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Although the programme of the NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra’s concert on 16 October 2021 at 6 p.m. with Alexander Sitkovetsky includes works by two British and one Polish composers, all these pieces were written in England. They are also linked by the authors’ liking for displaying beautiful, singing melodies.

At the beginning of the concert, the musicians will present the Saint Paul Suite, Op. 29 No. 2 by Gustav Holst, which consists of four movements: Jig, Ostinato, Intermezzo and Finale (The Dargason). The title tune of the last movement, The Dargason, is a folk dance that was included in The English Dancing Master, published by John Playford in 1651. This part of the Suite also includes a quote from another popular old English melody – Greensleeves.

The Violin Concerto by Andrzej Panufnik, commissioned by his friend Yehudi Menuhin, is completely different. The composer accepted the offer with joy, and for him writing the piece was a return to the world of his childhood. The artist’s father was a violin maker, and the future composer’s youth was filled with the smells of wood and varnish, as well as the sight of instruments created in the workshop. These experiences influenced the reflective, warm and lyrical tone of the piece. They also made the composer living in England decide to write the third movement in the rhythm of a joyful oberek. Panufnik wrote: ‘I composed a piece that was to show the soul of the performer rather than turn the fretboard into a gymnasium for jumping fingers.’

The evening will end with Britten’s Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10. They were commissioned by the conductor Louis Boyd Neel, who premiered them with his orchestra that same year at the Salzburg Festival. This concert was the beginning of the British composer’s spectacular career.

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

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

More information: https://www.nfm.wroclaw.pl/en/

The Jerzy Semkow Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra will perform on 16 October 2021 at 7 p.m. at the Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio of Polish Radio in Warsaw under the baton of Mirosław Jacek Błaszczyk, a member of the orchestra's Arts Council. We will hear works by Giuseppe Verdi, Saverio Mercadante and Piotr Tchaikovsky. The concert is co-organised by the National Institute of Music and Dance within the framework of the "Conductor-in-residence" programme.

The Italian Saverio Mercadante, of a generation close to Rossini, was a prominent opera creator in his time. His rich oeuvre remains largely forgotten today, with the exception of the work of the only eighteen-year-old composer – Flute Concerto No. 2 in E minor, loved especially for the final Rondo russo, one of the great hits of classical music, eagerly performed by flutists as an encore. During the October concert, the work will be performed by Łukasz Długosz, one of the most versatile and highly-regarded flutists of his generation.

The Italian part of the programme also includes the overture to the opera The Force of Destiny by Giuseppe Verdi, pulsating with emotions, full of beautiful melodies. What does this work have in common with Tchaikovsky's latest symphony? Both works premiered in St. Petersburg (Verdi's opera in 1862).

Due to its expressive aura, Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, probably as no other symphony in the history of music, deserved the name "Tragique", as Modest Tchaikovsky, the composer’s brother and confidant, suggested. Pyotr, however, preferred his second suggestion and right after the premiere, he added the subtitle "Pathetique", suggested by his brother, to the score. The composer died nine days after the premiere of the piece, most probably due to an acute cholera attack. He did not leave any programme or commentary to the symphony. All we can do is guess and, primarily, delight upon the piece characterised by great expression, the piece that is Romantic to the bone, filled with exaltation and unconventional elements.

Anna Sułkowska-Migoń, appointed resident conductor of the Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra in the 2021/2022 season, participated in the preparation of the concert.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

More information: https://sinfoniaiuventus.pl/en/

The Open Theatre in Gdańsk, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2021, invites to the premiere of The Turbulent History of the Polish Army on the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Order of Polonia Restituta. The music and theatre performance will take place at the Artus Court in Gdańsk on 16 October at 6.00 p.m. under the National Patronage of the President of the Republic of Poland, Mr. Andrzej Duda.

The founder and artistic director of the Open Theatre is Dariusz S. Wójcik – a well-known Gdańsk singer, winner of the provincial eliminations of the "Personality of the Year 2020" Plebiscite and the 3rd place in the "Personality of the Year in Poland 2020" in the "culture" category. Dariusz Wójcik is the author of the script and the director of the performance which is dedicated to the Fathers of Polish Independence: Józef Piłsudski, Roman Dmowski, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Wincenty Witos, Wojciech Korfanty, Ignacy Daszyński, who were awarded the Order of Polonia Restituta and the Order of the White Eagle.

