The Ryszard Peryt Foundation, in collaboration with the Zielona Góra Philharmonic, has recorded and made freely available additional works by Tadeusz Baird. This is part of the ongoing project “Tadeusz Baird. Complete Works”, launched in 2023, which aims to record and disseminate the complete oeuvre of the outstanding Polish composer. Among the releases made available this year are all choral works of the patron of the Zielona Góra Philharmonic, as well as the Four Love Sonnets in a version for baritone, strings, and harpsichord. The recordings feature distinguished Polish artists and ensembles, including Szymon Komasa, the Polish National Youth Choir prepared and conducted by Agnieszka Franków-Żelazny, and the Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra named after Jerzy Semkow, conducted by Rafał Kłoczko.
This year’s recordings include both lesser-known and previously unrecorded works, as well as Baird’s most popular composition—the Four Love Sonnets to texts by William Shakespeare. These were interpreted by Szymon Komasa, who in 2019 released the album Polish Love Story containing the sonnets in a version for piano accompaniment. This time, the baritone recorded Baird’s masterpiece in its original 1969 arrangement for baritone, strings, and harpsichord. The soloist is accompanied by musicians of the Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra under the baton of Rafał Kłoczko, with Krzysztof Garstka performing the harpsichord part.
The project’s 2025 edition also features recordings of all Baird’s choral works, including two a cappella songs to folk texts from 1954: Ozleciały się siwe gołębie and Ej, osa, osa, zimna rosa, as well as Biegną wody potoku (1954) for mixed choir to words by Adam Mickiewicz. Special attention deserves the recording of Étude for Vocal Orchestra, Percussion, and Piano (1961), Baird’s first work clearly aligned with the sonorist trend. This recording features the Polish National Youth Choir, prepared and conducted by Agnieszka Franków-Żelazny. Additionally, six percussionists (Zofia Przybył, Olga Przybył, Łukasz Piotrowski, Jan Gralla, Mateusz Bednarczyk, Michał Niedziałek) and pianist Dominika Peszko participated in the recording.
The project was conceived and produced by musicologist Jakub Mateusz Lis.
The initiative is carried out in cooperation with the Zielona Góra Philharmonic, whose patron is the distinguished Polish composer, with artistic support from Rafał Kłoczko, director of the institution, one of the project’s initiators and the creator of the International Tadeusz Baird Music Festival in Zielona Góra. Musicological consultation and scholarly oversight are provided by the eminent expert on Baird’s life and works, Dr hab. Barbara Literska, Prof. UZ, author of a monumental monograph on the composer. She also wrote the commentaries accompanying the recordings.
The recordings released this year are part of the ongoing “Tadeusz Baird. Complete Works” project, which aims to produce a complete collection of all Baird’s works. To date, all chamber works, solo piano pieces, and vocal works with piano have been recorded and released, featuring distinguished musicians and ensembles such as Szymon Mechliński, Tymoteusz Bies, Atom String Quartet, Andrzej Ciepliński, Szymon Michalik, Dominika Peszko, Seweryn Zapłatyński, Zuzanna Nalewajek, and Mateusz Żurawski.
All recordings are available for free on the YouTube channel @TadeuszBaird1928 and at: https://www.youtube.com/@TadeuszBaird1928
The recordings were made possible thanks to funding from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage through the Culture Promotion Fund, under the Musical Trace program, implemented by the National Institute of Music and Dance.
Press release
Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC
