official patronage

Thomas Adès' The Exterminating Angel will be transmitted live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York on November 18, 2017 at the Praha Cinema in Warsaw.

The Exterminating Angel has its Met premiere this season, conducted by the composer, Thomas Adès.The 2016 opera, co-commissioned by the Met and sung in English, is based on the screenplay by Luis Buñuel and Luis Alcoriza for the acclaimed 1962 Buñuel film. Directed by the librettist Tom Cairns, the ensemble cast features Audrey Lunaas Leticia Maynar; Amanda Echalazas Lucia de Nobile; Sally Matthewsas Silvia de Ávila and Sophie Bevanas Beatriz,both in Met debuts; Alice Coote as Leonora Palma; Christine Riceas Blanca Delgado; Iestyn Daviesas Francisco de Ávila; Joseph Kaiseras Edundo de Nobile; Frédéric Antounin his Met debut as Raúl Yebenes; David Portilloas Edmundo; David Adam Moorein his Met debut as Col. Álvaro Gómez; Rod Gilfryas Alberto Roc; Kevin Burdetteas Señor Russell; Christian Van Hornas Julio; and John Tomlinsonas Dr Carlos Conde. The Exterminating Angelis a co-commission and co-production with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Royal Danish Theatre; and Salzburg Festival, where the production premiered in 2016.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

More information: http://www.kinopraha.pl

The Finding of the Holy Cross – Feliks Nowowiejski’s monumental oratorio will be performed at a special “Professor Mieczysław Nowakowski in memoriam” concert on the occasion of the Feliks Nowowiejski Year. The event will take place on November 24, 2017 at 8 p.m. at the Church of the Holy Cross in Warsaw.

Considered by critics to be Feliks Nowowiejski’s finest oratorio, The Finding of the Holy Cross (Kreuzauffindung) has not been performed very frequently. Even though the work’s first performance in Lviv in 1906 was a great success, the winds of history prevented it from becoming a staple of the Polish oratorio repertoire. Luckily, Nowowiejski’s output has become better appreciated in recent years. This has resulted in a growing number of concerts and recordings of works written by this exceptional composer, who was also a conductor, teacher, the pope’s chamberlain and virtuoso organist.

The Warsaw premiere of the work will take place thanks to the persistent efforts of Professor Mieczysław Nowakowski. This eminent conductor died in February of 2017. For a very long time he hoped to conduct his favourite oratorio to conclude his career in Warsaw. Professor Nowakowski not only had ties with Poland’s capital as a conductor, where he directed more than 1200 performances in the Teatr Wielki – the National Opera, but he was also a professor at the Warsaw Academy of Music. The performance of The Finding of the Holy Cross in the basilica in which Professor Nowakowski’s funeral ceremony was held eight months earlier thus acquires a new, symbolic meaning.

The Finding of the Holy Cross tells the story of St. Helena and her mission to find the true cross on which Jesus died. According to legend, on the eve of a battle emperor Constantine the Great saw a luminous cross in the sky, surrounded by the inscription “In hoc signo vinces” (In this sign thou shalt conquer). After a miraculous victory, the ruler promised to build a temple on the site of Christ’s crucifixion. This task was undertaken by the emperor’s mother Helena. Nowowiejski’s oratorio in three scenes shows her pilgrimage, her struggle with pagan cults in Jerusalem and her laborious search for holy relics. St. Helena will be sung by Ewa Biegas, while Macarius, bishop of Jerusalem will be sung by Krzysztof Szumański. The Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra will be accompanied by the National Philharmonic Choir, directed by Bartosz Michałowski. A monumental cast of 160 performers will be conducted by Sebastian Perłowski.

Admission to the concert is free. The event is organised by the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra and the Institute of Music and Dance and is co-funded by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage under the project “Nowowiejski 2017”, realized by the Institute of Music and Dance. Honorary sponsor: Kazimierz Cardinal Nycz, Archbishop of Warsaw.

The concert will be broadcast online at http://www.sinfoniavarsovia.org/pl/. 

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

The release of the album „Bartłomiej Pękiel. Opera omnia” will take place on November 19, 2017 at the St. Catherine's Church (7 Augustiańska Street, Cracow).

The project is the final stage of the task of recording all works of Pękiel, based on the musicological research conducted in The Archives of the Krakow Cathedral Chapter, undertaken by the OCTAVA ensemble in 2015. The high status of the task is evidenced by the fact that its implementation and financing were supported by flagship institutions and state entities responsible for Polish culture and its promotion, including: Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, National Center of Culture, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Municipality of Krakow, FiNA - National Film Archive - Audiovisual Institute, Adam Mickiewicz Institute (Culture.pl) and Institute of Music and Dance.

The three-disc album is the first in the history of the music market with a full picture and complete phonographic recording of the work of court composer of Władysław IV Waza. During the concert the OCTAVA ensemble under the direction of Zygmunt Magiera will present selected works by the genius Polish artist working in the Royal Wawel Cathedral, including: Missa Concertata la Lombardesca, Dulcis Amor Iesu, Dum Complerentur, Assumpta est Maria, Ave Maria, Magnum Nomen Domini, Audite mortales. The concert will be preceded by a lecture on the performed works, the genesis and the context of their creation.

