On February 24, 2019 at 12:00 p.m., the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of František Macek will perform the works of Mieczysław Karłowicz, Grażyna Bacewicz, and Wojciech Kilar.

Mieczysław Karłowicz was born in Vishniev, on the Belorussian lands absorbed by Lithuania. His Lithuanian childhood lasted only a short time: the family sold the estate when he was only five years old and moved to Heidelberg. In November 1906, the composer wrote in a letter to Adolf Chybinski: "Today [...] I finished the composition, which I will probably call the Lithuanian Rhapsody. I have tried to encapsulate within it the total grief, sadness and eternal servitude of that race whose songs I heard in my childhood... Whether or how much I have succeeded in instilling into the form of an orchestral work even just a particle of what hangs vanishing into the air in every part of that region, I am unable to judge".

In Grażyna Bacewicz's output, violin compositions play a prime role, however, it is impossible to disregard her pieces for piano – among them Concerto from 1949, awarded by the Polish Composers' Union. The piano part of this work will be performed by Piotr Sałajczyk. Kościelec 1909, another symphonic poem by Wojciech Kilar after Krzesany, refers not only to the Tatra folklore, but also to the legacy of Mieczysław Karłowicz. Thus, the programme of the concert is composed of three compositions created over the period of seventy years, and at the same time three proofs of the seductive power of stylization and references to the tradition.

The concert is produced under the patronage of PWM Edition as part of the project TUTTI.pl promoting the performances of Polish music. 

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

More information at: http://www.nospr.org.pl/pl/koncerty/1238/nospr-frantisek-macek-piotr-saajczyk