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Warsaw | Concert on the 100th birth anniversary of Pope John Paul II

Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio will perform on 23 June 2020 at 7.00 p.m. at the Palladium Theatre in Warsaw on the occasion of Father's Day and the 100th anniversary of the birth of John Paul II.

It will be the first classical music concert at the Palladium Theatre after the quarantine period. The Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio will be conducted by Anna Duczmal-Mróz. The soloist will be violin virtuoso Jarosław Żołnierczyk, concertmaster of the Orchestra and leader of the "Wieniawski" string quartet. The programme will include Divertimento KV 138 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Etude in B flat minor by Karol Szymanowski, Concerto notturno for violin and orchestra by Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, two Preludes by Fryderyk Chopin in arrangement for string orchestra, Songs by Ignacy Jan Paderewski and two Walzes and Orawa by Wojciech Kilar.

All event participants are required to complete a statement in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, which will be sent by e-mail after downloading a free admission ticket at: https://palladium.pl/en/events/koncert-z-okazji-100-rocznicy-urodzin-papieza-jana-pawla-ii/.

The concert will be streamed online on the website of the Universistatis Varsoviensis Foundation, TVP3 Warsaw, NCK.pl, and Niepodlegla.gov.pl.

Ewa Szczecińska invites!

The last episodes of the "Nocturne" and "New Poland" programmes hosted by Ewa Szczecińska will take place on 22 and 23 June 2020 on Polish Radio Channel 2 (Dwójka), featuring works by Mateusz Ryczek and Paweł Hendrich.

This season of the "Nocturne" programme will end on 22 June at 11.15 p.m. We will listen to wonderful music that interacts with space: both the natural one and the one created with electronics. The programme will present works by Mateusz Ryczek, Karin Rehnqvist, Matthew Whiteside and Wolfgang Rihm.

The "New Poland" programme aims at popularizing Polish music by presenting recordings and facts about selected composition accompanied by statements of composers. It is an attempt to select masterpieces of Polish modern music and introduce them to the listeners. The upcoming programme on 23 June 22:20 p.m. will be devoted to Paweł Hendrich. Having a family of scientist, the composer was encouraged to study sound and its elaborate and complex constructions. The result of this attitude are works of dynamic nature. We will listen to Hendrich's Ertytre for eight cellos, Pteropetros for wind quintet, accordion and string quartet, and Alopopulo for chamber orchestra, violin and computer.

Both programes will be available on Dwójka's website: https://www.polskieradio.pl/8/740 and https://www.polskieradio.pl/8,Dwojka/8315,Nowa -Poland

Zygmunt Krauze received the French Critics Award for the best premiere of the 2019/20 season

The French Critics Association of Theater, Music and Dance (Le Syndicat Professionnel de la Critique Théâtre, Musique et Danse) awarded this year's Prize for the best premiere of the 2019/20 season (Meilleure Création Musicale) to Zygmunt Krauze for his Piano Concerto No.3 "Fragments of Memory".

The Critics Association Award (Prix du Syndicat de la Critique) has been awarded since 1963 and is one of the most prestigious prizes in the field of performing arts in France.

The work, commissioned by the "Warsaw Autumn" International Festival of Contemporary Music, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, the Orchester National de Metz and the National Philharmonic in Warsaw as part of the "Polish Music" and "POLSKA 100" programmes, had its world premiere at the inaugural concert of last year's "Warsaw Autumn", with the composer as soloist and the National Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Wilson Hermanto. The French premiere of the work took place in January 2020 in L'Arsenal Metz with the Orchester National de Metz, also with Zygmunt Krauze and Wilson Hermanto. Thee partners of the project were also the Polish Institute in Paris and the French Institute in Warsaw. The orchestra in Piano Concerto No. 3 included four Veme – new percussion instruments designed by French musician and composer Dominique Delahoche, created in cooperation between the Orchester National de Metz and the Arts et Métiers Metz Polytechnic.

"It is a great pleasure for me to be awarded by French critics with this prize for the second time. I am glad that my works are still valued in France, with which an important part of my creative path is connected" – said Zygmunt Krauze. The composer received the French critics prize for the first time for the opera Polieukt in the 2011/2012 season. Krauze lived in Paris for over a decade, where he both wrote his compositions and actively influenced the formation of the Paris music scene. In the 1970s, Pierre Boulez invited him to act as artistic adviser to the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique Musique (IRCAM).

The recording of the premiere will be available on the 62nd "Warsaw Autumn" Chronicle. A studio recording of the work is also planned.

