Formed in 1998 on the initiative of Tomasz Radziwonowicz, Sinfonia Viva is composed of talented graduates and students of the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw. Since October 2007, it has functioned as the orchestra of the District of Mokotów.
Sinfonia Viva’s achievements include ten CD’s, such as: Muzyka i ekran (DUX 0155) and the nominee for Fryderyk 2001 Music Award for the Best Contemporary Music Album, Muzyka i ekran 2 (DUX 0305), with the most popular film themes, songs that belong to the canon of Polish light music, arranged by Tomasz Radziwonowicz and Andrzej Jagodziński, as well as pieces by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Johannes Strauss, Wojciech Kilar and others. The orchestra’s discography also includes: Tango (DUX 0483) – Fryderyk 2005 nominee for the Best Orchestral Music Album – with the brilliantly arranged evergreens of the genre and Uniesienie – Fryderyk 2005 nominee for the Best Jazz Album – where Sinfonia Viva accompanies Henryk Miśkiewicz and other Polish jazz musicians. Sinfonia Viva participated also in the recording of 3, Andrzej Smolik’s latest album, as well as Anna Maria Jopek’s ID, where – directed by Krzysztof Herdzin – it accompanies international jazz stars, such as Branford Marsalis, Manu Katche, Richard Bona. Within less than three weeks after the release, the album became “platinum”.
The orchestra enjoys much acclaim from the critics and is invited to perform – also in an enlarged line-up – all over the country and abroad.
Among the ensemble’s most important performances are: the premiere of Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem with Deutsch-Französischer Choir from Berlin, conducted by Brian Kruse Smith, at St. Ann’s Academic Church in Warsaw; participation in the celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the European Cooperation Fund; the concert celebrating the 10th anniversary of Polish-German Treaty on Good Neighbourhood and Friendly Cooperation; participation in the prestigious Menuhin Festival Gstaad in Switzerland, where an enlarged line-up named European Festival Orchestra performed A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy; the performance of Requiem by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in St. Anne’s Academic Church in Warsaw during the “Tribute to the Primate of the Millennium”, dedicated to Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński.
The interesting achievements of the orchestra include also “Yesmusic”, a month’s tour of Europe with the group Yes, where an enlarged line-up named Classic Entertainment Orchestra promoted Yes’s Magnification.
Sinfonia Viva cooperates with outstanding musicians, such as: Grażyna Auguścik, Ewa Bem, Izabella Kłosińska, Urszula Kryger, Anna Maria Jopek, Andrzej Jagodziński, Konstanty Andrzej Kulka, Andrzej Kurylewicz, Jerzy Knetig, Stanisław Malikowski, Henryk Miśkiewicz, Wojtek Mrozek, Karol Radziwonowicz, Andrzej Smolik.
The orchestra’s repertoire includes not only the greatest works of classical or contemporary music, but also lighter pieces – numerous songs and film themes, jazz standards and Christmas carols.