official patronage

The album Roman Maciejewski. Piano Music, released by DUX Recording Producers, will have it's concert premiere on 22 march 2018 at Nowy Świat Muzyki (63 Nowy Świat Street, Warsaw).

Roman Maciejewski is one of the most interesting creative personalities of the Polish musical life of the 20th century and probably the most underrated, which is due in a similar degree to the composer's independent character, as for political reasons. Stylistically, Maciejewski's piano works show a convergence with neoclassicism, with the admixture of Romanticism typical of Polish composers, but also with elements of impressionist experiments with colors. A great compositional workshop can be seen both in polyphony and in the masterful application of variational and developing techniques. A constant element of his works is deep emotional saturation.

The allbum Roman Maciejewski. Piano Music contains extraordinarily interpretations of Maciejewski's eight piano works, made by Mariusz Ciołko, including the first ever recording of Mazur II. During the premiere concert, the pianist will present some of the works he has recorded. This is a great opportunity to broaden your musical horizon, meet new inspiring people from the musical environment and get closer to the art.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

On 26-27 March 2018, the Choral Studies and Artistic Education Department at the UFMC organizes the National Scientific and Artistic Conference "Choral music – achievements, perspectives: choral music of the 20th and 21st century".

During the conference, research devoted to contemporary choral music, as well as festival and competition initiatives related to contemporary choral music will be presented. Speakers will discuss ways of developing choral music and current compositional trends in the 20th and 21st centuries. Papers on contemporary composing techniques and performance practice will be delivered. There will also be a discussion between artists and practitioners on the issue of ​​performing choral music of the 20th and 21st centuries.

The organizers invited conductors, choirmasters, musicologists and theoreticians interested in choral music and its artistic and didactic values. The participants will discuss, among others, performance issues of Szymon Godziemba-Trytek's composition, choral texture in the works of Paweł Łukowiec, choral works of Aleksander Szeligowski and composers of the XX-XXI century connected with Cieszyn Silesia. Papers will also be given by composers: Miłosz Bembinow – Choral music as a showcase of Polish culture abroad, Marek Raczyński – Where music is born – the composer's cooperation with the conductor, Marcin Łukaszewski – Wojciech Łukaszewski's choral art, Szymon Godziemba-Trytek Karawaki symbolism in the song "Crux Christi salva nose" of Szymon Godziemba-Trytek.

The conference will take place in the didactic building of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music at the Instrumental and Pedagogical Faculty in Białystok (5 Kawaleryjska St.). The scientific manager of the event is dr hab. Anna Olszewska, prof. UMFC.

As part of the Conference, there will be a concert of the Female Choir of the I. Paderewski Music Schools Complex in Bialystok "Schola Cantorum Bialostociensis" under the direction of Anna Olszewska.

Media Patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

The Metropolitan Opera will broadcast to cinemas around the world a new staging of the Mozart's Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti. On 31 March 2018 at 6.35 p.m. the Praha Cinema will show the live tranmission of this comic opera from the director's perspective.

Così fan tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of the best stage works of the Viennese classic, and at the same time the apotheosis of the comic opera. The only problem is that the ending of Così fan tutte is not the funniest one: it reveals a certain significant weakness of the main characters – betrayal. Two friends, Ferrando and Guglielmo (in these roles Ben Bliss and Adam Plachetka) decides to test their beloved ones. They tell their fiancées they are leaving for war, and then return dressed as Albanian soldiers, ready to do anything to seduce the lonely fiancées. Mr. Fiordiligi and Dorabella (in these roles Amanda Majeski and Serena Malfi), after a short resistance, allow themselves to be seduced, because – apparently – they all do that.

Mozart's comedy in the direction of Phelim McDermott will take place in the setting of the funfair at Coney Island, a revue theater and a small motel from the 1950s. David Robertson will conduct the orchestra. Fire-eaters, a woman with a beard and snake charmers will also appear on stage.

