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The Józef Madeja Association in cooperation with the publishing house of the I.J. Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań has released a unique CD "Chamber music by Jan Adam Maklakiewicz". It contains hitherto unrecorded chamber works by an outstanding and unjustly forgotten Polish composer.

Jan Adam Maklakiewicz is one of the most outstanding Polish composers of the first half of the 20th century. He studied composition with Roman Statkowski at the Warsaw State Conservatory (1921-1925), and then with Paul Dukas at the École Normale de Musique in Paris (1926-1927). His stylistically diverse work includes over 500 catalog items. Pieces from the period of studies with Roman Statkowski derive from the tradition of Romanticism and indicate a clear influence of Mieczysław Karłowicz's style. Beginning in 1926, Maklakiewicz's work made a shift towards modernity due to in his fascination with Karol Szymanowski's music, as well as his studies in Paris, where he learned about the latest trends and tendencies in European music.

Chamber music is of secondary importance in Maklakiewicz's work. The chamber works by Jan Adam Maklakiewicz are mostly miniatures and cyclical pieces consisting of up to three parts. The stylistics of the composition is inspired by early music and Polish folklore, especially of the regions of Podhale and Silesia.

The Polish and world discography includes a few recordings of the composer's works – they are mainly vocal-instrumental and orchestral works. This record release is therefore all the more valuable as it presents compositions recorded for the first time in history. They are: Reflexions, Op. 14 for violin and piano (1926), Ave Maria for cello and piano (1933), Spring in the Countryside. Triptych, Op. 18 for cello and piano (1927) and the Hutsul Suite op. 15 No. 1 for violin and piano (1926). In addition, the album includes selected songs for voice and piano: Lullaby, There is no Cure for Love, I'll Disappear From Your Sight Like a Bird, as well as 2 Japanese Songs: No. 1 Night as a Phantom Image and No. 3 Autumn Carried by the Wind in the version for soprano and piano (1922-23).

Recordings on the album were made by award-winning artists, winners of international music competitions: Piotr Kosarga – violin, Krzysztof Karpeta – cello, Barbara Tritt – soprano and Hanna Lizinkiewicz – piano. The recordings were made on 22-24 September 2021 at the Aula Nova of the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań. Recording direction, editing and mastering: Konrad Lizinkiewicz.

Co-financed by the Minister of Culture, National Heritage and Sport from the Culture Promotion Fund, as part of the "Musical Trace" programme implemented by the National Institute of Music and Dance.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

The Polish Composers' Union – Krakow Branch and the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Krakow invite you to a concert to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Cracow: Kalinowski & Szlezer which will take place on 4 December 2021 at 7.00 p.m. in the Aula "Florianka" Hall.

The cellist Jan Kalinowski and pianist Marek Szlezer studied together in Cracow and Paris and began to perform together as Cracow Duo twenty years ago. Since that time their concerts and recordings received the highest critical acclaim in Poland and abroad. They share a special commitment and fascination with music written by rarely performed Polish composers. Among their many programs, the Cracow Duo frequently presented compositions for cello and piano by Fryderyk Chopin, Aleksander Tansman, Karol Szymanowski, Zygmunt Stojowski, Szymon Laks, Ludomir Rożycki and Tadeusz Majerski, as well as works by contemporary Polish and foreign composers written specially for them. Since 2009, Cracow Duo regularly records and releases CDs. In 2019 they were recognized with Global Music Awards Outstanding Achievement for the best duo performance in Classical Music.

During the upcoming concert, the ensemble will perform two world premieres. We will hear the first performance of the piece The Gates of Light – Quasi una fantasia (2021) by Marta Ptaszyńska, which was created as part of the "Composing Commissions" programme implemented by the National Institute of Music and Dance, and Three dreams and the lullaby (2020) by Maciej Zieliński. There will also be a Polish premiere of Michał Dobrzyński's Quasi una partita (omaggio a Tansman). In addition, the programme will include works for cello and piano by Zbigniew Bujarski, Anna Zawadzka-Gołosz, Tomasz Jakub Opałka, Marcel Chyrzyński and Wojciech Widłek.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

A concert of Adam Bałdych and his excellent quartet alongside the Jerzy Semkow Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra under the baton of Szymon Bywalec will take place on 4 December 2021 at 7.00 p.m. at the Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio of Polish Radio in Warsaw.

