Poznań Philharmonic | Don't you know it? Listen then

It can be said that the next Internet Concert scheduled for Friday 27 November 2020 at the Tadeusz Szeligowski Poznań Philharmonic is a… double jubilee concert. In 2020 we celebrate the 95th death anniversary of Roman Statkowski, coming from Szczypiorno near Kalisz, and the 200th birthday anniversary of Michał Bergson.

Roman Statkowski composed the two-act opera Filenis, based on a libretto inspired by Herman Erler’s drama, in 1987. The work had to wait seven years for the Warsaw premiere. It was not staged until a year after an international success in 1903, when the piece won the 1st prize at an international competition in London. Filenis, as well as the second opera of the composer, Maria (based on the same-titled poetic novel by Antoni Malczewski) are among the most outstanding artistic achievements of Roman Statkowski.

By that concert the Poznań Philharmonic would like to present the figure of Michał Bergson, a Polish composer of Jewish origin. The Bergson family, which included numerous eminent merchants and bankers, had played a significant role in creating the city of Warsaw for several generations. Incorporating the music of Michał Bergson in the concert’s repertoire was directly inspired by the discovery of the manuscript of Concerto symphonique pour piano avec orchestre, Op. 62 in a London antiquarian bookshop and its purchase by the Poznań Philharmonic. The finder was Jonathan Plowright, an excellent British pianist, who will perform the concerto and who, along with the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra led by Łukasz Borowicz, recorded an album with Michał Bergson’s music. The CD, published by DUX label and titled "Michał Bergson, Concerto symphonique pour piano avec orchestre, Op. 62/ Music from the opera Luisa di Monfort" was released at the beginning of November and is another world premiere in the discography of Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra.

The recording will be available on the Poznań Philharmonic's YouTube channel.