The presentation in the language of the original (Italian) with Polish subtitles takes about 3 hours and 45 minutes (including 1 break).

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

Additional information at: www.kinopraha.pl

The Giselle performance from the Moscow Bolshoi Theater will be show in April and May in cinemas all over Poland. The retransmission at the Praha Cinema will take place on 8 April 2018 at 5.00 p.m.

Nazywowkinach.pl – a distributor of opera, ballet and theater transmissions and rebroadcasts to cinemas – invites you to the retransmission of a romantic ballet, in which the title role is created by Svetlana Zakharova, accompanied by an outstanding dancer Sergei Polunin, who is also famous for his dance technique.

Giselle is the culmination of the romantic style in ballet, a title loved by ballet fans around the world. It is one of the few ballets, which practically continuously exists on the stages of the world since its premiere over 170 years ago. In the Bolshoi Theater we will see the version of Jurij Grigorowicz, who created it based on the choreographies of Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot and Marius Petipa. Giselle has been absent from Polish stages for over a dozen years, so there is a unique opportunity to watch this masterpiece of the art of dance.

Giselle is also a special work in the career of Svetlana Zakharova, Bolszoi's and other world scenes' prima ballerina. For the first time, she performed it on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, when she was admitted to the local team. She was ... less than 17 years old. Then she performed this role three times during the guest marathon of Marianski's performances on the Bolshoi scene. She was also invited with guest performances at Giselle on the Moscow stage. Finally, it was Giselle who danced when she moved to the ballet group of the Bolshoi Theater.

The audience will also be electrified the news that Sergei Polunin, known as the naughty ballet boy, will be her partner as Prince Albert. Currently, the artist, unconnected with any stage, became famous for bravura dance to the song Take me to Church, which has already been watched by over 23 million viewers on the internet. Recently, the dancer also starred in the film Murder in the Orient Express directed by Kenneth Branagh.

The performance, with the participation of Svetlana Zakharova and Sergei Polunin, was recorded in 2015. Currently, Bolshoi Theater retransmits the ballet for its viewers around the world within the "Bolshoi Ballet Live" series.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

The list of cinemas, screening dates and casting – here.

Additional information at: www.kinopraha.pl 

In the fourth Sinfonia Varsovia Chamber Music Series concert, which will take place on 4 April 2018, we will hear string quartets by Mieczysław Weinberg and Szymon Laks. Both works were written in 1945 and both provide a remarkable account of the experience and emotions of their creators, who have gone through so much in the early years of the 20th century.

The last concert of the spring edition of the Sinfonia Varsovia Chamber Music Series will consist of two exceptional string quartets written in the year in which World War II came to an end. Three Sinfonia Varsovia musicians: Stanisław Podemski and Agnieszka Guz – violins, Małgorzata Szczepańska – viola and Sinfonia Varsovia Academy participant, cellist Zofia Ziemkiewicz will perform Mieczysław Weinberg’s String Quartet No. 5 Op. 27 and Szymon Laks’ String Quartet No. 3.

Even though both composers were born and brought up in Warsaw, they also both left Poland at an early age. Szymon Laks established his ties with Paris in the late 1920’s, studying composition with Paul Vidal. He came back to Poland during World War II in rather drastic circumstances – as a prisoner of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. He was then transferred to the German concentration camp in Dachau and was eventually liberated by the American army. After the war he came back to settle in Paris permanently. Apart from composition, Laks also started to write books about life in the concentration camp. Laks’ String Quartet No. 3 is based largely on Polish folk melodies. Some themes, such as the song about a hungry soldier could be an expression of the composer’s experience in the concentration camps. However, rather than a reflection of the terrors of war, the Quartet resonates with a joy of life and amazement at the vital power of folk music.

