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Mieczysław Weinberg is one of the most intriguing composers of the last century. Although he was born and raised in Warsaw, he spent his adult life in the Soviet Union, where he earned fame and recognition. Only recently has his fascinating music come to prominence in Poland. At the concert on 7 October 2021 at 7.00 p.m. at the National Forum for Music, the renowned singers Aleksandra Kubas-Kruk and Anna Bernacka accompanied by pianist Monika Kruk will perform selected songs by the composer.

Weinberg’s output is vast: it encompasses 153 compositions with opus numbers, as well as many functional works composed for film, circus or radio. Among numerous symphonies, instrumental concertos and operas is a special place for the songs written simply for voice and piano. These constituted Weinberg’s personal, almost intimate space: a statement and an expression of deeply concealed feelings.

The programme of the concert in Wrocław includes five song cycles. One of them – Three Songs, Op. 22 – consists of arrangements of texts by Adam Mickiewicz. However, the poet that was particularly valued and liked by Weinberg was Julian Tuwim. The concert artists will perform four cycles composed to the works of this poet, from various stages of the composer’s life. These will be: Old Letters, Op. 77, Memory, Op. 62, The Gypsy Bible, Op. 57 and Acacias, Op. 4.

The concert dedicated to Weinberg’s songs will be a moving meeting with the works of an outstanding – and unjustly forgotten – composer.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

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

The autumn edition of the 50th anniversary "Poznań Music Spring" International Festival of Contemporary Music will run from 2 to 5 October 2021, presenting the rich and diverse work of contemporary composers. The organiser of the festival is the Polish Composers' Union.

Due to the pandemic, this year's festival has been divided into two parts. The first part was a symphonic concert of the Tadeusz Szeligowski Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra in Poznań conducted by Łukasz Borowicz, which opened the Festival on 12 March.

The autumn edition will feature seven concerts. Among thirty-four presented works, there will be ten premieres. We will hear works by Witold Lutosławski, Arvo Pärt, Toshio Hosokawa, Mikołaj Górecki, Lidia Zielińska, Alicja Gronau-Osińska, Janusz Stalmierski, Barbara Kaszuba, Monika Kędziora, Katarzyna Taborowska, Agnieszka Zdrojek-Suchodolska, Ewa Fabiańska-Jelińska, and others. The performers will include: Mari Fukumoto, Gośka Isphording, Jakub Drygas, Yaroslav Shemet, Jan Bałaban, Lech Bałaban, Agnieszka Bałaban, Krzysztof Sowiński, Donat Zamiara, Damian Sobkowiak, Grażyna Czerwińska, Lepos Duo, Sepia Ensemble and Moniuszko String Quartet. A special concert will present the works of composers associated with the Łódź Academy of Music – Artur Zagajewski, Olga Hans, Marcin Stańczyk, Sławomir Kaczorowski, Tadeusz Szczepanik, Krzysztof Grzeszczak – performed by chamber musicians from Łódź.

Admission to the concerts is free!

Co-financed under the "Music" programme implemented by the National Institute of Music and Dance.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

Programme details: www.wiosnamuzyczna.pl 

The Foundation of the Academy of Music in Poznań together with the Poznań Branch of the Polish Composers' Union and the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music invite on 6-7 October 2021 to the 5th Poznań Chamber Music Concerts devoted to the works of famous composers associated with Poznań as part of popularizing the cultural traditions of this city.

The concerts organised under the slogan "Composers Are Among Us" will present the latest works by contemporary Polish composers performed by renowned artists. The evening on 6 October will feature the first performance of Wojciech Ziemowit Zych's piece for 2 flutes and piano, which was created as part of the "Composing Commissions" programme carried out by the National Institute of Music and Dance.

