was held at the Music Academy in Bydgoszcz Oct. 9-11. This annual forum is the biggest and most prestigious meeting for musicologists and music theorists in Poland. Organized under the theme of “Music Among Other Arts—Connections and Inspirations,” this year’s conference sought to demonstrate the links between music…Continue Reading World Premiere at Musicology Conference in Bydgoszcz
On October 11 at the Henryk Mikołaj Górecki Festival of Polish Composers in Bielsko-Biała, Gloria (2000) for choir and orchestra by Mikołaj Górecki was premiered. Also on the program were works by the composer’s father, Henryk Mikołaj Górecki—Canticum graduum op. 27, Dwie pieśni sakralne [Two Sacred Songs] to texts of M. Skwarnickiego Op. 30a (1971) for baritone and orchestra, and Kyrie for mixed choir…Continue Reading Mikołaj Górecki Premieres
A world premiere of Aftersounds, a 2014 Marcin Stańczyk composition for two percussionists and electronics, was given on September 12 at Centre Pompidou in Paris. The work was composed during Stańczyk’s one-year long residency at IRCAM in Paris and it explores the relationships between optical phenomena and music. The performers at the appropriately-named Espace de…Continue Reading Marcin Stańczyk Premiere