During the concert it will be possible to purchase "Bartłomiej Pękiel. Opera omnia" at a promotional price. Admission to the event is free.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

More at: http://www.pekiel.pl/ 

Music of Krzesimir Dębski, Adrian Williams, Jarosław Siwiński and Adam Porębski, inspired by the work of Polish-born British writer Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, will be presented at the final of the "Pictures from Conrad" Festival on November 26, 2017 at the Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio of Polish Radio.

The final concert will feature works inspired by Conrad's novels: The Secret Agent, The Rescue, Poland Revisited and The Shadow Line. Fragments of texts selected by the composers will be also read out at the concert. The festival is organized by the Polish Society of Contemporary Music. Admission free.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

More about the festival at: https://ptmw.art.pl

A concert entitled "Piano Works by Founders of Warsaw’s University of Music" will be held on December 3, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. in the Concert Hall of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music.

Performer: Marcin Tadeusz Łukaszewski – piano. Programme: Grażyna Bacewicz, Marian Borkowski, Anna Ignatowicz-Glińska, Andrzej Karałow, Bartosz Kowalski-Banasewicz, Paweł Łukaszewski, Piotr Perkowski, Marian Sawa, Tomasz Sikorski, Jakub Szafrański, Wojciech Szmidt.

The concert is given by Chair of Music Education and Inter-Department of Comprehensive Piano Studies as part of the jubilee of 90 years of Department of Choir Conducting, Music Education, Church Music, Rhythmics and Dance.

Free admission cards available at the UMFC (2 Okólnik Street).

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

A concert given by Chair of String Instruments of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music entitled "From Elsner to Moryto" will be held on December 4, 2017 at 7:00 p.m.

Performers: Emilia Jarocka, Debora Kramarek, Judyta Kluza, Joanna Rybak, Kinga Zlot, Aleksandra Grudzińska, Karolina Miśkowiec, Zuzanna Budzyńska, Anna Korczyńska, Nikola Kiszczak, Błażej Bębeńca, Ayeong Heo, Emilia Łapko, Aleksandra Błaszczyk, Jan Pietkiewicz  – violin, Grzegorz Skrobiński, Aleksandra Dallali, Ewa Skardowska, Szymon Ogryzek, Andrzej Guz, Yuka Mohri, Aleksandra Płaczek  – piano.

Programme: Józef Elsner, Apolinary Kątski, Aleksander Zarzycki, Emil Młynarski, Ignacy Jan Paderewski / Stanisław Barcewicz, Karol Szymanowski, Stanisław Moryto, Tadeusz Paciorkiewicz, Henryk Melcer.

Artistic supervision: prof. dr hab. Andrzej Gębski.

Free admission cards available at the UMFC (2 Okólnik Street).

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

A concert of the Symphony Orchestra of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music under Maestro Vladimir Kiradijev will take place on November 29, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. 

Performers: Agata Szymczewska – violin, The FCUM Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Kiradjiev  – conductor. Programme: Karol Szymanowski, Roman Palester, Francis Poulenc. Ticket: 15 PLN.

The concert is a part of "Instrument Masters" in "Wednesday on Okólnik Street" cycle. It is also a part of the National Conference Roman Palester's Perfect Pitch, which will be held between November 29 and December 2. Admission for the conference is free.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

13th edition of the International Festival of Contemporary Music and Visual Arts „Mózg Festival” will be held in Warsaw between November 28 and December 2, 2017.

International Festival of Contemporary Music and Visual Arts „Mózg Festival” is an encounter of artists who work and create in all areas of contemporary music as well as performance art and multimedia installations where music plays an important part. Artists who participate in the festival come from all around the world. This reflects the multicultural principle of "Mózg Festival" and enables the audience to experience and understand different aspects of various cultures.

The festival presents the newest performance techniques and interdisciplinary combinations that relate to and honour tradition. Among the invited artists there are outstanding characters from the artistic world as well as young artists, whose hitherto activity manifests uniqueness. An indispensable part of the festival is the participation of local artists who meet the above-mentioned expectations. All artistic activity is treated as means leading to deeper understanding of the surrounding reality and changes that occur in the world.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

Festival Programme: http://www.festiwal.mozg.pl 

BASSO 2. Biennale of Low Tones will take place in Warsaw and will last until November 30, 2017.

BASSO is a unique biennial, mainly due to its originality and pioneering character in Poland. The idea of ​​the event is to go beyond the framework of the classical festival of classical music. The core of the programme is music for bass instruments, with particular emphasis on cello, viola da gamba and double bass, as well as brass and electronic instruments (tuba, bassoon, bass guitar) and folk instruments (basses). The name of the event refers to the baroque practice of basso continuo, i.e. a system of partially improvised accompaniment played on a bass line.

On November 26 at the Podziemie Kamedulskie singer Justyna Piernik and her father, tubist Zdzisław Piernik will perform music from Kuyavia region. The concert will be accompanied by a lecture on the role of bass instruments in Polih traditional music given by musicologist, instrumentalist and vocalist Maciej Kaziński, and the presentation of tubmaryna given by musician, animator and musical instrument builder Dominik Dembiński.

The final concert on November 30 will feature the AUKSO Chamber Orkiestra under Marek Moś along with Malisze Band from Męcina Mała in the Low Beskids who will perform short folk songs and dances from the Gorlice County on violin, hurdy-gurdy, nyckelharpa, drum and basses.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

More information: Facebook Profile.