Perhaps Mieczysław Weinberg’s wartime experience isn’t as severe, but nevertheless the dire aura of those times made a strong impression on his music. When the war broke out in September 1939, the composer made his escape from Poland to settle permanently in the Soviet Union. String Quartet No. 5 Op. 27 was composed when Weinberg was making a living in Moscow, writing music for the circus and the theatre, keeping serious works of chamber and orchestral music for his own creative needs. “I believe it is my moral duty to write about the war, about the terrible fate this century brought down on human beings.” said Mieczysław Weinberg, who lost many loved ones in concentration camps. Even though Weinberg’s output is exceptionally extensive (including 22 symphonies, 18 concertos for solo instruments and 17 string quartets), music composed by him in the 1940’s and 1950’s met with criticism of sprading “Jewish bourgeois nationalism”, “formalism” and other crimes against the socialist realism doctrine. If not for his friendship with the influential Dmitri Shostakovich, Weinberg would probably not have lived until the 1990’s, when his name started to arouse interest beyond the borders of Russia.

Admission to all Sinfonia Varsovia Chamber Music Series concerts is free.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

For detailed dates and concert programmes please visit: www.sinfoniavarsovia.org

The next concert in the cycle "Polish music too little known", featuring Polish Cello Quartet, will take place on 8 April 2018 at 6.00 p.m. at the headquarters of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Polish Cello Quartet was established in 2011 on the initiative of Tomasz Daroch, Wojciech Fudala, Krzysztof Karpety and Adam Krzeszowiec. The artists decided to form a chamber ensemble to show the public the original sound of the cello quartet. PCQ musicians had the honor to learn from leading cellists and pedagogues in Poland (Paweł Głombik, Stanisław Firlej) and abroad (Frans Helmerson, Gary Hoffman, Michael Flaksman, Jelena Očić, Julius Berger, Jeroen Reuling). They gained artistic experience in renowned cultural centers in Europe, including Cologne, Mannheim and Brussels. Each member has numerous prizes in cello and chamber music competitions. The band performs regularly at international music festivals such as Wratislavia Cantans, Internationaal Kamermuziekfestival Schiermonnikoog, Q'arto Mondi, Jazztopad. It collaborated with many outstanding classical and jazz musicians, including Gary Hoffman, Jadwiga Rappé, Dominik Połoński, Tony Malabi and Nat Wooley. In 2014, the Polish Cello Quartet became one of the ensembles of the National Forum of Music.

This unique chamber ensemble, composed of four outstanding young cellists, will perform Deux mouvements for four cellos by Aleksander Tansman, Quartetto per quattro violoncelli by Piotr Moss, Ballade and Rapsody for four cellos by Kazimierz Wiłkomirski and sculpture (from the way of the cross) for 4 prepared cellos by Artur Zagajewski.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

Information about tickets on the NOSPR website.

A meeting of the 1st Witold Szalonek International Composers' Competition jury was held on 2 April 2018. The jurors selected 17 compositions for the second stage of the contest.

The idea for the Witold Szalonek International Composers' Competition 2018 – 1st Edition was born of the idea of ​​creating a project that would be aimed at getting to know the contemporary music of our time, dedicated to the memory of the great Polish composer of the 20th century, Witold Szalonek (1927-2001). Selected works of composers will be performed during two final concerts as part of the II International Kwidzyn Music Spring Festival.

Works from 16 countries were submitted and a committee composed of: Marcel Chyrzyński (Poland), Dagfinn Koch (Norway), Mirosław Pachowicz (Poland), Mark Hartt-Palmer (Great Britain), Dariusz Przybylski (Poland), Michail Travlos (Greece / Poland ) chose 17 works from 11 countries. Among them are composers already with a very rich career, distinguished academic professors, and talented youth. One of the prizes was funded by the Witold Szalonek family. Mats O Hansson (Sweden), Christopher Bochmann, George Holloway (United Kingdom), Ali Afshary (Iran), Franciszek Araszkiewicz (Poland), Mario Folli, Gaetano Lorandi (Italy), Elena Papari, Ananias Ananiadis, Dimitris Mantzirakis, Dimitris Tsimpanos ( Greece), Shoryu Itazu, Ryuji Kubota (Japan), Robert Lemay (Canada), Kong Zhixuan (China), Jaime Belmonte Caparrós (Spain), Martín Rincón Botero (Colombia).