More information at: https://associationcritiquetmd.com

Winners of the 61st Tadeusz Baird Young Composers Competition

The final concert of the 61st Tadeusz Baird Competition for Young Composers and the announcement of the winners took place on 19 June 2020 in the Concert Hall of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, the concert took place without audience. During an online meeting on 20 June 2020, representatives of the Jury – Alicja Gronau (chairwoman), Marcel Chyrzyński, Paweł Gusnar, Monika Kędziora and Aldona Nawrocka – listened to the works qualified for the second stage posted at: https://soundcloud.com/user-595711012/sets/ final-contest-young-composers-the-tadeusza-Baird-2020. The works were performed by The Whoop Group, FCUM Saxophone Quartet and Brzewski & Szymanowski Saxophone Quartet: Nemesis (Phoenix emblem), Me and another one (Aditolek emblem), Fala pomarańczowo-zielona (Ówsanalin emblem), O pewności (Mercilles Efficiency emblem), Limitation (Don Giovanni emblem), ertk (Siddhartha emblem) and Ukwiał pustelnik (Matricaria chamomilla emblem).

The jury decided that the Tadeusz Baird Main Award in this year's edition of the Competition should be divided by awarding the first prize to Nemesis, two second prizes eq aequo to ertk and Fala pomarańczowo-zielona and third prize to O pewności. After opening the envelopes, it turned out that the the winning pieces were composed by Wojciech Chałupka (Nemesis), Oktawia Pączkowska (ertk), Jan Załęcki (Fala pomarańczowo-zielona) and Franciszek Araszkiewicz (O pewności). A non-statutory prize in the Competition is a print edition of the winning work by Ars-Musica (Marek Kunicki) in the "Paweł Gusnar Collection" publishing series.

We congratulate the winners and wish them further success!

Wigry | 2nd "Camaldolese Wigry" Chamber and Organ Music Festival

The JAX Association and the Wigry Pro Foundation invite you to the 2nd "Camaldolese Wigry" Chamber and Organ Music Festival, which will run from 28 June to 23 August 2020 in the Post-Camaldolese Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The "Camaldolese Wigry" Chamber and Organ Music Festival refers to the history and tradition of the post-Camaldolese Wigry church, which over the centuries has witnessed many cultural and artistic events. The concerts are characterized by an unusual variety of styles and musical genres, presenting a rich repertoire: from early music to the 21st century.

The second edition of the Festival features five concerts which will be held in Wigry on selected Sundays in June, July and August at 1.00 p.m. (after mass at 12.00 p.m.). The audience will have a chance to hear, among others, a combination of organ with harmonica, saxophone, trumpet, flute and violin. The programme will include works by Jan Podbielski, Fryderyk Chopin, Karol Kurpiński, Władysław Żeleński, Emil Młynarski, as well as improvisations by Jan Kieszkowski, Paweł Głowiński, Maciej Sikała and Bogusław Grabowski.

The project was co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund under the "Music" programme run by the Institute of Music and Dance.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

Full programme is available at:https://festiwal.wigry.pro/

8th International Lutosławski Youth Orchestra 2020 online

The eighth edition of the International Lutosławski Youth Orchestra will be held online on 2-12 August 2020. This year, we will not meet at the Golden Hall of the Szczecin Philharmonic, but we will visit participants of the project at their homes! The recruitment process will last until 28 June.

Ahead of musicians who will be part of this year's International Lutosławski Youth Orchestra are two weeks of intensive work. They will take part in live sessions with tutors, online workshops on Alexander Technique and they will learn how to make professional audio-video recording. The result of the project will ba a joint performance of one of the movements of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 – to commemorate the 250th brith anniversary of this great composer, as well as selected chamber works by Witold Lutosławski, patron of the project, and Béla Bartók, one of the greatest composers from the Visegrad Group countries. Grand Finale will take place on 28-30 August.

The project is co-financed by the Governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia through Visegrad Grants from International Visegrad Fund. The mission of the fund is to advance ideas for sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe.

More information at: https://ilyo.filharmonia.szczecin.pl/en/

Warsaw | Wojtek Blecharz's "Mantra for Muranów" at the POLIN Museum

Members of the POLIN Choir will symbolically wake up the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews building, which has been closed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, by performing Wojtek Blecharz's Mantra for Muranów. The premiere will be streamed live on 22 June 2020 at 7.30 on the POLIN Museum Facebook page and YouTube channel.