Adam Bałdych, violinist and composer, called "a child prodigy of violin", started his career at the age of 14. Soon he was hailed an innovator combining the achievements of classical music with contemporary improvised violin. In his recent pieces, composed for renowned orchestras, there are clearer references to classical music.

In 2019, on commission from AUKSO orchestra, he composed Early Birds Symphony for the auksodrone festival. Teodor, on the other hand, was composed for his son, born in the summer of 2020. Adam Bałdych ran the project with his wife – vocalist Kari Sál, and with Krzysztof Dys, Michał Barański and Dawid Fortuna, who are members of his ensemble, Adam Bałdych Quartet. The artist decided to go back to the years of his childhood and draw inspirations from the exceptional atmosphere of the 1980s. It was not only the time of the explosion of synthetic sounds and provocative music projects, but also the golden era of Polish Jazz represented by such eminent musicians as Tomasz Stańko, Michał Urbaniak or Zbigniew Namysłowski. The 80s, marking the decline of the Polish People’s Republic, abounded in rebellious compositions and avant-garde peregrinations, both in jazz and classical music.

Piotr Maculewicz

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

More information: www.sinfoniaiuventus.pl 

The programme of Ãtma Quartet's concert on 2 December 2021 at 7.00 p.m. at the National Forum of Music in Wrocław includes two works. One of them represents the modern era, the other – Romanticism. What they have in common is their genius form, with the depth of emotions and the intimacy of expression going hand in hand with the mastery of craft.

Krzysztof Penderecki composed the String Quartet No. 3 'Leaves from an Unwritten Diary' in 2008. Its premiere took place on 21 November of the same year, exactly on the artist’s 75th birthday. It is a one-movement work in which the composer enters a dialogue with his past, as evidenced by the subtitle. The piece begins with a dark introduction marked as Grave (Italian: “hard”), followed by a restless, virtuoso episode of Vivace (Italian: “lively”), a sentimental waltz (Tempo di valse) and a romantic nocturne (Adagio notturno). A Hutsul or Gypsy melody played on the violin by Penderecki’s father from Rohatyn, also resounds here, developed in various ways: like a vague, last-minute memory recalled. This is one of the artist’s most moving, personal and reflective compositions.

An entirely different work is the dramatic, intense 14th String Quartet in D minor D 810 'Death and the Maiden' by Franz Schubert. The second movement, Andante con moto, is a variation on a song composed by Schubert to a poem by Matthias Claudius, in which a young girl asks death to spare her life.

The project is part of the commemoration of the centenary of regaining independence and rebuilding Polish statehood.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

Ticket Information: https://www.nfm.wroclaw.pl/ 

The next concert in the 6th SuperSam + 1 series of master performances will take place at the SPATiF Club in Warsaw on 2 December 2021 at 8.00 p.m. Biliana Voutchkova will perform on one stage with Teoniki Rożynek.

"Super" in the title means that the programme will be based on renowned artists – masters. "Sam" (from Polish, means 'alone', 'by himself/herself') refers to the solo performances as well as the creative loneliness. "+ 1" in the title means that each evening will be crowned with a duo performance. In most cases, the artists will meet on stage for the first time – like Bulgarian musician Biliana Voutchkova and Polish composer Teoniki Rożynek.

Teoniki Rożynek composes instrumental, electroacoustic and electronic music. Her works have been performed at various festivals, including the "Warsaw Autumn", Musica Electronica Nova, Sacrum Profanum, Unsound, Containerclang (Cologne) or Bedingo International Festival of Exploratory Music. She has collaborated with such ensembles as Kompopolex, Spółdzielnia Muzyczna, Capella Cracoviensis and Sinfonia Varsovia. She creates music for films, theatre and television productions as well as performances.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

More information: http://supersam.mozg.pl