Polmic - FB

news

Warsaw | 'Conductor-in-Residence': passion concert of Sinfonia Varsovia

Koncert Pasyjny Sinfonii Varsovii na Kamionku w 2024 rokuThe annual passion concert of Sinfonia Varsovia in the Co-Cathedral of Our Lady of Victories in Kamionek will take place in 2024 on the 21st of March at 7.30 p.m. as part of the "Conductor-in-Residence" programme implemented by the National Institute of Music and Dance. The orchestra will be led by flutist and conductor Daniel Mieczkowski. Admission to the concert is free!

The artists will perform the original version for orchestra of Joseph Haydn's Die sieben letzten Worte unseres Erlösers am Kreuze (The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross) and Krzysztof Penderecki's Sinfonietta No. 2 for clarinet and strings. Clarinetist Radosław Soroka will perform as a soloist.

Sinfonietta No. 2 was premiered 20 years ago (in 1994) by Paul Meyer and Sinfonia Varsovia conducted by the composer. The combination of the clarinet and strings highlights the wind instrument part, but at the same time the composer made sure that it remained primus inter pares.

More information: www.sinfoniavarsovia.org 

Warsaw | Premiere performance of St Mathew Passion by Krzysztof Kusiel-Moroz

Warszawa | Prawykonanie „Pasji według świętego Mateusza” Krzysztofa Kusiel-MorozaOn the 16th of March, 2024 at 5.00 p.m. in the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Warsaw and on Palm Sunday, March 24, at 7.15 p.m., in the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Warsaw-Płudy in 21 Classiców Street, the premiere of St. Matthew Passion by Prof. Krzysztof Kusiel-Moroz, prepared by Grammy winner, Jerzy Cembrzyński. There will be performances by outstanding soloists, the AVE choir and musicians of the Warsaw Philharmonic. Free entrance!

The first version of the piece was created over two decades ago as a piece for a children's choir and organ, performed during the liturgy. On the occasion of the 85th anniversary of the AVE choir, Passion will be premiered in a new version: as a concert composition arranged for choir, soloists and instrumental ensemble.

Booking of free tickets is required: https://fundacjaave.pl/pl/ 

Read more: Warsaw | Premiere performance of St Mathew Passion by Krzysztof Kusiel-Moroz

Polish Music Scene season 2024/25 - call for applications is now open!

"Scena Muzyki Polskiej" - logotyp

The National Institute of Music and Dance, in cooperation with the Warsaw Philharmonic, opens a call for applications for the next edition of the "Polish Music Scene" programme.

It is intended for Polish performing artists, and its main goal is to promote Polish works, especially works less known today and less frequently performed. The deadline for submitting applications is the 12th of April, 2024.

The application (in the form of a signed scan and in an editable version) should be sent only in electronic form to the following address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with a link to the place where the required audio-video material is located.

Rules and regulations: https://nimit.pl/aktualnosci/scena-muzyki-polskiej-startuje-nabor-wnioskow-na-sezon-artystyczny-2024-25/ 

Read more: Polish Music Scene season 2024/25 - call for applications is now open!

Composer Elżbieta Sikora was honored with the Prize of the President of the French Republic!

Sikora Elzbieta 2024 Elżbieta Sikora will be awarded during the 76th ceremony of the Grands Prix internationaux du disque, organized by the French Académie Charles Cros. The composer will receive the Prize of the President of the French Republic for her entire body of work. The award ceremony will take place on March 21, 2024, at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Paris, under the patronage of Emmanuel Macron, the President of France.

Since 1947, the French Académie Charles Cros has been awarding prestigious prizes for the best musical recordings, as well as the special Prize of the President of France for the entire body of work. In recent years, recipients of this award have included Kaija Saariaho and Bernard Cavanna. Académie Charles Cros also recognized the album "Concertos," which summarizes Elżbieta Sikora's achievements in this genre, by awarding it the Coup de Coeur prize.

Elżbieta Sikora's catalogue currently includes approximately 110 works, ranging from electroacoustic to instrumental and vocal music. The composer continues to take on new commissions with the same energy. Her latest monographic album, which includes three concertos (for piano, organ, and violin), is a testament to her talent – writes Michèle Tosi in the justification for the Prize of the President of the French Republic.

In 2023 and 2024, on the occasion of Elżbieta Sikora's 80th birthday jubilee, numerous performances of the composer's works are taking place worldwide. Nearly 30 concerts have been planned, including performances in Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Brussels, Vienna, Stockholm, Tallinn, Ljubljana, Oslo, Montreal, São Paulo, Brest and Marseille. Premieres of works such as "Tenebrae" at the Grand Theatre - National Opera in Warsaw, and a new Overture at the Zielona Góra Philharmonic, as well as jubilee concerts in Wrocław, Gdańsk, Kraków, and Wałbrzych, took place in Poland. These events are coordinated by SONORA Music, the agency representing Elżbieta Sikora.

During the ceremony organized by the Académie Charles Cros, which will be held as a guest event at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Paris, additional awards will be presented: the Honorary Award for the Itinéraire ensemble for 50 years of artistic work and the Grand Prix du Disque de Musique Contemporaine for Enno Poppe for the album "Prozession." More information: https://elzbietasikora.com/

Read more: Composer Elżbieta Sikora was honored with the Prize of the President of the French Republic!

News about close down of Radio Chopin is not true

Logotyp Radia Chopin

Referring to the "Open Letter of the Polish Composers' Union on the future of Radio Chopin", the new deputy director of Program 2 of the Polish Radio and simultaneously appointed director of Radio Chopin, Piotr Matwiejczuk, noted in an interview with PAP that "it is planned to change the place of Polish Radio Chopin in the structure of Polish Radio, the first manifestation of which is my taking up two positions. […] However, the changes will not apply to emissions.” Dwójka and Radio Chopin "are to remain separate programmes".

We welcome Piotr Matwiejczuk's statement.

Mieczysław Kominek
President of the Polish Composers' Union

Witold Lutosławski Scholarship 2024

Witold Lutosławski Society invites you to submit applications for an artistic scholarship funded by the composer's heirs. The scholarships are intended for postgraduate studies abroad, primarily for composers and instrumentalists who want to pursue contemporary music.

Those who have completed higher artistic studies at Polish state universities, at least at the bachelor's level, can apply for the scholarship. The application deadline is the 30th of May 2024.

Detailed information: https://www.lutoslawski.org.pl/index.php/2024/03/11/stypendium-im-witolda-lutoslawskiego/ 

Read more: Witold Lutosławski Scholarship 2024

Warsaw | Exhibition and concert "Who is dancing for me?"

KtoTanczy 20 3 24Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC

Żaneta Rydzewska's improvisation concert, accompanying Agnieszka Mastalerz's exhibition "Who is dancing for me?", will take place in the Fryderyk Chopin Museum Concert Hall on the 20th of March, 2024 at 5 p.m.

Agnieszka Mastalerz's video installation, which consists of two independent images, is complemented by an ambient soundtrack by Żaneta Rydzewska. The improvisation will be based on processing and looping sounds recorded in the spaces shown on the video.

Before the concert, there will be a conversation with both artists about the sources of inspiration and the interwining of arts.

Reservation of free entrance tickets is required at the ticket office or on the website: https://bilety.nifc.pl/rezerwacja/termin.html?id=643&date=2024-03-20 

Warsaw | Cybulski x Zemiter in Hashtag Lab

HashtagLab 19 3 24Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC

On the 19th of March 2024 at 7 p.m., the Hashtag Lab stage will host the premiere of a new album by the Zemiter STUDIOLO duo and will present Krzysztof Cybulski's electronic project AAAA (augmented acoustic actuated autonomous) - an unusual combination of the sound of the Post-Digital Sax, Autoviola and Aeromembranophone instruments built by Krzysztof Cybulski, algorithms partially controlling them and improvisation.

The instruments designed by Cybulski allow for digital control of the pitch of the sounds played, so that during the performance the musicians will be able to use looping phrases, improvise by eliminating the most or least frequent sounds, and even perform melodies generated digitally by the instruments.

Marcin Dymiter and Hubert Zemler's album STUDIOLO is music recorded with two sets of electronic devices combined into one organism. The concert will feature the premiere of the album, which was released by Antenna Non G.

Ticket information: https://hashtaglab.pl/event/cybulski-x-zemiter/ 

Read more: Warsaw | Cybulski x Zemiter in Hashtag Lab

"Sounds of Diversity" - new concert project combining artists from Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland

Sounds of DiversityCzech Republic, Poland, Slovakia: three neighboring countries, three diverse contemporary art scenes. They will be united by the new project "Sounds of Diversity", during which works by Markéta Dvořáková, Petra Šuško, Matej Sloboda, Przemysław Scheller and Daniel Skála will be premiered. The mini-tour through three countries of the Visegrad Four will present new music, a new project and a new band created especially for this occasion. Concerts will take place in Ostrava (March 18), Katowice (March 19) and Žilina (March 20).

The partners of the project are: the Hudební Současnost Ostrava Festival, Ensemble Spectrum and the Katowice Branch of the Polish Composers' Union.

The new concert project is presented by Creative Center Ostrava, an association that has been operating for five decades and was founded to unite composers, artists and amateurs of contemporary art, especially from Ostrava and the surrounding area. The idea of ​​implementing an international project connecting V4 countries arose from TCO's cooperation, in particular with Polish artists.

Website of the project: https://www.soundsofdiversity.com/ 

Read more: "Sounds of Diversity" - new concert project combining artists from Czech Republic, Slovakia and...