Thanks to the financial support of the PZU Foundation, the flutists Łukasz Długosz and Agata Kielar-Długosz and pianist Andrzej Jungiewicz were invited to perform the anniversary concert. This year's edition of Poznań Chamber Music Concerts will also feature outstanding musicians from Poznań: Katarzyna Stroińska-Sierant (piano), Jarosław Sierant (violin), Jarosław Wachowiak (saxophone), Zbigniew Wrombel (double bass), Sławomir Tokłowicz (drums) and the contemporary music ensemble Sepia Ensemble.

On 6 October, Łukasz Długosz and Agata Kielar-Długosz will conduct workshops for flautists and composers.

More information: https://www.facebook.com/poznanskiekoncerty 

The Polish Chamber Musicians' Association is organising the first international online festival "Women in Music". The programme of the event aimed at promoting female composers and their work will include music by artists from Poland and Great Britain. The concerts will be made available on the Association's YouTube channel on 4, 5, 11, and 12 October 2021.

The concerts recorded at the Baltic Sea Cultural Centre in Gdańsk will feature works by Wanda Landowska, Régine Wieniawski, Grażyna Bacewicz, Łucja Szablewska, Ewa Fabiańska-Jelińska, Anna Rocławska-Musiałczyk, as well as Roxanna Panufnik, Judith Weir, Rebecci Clarke, Elaine Hugh-Jones and Elisabeth Lutyens. Among the performers will be also women: violist Katarzyna Budnik, violinists Katarzyna Duda and Jaga Klimaszewska, pianists Julia Kociuban, Julia Samojło and Monika Gardoń-Preinl.

The concert to be broadcast on 4 October was realised with the support of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London – it was performed by the GSMD's graduates: sopranos Magdalena Molendowska, Katherine McIndoe and pianist Julia Samojło.

The event is held under the honorary patronage of Mieczysław Struk, Marshal of the Pomeranian Voivodeship, Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, President of the City of Gdańsk, and the British Embassy in Warsaw.

The project is funded by the Pomeranian Voivodeship and co-financed by the City of Gdańsk and the Gdańsk Economic Development Foundation.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

More information: https://spmk.com.pl/projekt/kobiety-w-muzyce-women-in-music/ 

The concert on 3 October 2021 at 6.00 p.m. as part of the autumn edition of the 9th Festival of Premieres, organised every two years at the NOSPR Concert Hall in Katowice, will feature new compositions by Hanna Kulenty, Marcin Stańczyk and Katarzyna Krzewińska.

The Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Franck Ollu and the soloist Matthijs Koene will premiere Ad-Umbro for pan flute and symphony orchestra by Hanna Kulenty. The composer explains the concept of the work: "I had been carrying the idea of ​​the piece Ad-Umbro (from Latin: shade, sketch, briefly present, indicate, imitate) for over a year, because in the summer of 2018 I met Matthijs Koene, a virtuoso from the Netherlands. I would never have come up with the idea of ​​writing a piece for such an unusual instrument, but after listening to a few concerts by Matthijs and finding out what his technical and musical possibilities are, I wanted to write another composition for him, based on my new technique that I have used for several years, which I called “Musique Surrealistique.”

Marcin Stańczyk's Live for saxophone, ensemble and tape will be premiered by musicians of the National Radio Symphony Orchestra and one of the most famous European saxophonists – Paweł Gusnar, Professor of the Frydryk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. Katarzyna Krzewińska will perform live electronics. Her piece #nofilter for a large symphony orchestra and live electronics is a reflection on the "computerization" of the world and an attempt to illustrate the omnipresent information noise, which paradoxically increases the feeling of emptiness and longing. The work was inspired by Mariusz Szczygieł's book Nie ma [There is no], awarded with the Nike Literary Award in 2019.

The publisher of works by Hanna Kulenty and Marcin Stańczyk is PWM Edition. The project was co-financed under the "Music" programme carried out by the National Institute of Music and Dance.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

Ticket information: https://nospr.org.pl/pl/kalendarz/9-festiwal-prawykonan-nospr-franck-ollu