News
October 2017
‘Cracovians and Highlanders’ – unfamiliar aspects of the opera
2017-10-25
On 11 November, Wrocław Opera invites you to the premiere of 'Cud mniemany, czyli Krakowiacy i Górale' [The supposed miracle, or Cracovians and highlanders], with music by Jan Stefani and words by Wojciech Bogusławski. This is a special event: although this oldest Polish national opera has returned to the stage many times, the Wrocław production will be the first to be based on a critical source edition of the music.
‘Polish Ballets’: premiere at the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera
2017-10-24
On 10 November, the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera will be giving the first performance of the show ‘Balety polskie’ [Polish ballets], with music by Eugeniusz Morawski (‘Świtezianka’ [The nymph of Lake Świteź]), Aleksander Tansman (Sextet) and Karol Szymanowski (Violin Concerto No. 2). The choreography was prepared for the Polish National Ballet by Robert Bondara, Jacek Tyski and Jacek Przybyłowicz. The TW-PNO orchestra will be conducted by Łukasz Borowicz.
Muzyka Karola Szymanowskiego w Paragwaju
2017-10-23
On 9 November, works by Karol Szymanowski will be performed in the capital of Paraguay, Asunción. The Orquesta del Congreso Nacional, under the baton of Jorge Luis Uzcátegui, will present the Violin Concerto No. 2 and the 'Symphonie Concertante'.
Coming soon: ‘The Last Judgment’
2017-10-18
Pillaging, violence and dark secrets are all part of the story of Hans Memling’s triptych ‘The Last Judgment’. The history of the painting, shrouded in mystery, inspired the libretto to Krzysztof Knittel’s latest opera, under the same title.
The premiere of ‘Sąd ostateczny’ [The Last judgment], to a libretto by Mirosław Bujko, will be given on 8 November at the Baltic Opera in Gdańsk. The chorus, orchestra and ballet of the Baltic Opera in Gdańsk will be led by Szymon Morus. The leading roles will be taken by Robert Gierlach, Piotr Lempa, Jan Jakub Monowid, Anna Mikołajczyk and Magdalena Chmielecka.
PWM Edition and the Fryderyk Chopin Institute at the Music China trade fair in Shanghai
2017-10-15
Last Saturday brought an end to the largest music fair in Asia: Music China, held in Shanghai. Polish music was represented there by PWM Edition and the Fryderyk Chopin Institute (NIFC).
From 11 to 14 October 2017, at a joint PWM/NIFC stand in the Polish pavilion, those two institutions presented a full range of publications. From the extensive PWM catalogue, the most popular works proved to be educational publications (especially those from PWM’s pedagogic series for beginners, with beautiful covers designed by Joanna Rusinek), source editions of the works of Henryk Wieniawski, Karol Szymanowski and Mieczysław Karłowicz, and contemporary music by Witold Lutosławski, Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, Grażyna Bacewicz, Wojciech Kilar and Roman Maciejewski, as well as younger composers.
Tadeusz Kościuszko – Artist. An album and a concert in tribute to the hero
2017-10-12
Thanks to an exceptional publication issued by PWM Edition, launched on 18 October 2017 during a grand concert at the President’s Palace in Warsaw, we learn of an unfamiliar side to this Polish national hero. The event was organised as part of Kościuszko Year.
Fingers crossed you look here…*
2017-10-10
If so, then I invite you on 15 October to Villa Decius in Cracow. Let’s meet at 5 p.m. for Sławomir Kupczak’s monographic concert. It’ll be magic! We’ll be accompanied by Agata Zubel, Joanna Wicherek, Cezary Duchnowski and Michał Sławecki.
The Polish premiere of Vladimir Martynov’s ‘Come In!’
2017-10-04
On 7 November, Polish music lovers will have the chance to hear Vladimir Martynov’s ‘Come In!’ for violin and chamber orchestra, interpreted by Kaja Danczowska with the Chamber Orchestra of Krakow Academy of Music, conducted by Stanisław Krawczyński. The concert, part of the annual ‘John Paul II Days’ event, will be held in the Church of SS Peter and Paul in Krakow.
