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The next master piano recital at the Warmian-Masurian Philharmonic will take place on February 28, 2019 at 7.00 p.m. Paweł Kubica will present a programme composed entirely of Polish music.

Paweł Kubica, participant of two Chopin Competitions, will perform a selection of Polish piano literature of the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The evening will feature compositions by Fryderyk Chopin, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Karol Szymanowski, and Juliusz Zarębski.

The pianist graduated with honors from the Academy of Music in Kraków in 1996 in the class of Janusz Olejniczak. He perfected his skills at numerous master classes in Poland and abroad. He is a laureate of national and international competitions, including 2nd Krzysztof Penderecki International Competition of Contemporary Chamber Music in Kraków (1998, first prize in the soloists' category and a special award). Apart from being an active soloist, he works at the Chamber Music Department of the Academy of Music in Kraków.

Detailed programme available at: https://filharmonia.olsztyn.pl/koncert/mistrzowskie-recitale-fortepianowe-7/ 

In connection with the year 2019 having been declared the “Year of Stanisław Moniuszko” by an act of the Polish Parliament, the Polish Composers’ Union and Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera hereby announce the International Stanisław Moniuszko Composers’ Competition for a micro-opera.

Moniuszko’s stage works take up many issues concerning the society and everyday life, as well as referring to contemporary events important for Poles. They combine drama with comic elements. They offer high-quality entertainment without compromising the aesthetic qualities. They wonderfully reflect the emotional states of the dramatic figures and the specific mood of each situation. They make excellent use of character interactions and of dramatic motives typical of the theatre, aptly represented by Moniuszko in music – through melody, instrumentation, and other musical components. The competition aims to achieve the same aims in our own times, using the adequate contemporary artistic tools. We want to revive, in present-day conditions, the specific idea of Moniuszko’s operas as musical dramas based on social topics.

The competition may be entered by music composers of all nationalities and without an age limit. Entering the Competition is free of charge. The entry submitted to the Competition should be sent only electronically by the end of 31st July 2019. The Competition consists of two Stages: in Stage One, maximum six Works will be selected to be staged in the Emil Młynarski Chamber Music Hall of Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera in Warsaw; in Stage Two, the Works selected for production will be publicly performed during one Night of World Premieres on 14th December 2019, after which the winners of the Competition will be chosen.

The winner of the Competition shall receive a Grand Prix amounting to 40,000 PLN and the title of Winner of the Competition. The other composers of works staged during the Night of World Premieres shall receive Prizes amounting to 20,000 PLN each and the title of Prizewinner. Independently of the prizes listed above, the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera Audience Award, amounting to 10,000 PLN, shall be presented, accompanied by the title of Audience Award Winner. 

DOWNLOAD: Competition Regulations

A special concert celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Stanisław Moniuszko will be held on February 26, 2019 at 5.00 p.m. in the auiditorium hall "Parnassos" of the Silesian Library in Katowice.

The concert of Stanisław Moniuszko's arias and songs in the Silesian Library is one of the first proposals for music lovers prepared by the Institution for the Promotion and Dissemination of Music "Silesia" as part of the "Moniuszko from the heart" cycle in the Year of Moniuszko.

Young vocalists from the Katowice and Kraków Music Academies, winners of the last International Vocal Competition of Sacred Music "Ars et Gloria", will perform fragments of Moniuszko's operas. Laureate of the third prize, Justyna Bujak, will present recitativo and aria Ah! Out child is dying... from Halka, Patryk Wyborski will sing Miecznik's aria Who wants to win the hearts of my girls, and Piotr Kalina will perform Jontek's aria The fir trees sigh on mountain peaks, interpretation of which also won him a distinction at the Jan Kiepura International Vocal Competition in Krynica-Zdrój. Jakub Schmidt, winner of the first prize at the "Ars et Gloria" competition in his age category, will sing the famous Skołuba's bass aria. The programme of the concert will also include other Moniuszko's arias and songs.

Admission to the event is free! Free entrance cards are available at the IPiUM Silesia office (2 Sejmu Śląskiego Square, ground floor, room 20) or can be booked by phone: (32) 219 33 44 / 33.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

More information at: https://www.silesia.art.pl/strona-glowna/koncerty/362_moniuszko-od-serca-wokalisci-w-bibliotece-slaskiej 

On February 24, 2019 at 5:00 p.m. the Museum of King Jan III's Palace will host a concert of the Warsaw Chamber Opera from the cycle "Chamber concerts in Wilanów".

The music of Romanticism is filled with feelings. The compositions of this period show a whole range of emotions. Anxiety, elation, impulsivity, longing – they all inspired the artists: poets, playwrights, painters and, finally, composers. In the case of Polish romantic composers, the most profound feeling was longing for the lost homeland. The emotions, sometimes very personal, were expressed widely in chamber music.

The programme of the concert will be filld with romantic songs of patriotic character written by such compsoers as Stanisław Moniuszko, Fryderyk Chopin, Mieczysław Karłowicz, and Stanisław Niewiadomski. We will also listen to the instrumental works of Michał Kleofas, Franciszek Ksawery and Michał Kazimierz Ogiński, as well as Henryk Wieniawski and Ignacy Jan Paderewski.

Full programme available at:  http://repertuar.operakameralna.pl/event/polska-muzyka-romantyczna-xix-w-warsaw-opera-quartet-i-marek-bracha-koncerty-kameralne-w-wilanowie-2/ 

On February 24, 2019 at 12:00 p.m., the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of František Macek will perform the works of Mieczysław Karłowicz, Grażyna Bacewicz, and Wojciech Kilar.

Mieczysław Karłowicz was born in Vishniev, on the Belorussian lands absorbed by Lithuania. His Lithuanian childhood lasted only a short time: the family sold the estate when he was only five years old and moved to Heidelberg. In November 1906, the composer wrote in a letter to Adolf Chybinski: "Today [...] I finished the composition, which I will probably call the Lithuanian Rhapsody. I have tried to encapsulate within it the total grief, sadness and eternal servitude of that race whose songs I heard in my childhood... Whether or how much I have succeeded in instilling into the form of an orchestral work even just a particle of what hangs vanishing into the air in every part of that region, I am unable to judge".

In Grażyna Bacewicz's output, violin compositions play a prime role, however, it is impossible to disregard her pieces for piano – among them Concerto from 1949, awarded by the Polish Composers' Union. The piano part of this work will be performed by Piotr Sałajczyk. Kościelec 1909, another symphonic poem by Wojciech Kilar after Krzesany, refers not only to the Tatra folklore, but also to the legacy of Mieczysław Karłowicz. Thus, the programme of the concert is composed of three compositions created over the period of seventy years, and at the same time three proofs of the seductive power of stylization and references to the tradition.

The concert is produced under the patronage of PWM Edition as part of the project TUTTI.pl promoting the performances of Polish music. 

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

More information at: http://www.nospr.org.pl/pl/koncerty/1238/nospr-frantisek-macek-piotr-saajczyk