The Mantra for Muranów is a kind of musical walk, fragments of which are written for the spaces of the POLIN Museum building, as well as a sound meditation. In Sanskrit, the word "mantra" means "an instrument for thought." As the composer points out, "Through musical practice, many of us can experience a state of internal balance or a sense of harmony. Music as a process of continuous becoming is a manifestation of energy, it interacts with the physical world, affects our thoughts, emotions, bodies and electromagnetic fields. [...] Buddhist monks from Japan use a bamboo shakuhachi flute as a meditation instrument to achieve mental purity and a Zen state. The Talmud recalls a protective song performed during the plague ... Many of these unique functions of music are now forgotten, in Western societies music is often treated as a product, acts as a sound background in everyday life or becomes a part of an exclusive artistic event. The Mantra for Muranów is a piece composed for the exceptional Choir of the POLIN Museum. "

For about an hour the choir, together with flautist Ewa Liebchen, clarinetist Michał Górczyński and trombonist Piotr Wróbel, will create sound harmony in the museum building, because harmony is what Muranów, due to its history, and the whole world need at the moment. The project announces a temporary exhibition entitled 'Here is Muranów'. The project curator and coordinator of the social choir at the POLIN Museum is Ewa Chomicka. The choir has been rehearsing under the direction of Jakub Pałys. The first performance of the work will be conducted by the composer.

More information at: www.polin.pl/pl/wydarzenie/mantra-dla-muranowa-chor-polin-wojtek-blecharz

Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw ends the season with a special concert

On 21 June 2020 instrumentalists of the Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw will meet at the Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio to end the concert season. The event will be broadcast live from 6.00 p.m. on the Polish Radio Channel 2 (Dwójka) and – in the form of video streaming – on its YouTube channel, website and social media.

The Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw did not perform during quarantine, however, its musicians practiced in their homes and recorded chamber concerts. The materials are available to watch on social media and on the website https://www.polskieradio.pl/ as part of the #weworkathome campaign. The first live concert (without audience) after a several-months break will be also the last of the 2019/2020 season.

"We will pay tribute to Maestro Krzysztof Penderecki by performing his Three Pieces in Old Style for string orchestra, then we will present two early symphonies by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 6 in F major and Symphony No. 7 in D major, as well as a piece by Anton Bruckner transcribed by Stanisław Skrowaczagio – beautiful Adagio from String Quintet in F major, and finally – Orawa by Wojciech Kilar,” announced Michał Klauza, artistic director of the Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, who will lead the orchestra during the Sunday concert.

Concert in Memory of John Paul II

An extraordinary online concert in tribute to John Paul II will be held on 21 June 2020.

Outstanding soloists from around the world will take part in the unique concert dedicated to the memory of John Paul II. On the 100th anniversary of the birth of Karol Wojtyla, nearly 40 performers from Poland, the United States, England, Germany, Korea, Italy, Japan, Taiwan, Turkey and Switzerland will pay tribute to the great Pole. The invitation was accepted by conductor, jazz violinist and composer Krzesimir Dębski, as well as soloists: Angel Blue, Latonia Moore, Aleksandra Olczyk, Lisette Oropesa, Brandie Sutton (Metropolitan Opera); Rafał Bartmiński, Iwona Hossa, Edyta Piasecka, Tadeusz Szlenkier (Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera); Aneta Łukaszewicz (Polish Royal Opera); mezzo-soprano MaryAnn McCormick and Urszula Kryger; baritone Kenneth Overton, artistic director of the Opera Noire of New York; Natsuki Katayama, Robert Kędziński, Hannah Cho (ballet of the Wrocław Opera); Dagmara Dryl (first soloist of the ballet of the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera); guitar virtuoso Adam Palma; violinists Richard Lin, Piotr Pławner, Veriko Tchumburidze and Janusz Wawrowski; pianists: Szymon Nehring, Piotr Sałajczyk, Paweł Cłapiński, Mariusz Rutkowski, Magdalena Baczewska, Damien Sneed; and the Primuz String Orchestra.

The concert programme is composed of sacred and classical music, including the first performance of two arias from the Job opera based on Karol Wojtyła's drama of 1940 with music by Krzesimir Dębski, Legend by Henryk Wieniawski, Prelude from the Chopiniana ballet to the music of Fryderyk Chopin in choreography of Mikhail Fokin, On Wings of Song prayer, arias from the opera Halka and The Haunted Manor and songs from the Songbook for Home Use by Stanisław Moniuszko, Melody by Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Roxana's Song from the opera King Roger by Karol Szymanowski, songs by Mieczysław Karłowicz, Pray for my soul from Polish Mass by Jan Maklakiewicz and Polish Capriccio from Violin Miniatures by Grażyna Bacewicz.

Polish Radio Chopin invites you to the concert broadcast on the website: https://jp2concert.com/