The first Polish performance of John Adams’s ‘Absolute Jest’
2017-10-04
On 3 December, the Apollon Musagète Quartett and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR) under the baton of José Maria Florêncio will be giving the first Polish performance of John Adams’s ‘Absolute Jest’, at the NOSPR concert hall in Katowice.
World premiere of Marta Ptaszyńska’s ‘Piano Concerto’
2017-10-04
The countdown has begun to the first performance of Marta Ptaszyńska’s ‘Piano Concerto’, to be given on 27 October in Kalisz. The Kalisz Philharmonic Orchestra will be conducted by Natalia Ponomarchuk, with Clare Hammond as soloist.
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The theme of Krzysztof Knittel’s work is refuge and the uncertainty and anxiety about the unknown associated with it, as well as the other side of this topic, i.e. the need to provide help and shelter. The text of the oratorio is based on a poem by Tadeusz Sławek. The piece features singing, recitations, choral parts and improvisations based on the traditions of the Middle East. The album was premiered on 15 March during the 11th Festival of Premieres in Katowice.
Musicologists commonly call it “Kras 52” – after the former reference number it was given in the Krasiński Library. It is the most valuable Polish source of medieval polyphonic music, which shaped the soundscape of the court of the first Jagiellons and Kraków at that time. The manuscript is gaining new life now, thanks to a performance edition by Agnieszka Budzińska-Bennett and Marc Lewon. “Krasiński Codex” has just been published by PWM Edition with the support of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
Frequent guest of the world’s most famous music venues (New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, London’s Royal Albert Hall and BBC Proms, Vienna’s Musikverein and Konzerthaus), in February 2021 Bomsori signed an exclusive contract with the prestigious Deutsche Grammophon label. As of this year, she also bears the honourable title of ambassador of Grażyna Bacewicz’s music, which she performs worldwide, promoting the legacy of Poland’s most important woman composer.
The 4CD album featuring songs and instrumental works by the Silesian master goes on sale as of 8 November. Released by the ANAKLASIS music label, it will be premiered on 3 December during a special PWM Edition concert held as part of the 12th International Days of Henryk Mikołaj Górecki at the Silesian Philharmonic in Katowice.
The esteemed American-Canadian jazz musician Michael Bates, his Acrobat Ensemble and the Lutosławski Quartet will perform three concerts in Poland in November. The repertoire will include material recorded by the musicians on the album METAMORPHOSES: VARIATIONS ON LUTOSŁAWSKI, released by ANAKLASIS in the REVISIONS series.
The artists have already successfully presented it at Lincoln Center and Barbès Jazz Club in New York. In autumn 2024 we will have the opportunity to hear them live for the first time in Poland: 14.11 - Krakow, 15.11 - Lublin, 17.11 - Wroclaw.
The Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw invites to the inaugural session of the biennial International Digital Musicology Conference, which will be held 23–25 October 2024, at the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw, Poland. The conference focuses on the integration of digital technologies into musicological research, with a special emphasis on introducing digital tools and methods to the Polish academic community, where digital musicology has not yet been widely adopted.
Although Ludomir Różycki - one of the most important representatives of Young Poland - enjoyed spectacular success as a composer during his lifetime, his works are rarely included in concert programmes today. It is therefore worth remembering his exceptional art.
Aleksander Nowak continues his original cycle of compositions that enter into a dialogue with most recent Polish literary works. The album premiere of his opera based on Marcin Wicha’s Nike-awarded book Things I Didn’t Throw Out will take place during the AUKSODRONE festival in Tychy.
Musical themes from Coppola’s cult movie, as deconstructed and reinterpreted by this wayward duo, will be performed at a live concert accompanied by the premiere of THEMES OF DRACULA from ANAKLASIS on vinyl records.
It’ s like a game. The memory game, thanks to which you can look at a very ordinary family from an extraordinary perspective. ALBUM RODZINNY [Family album] – an opera by Jerzy Kornowicz with a libretto by Michał Rusinek – is another premiere of the ANAKLASIS label this year. This time, the record brand is expanding its audience to include the youngest listeners. The album will be released on 21st June.
