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Oratorio Peregrinus written by Dariusz Swoszowski to the text by Ryszard Ostrowski will be performed on January 15, 2016 at 4.00 pm in the Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre for Music in Lusławice.

The composition will be interpreted by over 200 musicians conducted by Waldemar Groń, including students and teachers of the Primary Music School in Domosławice, Jurkowski Chamber Choir (dir. by Aleksandra Bośković-Róża), solists Magda Niedbała, Ewelina Szybilska, and Anna Wilk, organist Iwona Karwacka, and narrator Jacek Wojnicki. The work was premiered in November 2015.

Organizers: Primary Music School in Domosławice, Czchów and Zakliczyn Commune.

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Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

Renowned French composer and conductor Pierre Boulez died at the age of 90 on January 5, 2016 at his home in Baden-Baden in Germany.

Boulez had been considered one of the most influential voices in the contemporary music since the 1950s. As a composer, Boulez's work was noted for its difficulty, with one of his most celebrated works, Le Marteau Sans Maitre, being inspired by the complexity and lack of formal artistic structure of surrealist poetry.
Born in the Loire region of France in 1925, Boulez began his musical career at the Conservatoire in Paris. He graduated in 1945 and became musical director of the theatre company of Jean-Louis Barrault and Madeleine Renaud. His career as a conductor took off in the 1950s, during which time he performed with the Sudwestfunk (South-West German Radio). He also began acting as guest conductor for some of Europe's leading orchestras and festivals. He led the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1971-75 and from 1971-77 was also music director of the New York Philharmonic, where he championed contemporary works, including compositions by Stravinsky, Bartók, Berg, Messiaen (his tutor), Ligeti, Birtwistle and Stockhausen.
Alongside his composing and conducting, Boulez's creative output flourished as the director of the experimental music studio in Paris (1970-91), the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM), where he had access to the latest computer technology.
Overall the artist won 26 Grammys and multiple other honours, including Sweden's Polar Music Prize, Japan's Praemium Imperiale and France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

2nd edition of the festival "Voices at Dusk", organized by Verità Nostra Agency, will be held in January 2016 at 3 Mysia Street in Warsaw.

The programme features 9 concerts (5 subsequent Sundays until January 31) which offer various music genres – classical (performed by Maksym Rzemiński, Barbara Piotrowska), jazz (Bogdan Hołownia, Wojciech Pulcyn, Piotr Wrombel, Mariusz "Fazi" Mielczarek, Maciej "Kocin" Kociński) and pop (Jarek Wist, Kuba Molęda). The artists will introduce the listeners to new projects and original arrangements. The event presents atypical performances, integrates various art forms and reduces the distance between the artists and the audience.

More information: www.veritanostra.pl
 

Premiere performance of the play Holzwege, directed by Katarzyna Kalwat, will be held on January 15, 2016 at 7.00 pm at the TR Warszawa theatre.

Holzwege (German for "getting lost") is the title of a work by Tomasz Sikorski, one of the most interesting composers of the second half of the 20th century. The production by the same name, based on Marta Sokołowska’s play, is an attempt to understand Sikorski’s work and life, which came to a premature end. Holzwege is a combination of a theatre play and a concert. Alongside the TR Warszawa actors Jan Dravnel, Sandra Korzeniak and Tomasz Tyndyk, the eminent composer Zygmunt Krauze, a friend of Sikorski’s, also participates. The actors and musicians call upon the works of the avant-garde composer, documentary materials and literary fiction to pay tribute to him. During the show, we will hear Tomasz Sikorski’s works Absent-minded Window Gazing,Sonant, Hymnos and Echoes II performed live.

Tomasz Sikorski (1939-1988) is seen as an exponent of sonorism and minimalism. The Warsaw-born, child prodigy, son of the composer Kazimierz Sikorski, and recipient of French- and US-government scholarships, died in 1988 in unexplained circumstances. His music, which defied genre classifications, was not appreciated in his lifetime. Only in recent years has its innovativeness, radicalism and pioneering power begun to be recognised.

Next performances will be held on January 16 and 17, 2016.

Source: www.trwarszawa.pl/en

Krzysztof Książek, semi-finalist of the 17th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, will open a new concert cycle by performing Fryderyk Chopin’s Sonata in B minor, Op. 58 on January 14, 2016 at 7.00 pm in the Mazovia Culture Institute in Warsaw (12 Elektoralna St.).

The recitals of the cycle, performed by young pianists and aimed at presenting selected masterpieces of the piano repertoire, will be held each month at Elektoralna Street. Each performance will be preceded by an introduction given by professionals who will discuss cultural background of the presented compositions.

More information: www.mik.waw.pl