The programme will include patriotic songs that were written in various periods of the struggle for independence and after Poland regained its independence. Works by Wojciech (Albert) Sowiński, Michał Kleofas Ogiński, Kazimierz Hofman, Karol Kurpiński, Władysław Tarnowski, Mieczysław Kozar-Słobódzki, Władysław Piątkiewicz, Adam Kowalski, Alfred Schutz, Witold Rowicki, Andrzej Panufnik, and Albert Harris will be performed in new arrangements by Kamil Cieślik, teacher at the Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk, vice-dean of the Faculty of Conducting, Composition and Music Theory.

Among the performers will be Małgorzata Trojanowska (soprano), Jacek Szymański (tenor), Dariusz S. Wójcik (bass), Rafał Lewandowski (piano), Mea Patria Chamber Ensemble and Male Vocal Ensemble. An integral part of the show will be a historical commentary by an employee of the National Education Office of the Institute of National Remembrance in Gdańsk, as well as beautiful choreographic arrangements presenting Polish national dances performed by dancers of the "Jantar" Song and Dance Ensemble of the University of Gdańsk.

Admission is free, but tickets must be pre-booked at: +48 600 290 214.

Co-financed by the NIEPODLEGŁA Multiannual Programme for 2017-2022 under the "Niepodległa" Subsidy Programme.

Co-financed by the City of Gdańsk.

Patronage: Franciszek Stefczyk Foundation and Argo S.A.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

More information: www.teatrotwarty.pl 

A concert to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Third Silesian Uprising will be held on 15 October 2021 at 7.00 p.m. at the Silesian Philharmonic. The programme will include two great works: Silesian Rhapsody 19–20–21 by Jan A.P. Kaczmarek and Symphony No. 3 "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs" by Henryk Mikołaj Górecki.

The first performance of Silesian Rhapsody took place on 31 August 2019 at the Silesian Stadium. This monumental work dedicated to the memory of Silesian Insurgents took the form of a spectacle, full of music, acrobatics, projections and multimedia effects. The author of this work, winner of an Oscar for music to the film Finding Neverland, Jan A.P. Kaczmarek has prepared a new concert version of Rhapsody. Its premiere will take place on 15 October at the Silesian Philharmonic, and on the stage we will see the same artists who premiered the composition two years ago: Iwona Sobotka (soprano), Janusz Wawrowski (violin) and Marcin Wyrostek (accordion). The Choir and Symphony Orchestra of the Silesian Philharmonic will be conducted by Yaroslav Shemet.

The second item on the programme will be the most famous symphony of Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, admired all over the world. In his Symphony No. 3, the composer used a Silesian folk song of a mother searching for her son killed by the Germans in the Silesian uprisings, as well as a 15th-century Polish lament of Mary, mother of Jesus, and a message written on the wall of a Gestapo cell in Zakopane during World War II. The extremely expressive soprano part and the instrumental layer that builds great emotions will surely move all listeners.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

Ticket Information: https://filharmonia-slaska.eu/ 

The NFM Wrocław Philharmonic under the baton of Michał Klauza will present two excellent works on 15 October 2021 at 7.00 p.m. The first is a great violin concerto which is a great challenge for the soloist, written by Mieczysław Karłowicz, whose work closes the era of Romanticism in Polish music. This extraordinary piece – created for Stanisław Barcewicz, the artist’s teacher – will be interpreted this time by Bartłomiej Nizioł. The second part of the evening will feature a symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven – a composer active at the boundary of two eras: Classicism and Romanticism.

The cheerful and melodious Violin Concerto in A major by Karłowicz is one of the most difficult pieces written for this instrument. It was noticed by both critics who had the opportunity to listen to one of his first performances, as well as Karłowicz’s contemporary virtuosos. It is not, however, a show for the sake of the show itself, as these difficulties serve the expression and enhance the work’s appeal. The concerto consists of three movements. The first, Allegro moderato, is epic and heroic. Romanza. Andante, the second movement, is the place where Karłowicz exposed the importance of melody. The finale is Vivace Assai, full of energy and joy. The composer played the violin himself, so he was well-aware of how difficult a score he had written.

In the second part of the evening, we will listen to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, which has been turned into a legend reflecting Beethoven’s own emotions while struggling with serious illness. According to the composer’s secretary, Anton Schindler, the characteristic motif opening the symphony was supposed to symbolize fate knocking at the door. Beethoven’s student, pianist Carl Czerny claimed that the composer was inspired by the rhythmic singing of a yellowhammer he heard while walking around the Prater in Vienna. We will probably never know which was true, but in the end, the most important thing is that the symphony does not cease to intrigue generations of listeners with its drama and economy of expression.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

More information: https://www.nfm.wroclaw.pl/en/