The final stage of the competition will consist of two evening events that will take place in Kwidzyn on 4 and 5 June 2018 as part of the concert season of the 2nd International Festival "Kwidzyn Music Spring". The competition compositions will be performed during the final concerts. The winner will be announced at the end of the second evening.

Detailed information about the competition: www.phasma-music.com

The next season of transmission and retransmission of ballet performances from the Moscow stage will begin on 11 November 2018 with La Sylphide. Following the previous seasons, the program will feature, next to the great classical ballets, 20th-century works and one premiere prepared especially for the ballet company of the Bolshoi Theater.

The 2018/2019 season of the "Bolshoi Ballet Live" series will start with the broadcast of La Sylphide – the first romantic ballet, thanks to which the ethereal phantoms and fairies began to reign on the dance stage, and the dancers started to dance on the tips of their fingers. La Sylphide will be shown in the version choreographed by Auguste Bournonville and staged by Johan Kobborg.

As usual, among the seven presented titles, we will see stagings of the great nineteenth-century classical ballets, which the Bolshoi Theater is famous for and which are rightly praised. They will be: oriental La Bayadère with the famous Shadow scene, Sleeping Beauty in a very spectacular and visually rich staging and of course the Christmas Nutcracker, this time live and in a new cast. The reckless and full of temperament Don Quixote with Yekaterina Krysanova and Semyon Chudin will also be repeated. The twentieth century will be represented by The Golden Age ballet by Yuri Grigorovich broadcasted a year ago with the excellent music of Dmitry Shostakovich.The season will end with a ballet evening, which will consist of two one-act works: Carmen-Suite and Petrushka.

More information at: http://new.nazywowkinach.pl 

The live broadcast of rarely performed Giuseppe Verdi's opera Luisa Miller from the New York's Metropolitan Opera, for the first time in HD, will be a real treat for music lovers around the world, especially for Polish ones. It is a rare situation that artists of such reputation as Sonya Yoncheva, Piotr Beczała and Plácido Domingo debute in new roles in one performance. We will have a chance to admire these three on 14 April 2018 during the transmission at the Praha Cinema at 6.10 p.m.

In a remarkable career spanning six decades in the theater, Giuseppe Verdi composed 28 operas, at least half of which are at the core of today’s repertory. Luisa Miller represents a transitional moment in Verdi’s unparalleled career. While reminiscent of the youthful vitality that had made Verdi an international sensation, the opera also looks forward to the dramaturgical discipline and sophistication of the composer’s middle period. The story centers on the bond between a father and his daughter as they stand together against a hostile world, and much of the dramatic and psychological acumen that would define the mature Verdi is already fully apparent in this earlier work. It is an opera very much like its title character—one that impresses with genuine virtues rather than superficial flashiness.

The libretto, written by Salvadore Cammarano, is based on Schiller's drama Intrigue and love. The opera was originally set during the first half of the 17th century in the Tyrolean Alps (now part of Austria), which reflects the Germanic source of the drama. The non-Mediterranean setting is also typical of an interest in Northern Europe that was a hallmark of the Romantics and other artists of the early 19th century. The Met’s current production updates the setting to rural England in the era of the work’s composition. The resumption of the production of Elijah Moshinsky from 2001 in such an excellent cast gathered great reviews in New York. Alongside the celebrity trio, the performance will feature Olesya Petrov as the Duchess of Frederick, Alexander Vinogradov as Count Walter and Dmitry Belosselskiy as Wurm. Conducts Bertrand de Billy.

Presentation in the language of the original (Italian) with Polish subtitles takes about 3 hours and 30 minutes (including 2 breaks).

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC

Additional information at: www.kinopraha.pl