Another concert of the "Music +" cycle will be held on January 13, 2016 at 7.00 pm in the Youth Culture Centre in Krakow (“House of the Scouts”, 18 Reymonta Street).
The programme, which includes works by Gaspar Sanz, Fernando Sor, Isaak Albéniz, Leo Brouwer and Carl Domeniconi, will be interpreted by guitarist Adam Zalas and pianist Joachim Kołpanowicz.
Admission free.
Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.
The artist’s album real life song will be released on December 23, 2015 just in time for the Christmas rush.
Meant to break stereotypical thinking about contemporary music as hermetic and overwhelmed by incomprehensible elements, the CD astonishes, enchants, and presents a rich range of emotions, discovered when going into precise forms, structures and sophisticated harmonies. Their diversity allows to show the mastery of the soloist.
Joanna Freszel’s album is a result of almost two-year work and an expression of musical enquiries of people, who create music on the highest level and represent various trends in Polish music. 8 young composers (Miłosz Bembinow, Andrzej Borzym jr, Rafał Janiak, Aleksander Kościów, Jagoda Szmytka, Katarzyna Szwed, Sławomir Zamuszko, Agata Zubel), invited to participate in the project, either wrote new works or changed the instrumentation of previously composed pieces.
The next promotional concert will be held on January 11, 2016 in the Studio Theatre in Warsaw.
More information: www.reallifesong.wix.com/reallifesong
Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.
Warner Music Poland will release new album MAKSYMIUK | Sinfonia Varsovia on January 29, 2016.
The appearance of the unparalleled talent of Jerzy Maksymiuk on our musical landscape and the ensuing artistic phenomenon that bears the name of the Polish Chamber Orchestra was a sui generis earthquake for all of us – wrote Adam Rozlach in the CD booklet.
The double album showcases both historical recordings which have undergone careful remastering and new interpretations recorded in 2015. The CDs include compositions by Mozart, Bach, Rossini, Debussy, Bartók, Stravinsky, as well as works by Polish composers - Grażyna Bacewicz, Tadeusz Baird, Adam Jarzębski, and Maestro himself (Vers per archi).
The album is a sentimental journey back to the time when Jerzy Maksymiuk’s chamber players drenched audiences attending their first concerts with great technique and artistry. It is also a record documenting the present coolaboration of the famous conductor with his beloved orchestra.
Album Verbum Incarnatum, released in December 2015 by Ars Sonora record label, was created by saxophonist Paweł Gusnar and Mulierum Schola Gregoriana Clamaverunt Iusti – Warsaw-based ensemble directed by Michał Sławecki, specializing in the interpretation and performance of Gregorian chant.
The diversity of theological themes is taken by Schola Clamaverunt Iusti in the proposed programs. The ensemble, while remaining faithful to the principles of Gregorian chant interpretation, is not afraid either of musical experiments. On the eve of the canonization of Saint John Paul II, a program Verbum Incarnatum was created, in which works from Gregorian and Ambrosian tradition of the oldest singing of the Church have been implemented in an unchanged form and summarized with the part of soprano saxophone (mostly improvisations), realized by Paweł Gusnar. The program’s content focuses on the mystery of the Incarnation.
More information: www.sklep.ars-sonora.pl/verbum-incarnatum-p-9.html
Partners: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC, Radio Warszawa, Presto, UMFC, SPMK, Dobre Miejsce Culture Centre, Carpe Diem Foundation, Portal Płock, Yamaha, D’Addario Woodwinds, Clamaverunt Iusti Association
Next editions of the Podkarpacka Foundation’s projects, i.e. 11th International Piano Forum "Bieszczady Without Boundaries", 7th International Piano Competition "Young Virtuoso" and 5th Master School of Piano Pedagogy, will be held on February 7-12, 2016.
Podkarpacka Foundation for the Development of Culture was established in 2009. The main objective of its projects is to support the education and development of young Polish pianists, maintain national tradition by cultivating and developing national, civic and cultural consciousness as well as to promote international cooperation and integration, particularly in the Carpathian region and within music cultures of Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine.
Deadline for application: December 31, 2015
More information: www.interpiano.pl
Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.
On December 10, 2015 the results of the 2nd Karol Szymanowski International Composers Competition were announced.
The subject of the competition was a piece for large symphony orchestra (duration: 10-20 minutes). The jury (members of the Karol Szymanowski Music Society: Eugeniusz Knapik – chairman, Krzysztof Meyer, Rafał Augustyn and Sławomir Czarnecki) awarded the following composers:
1st prize - Daniele Gasparini (Italy) for Snowise, snowhere, snoway. Snowsence
2nd prize - Hyunsuk Jun (South Korea) for Vistara
3rd prize - Jonathan Posthuma (USA) for Strings of Pearls
distinction - Andrzej Karałow (Poland) for Multicolour Horizon
Special prizes:
Daniele Gasparini (Italy) - prize of the Polish National Symphony Radio Orchestra in Katowice (performance in 2016/2017)
Hyunsuk Jun (South Korea) - prize of the Karol Szymanowski Philharmonic in Cracow (performance in 2016/2017)
Jonathan Posthuma (USA) - prize of His Magnificence Rector of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice (performance by the Karol Szymanowski Academic Symphony Orchestra in 2016/2017)
Andrzej Karałow (Poland) - prize of PWM Edition (set of Polish contemporary scores)
Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC
More information: www.szymanowski-competition.com
The final concert of the 4th edition of the cycle Warsaw Camerata à la carte! will be held on December 20, 2015 at 1.30 pm in the Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Florian the Martyr in Warsaw (3 St. Florian's Street).
The project, co-financed by the City of Warsaw and organized in the the years 2012-2014, aims at connecting and activating the listeners and musicians. It is the audience that chooses the repertoire performed during the concerts which are regularly held in the Praga district in Warsaw.
Performers:
Justyna Stępień - soprano
Richard Berkeley - countertenor
Andrzej Marusiak - tenor
Piotr Pieron - bass
Warsaw Choir
Richard Berkeley - artistic director
Warsaw Camerata
Paweł Kos-Nowicki - conductor
Programme:
Joseph Haydn – Symphony in G major Hob.I:88
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Coronation Mass in C major K. 317
Admission free.
Organized by the New Chamber Orchestra Foundation, co-financed by the City of Warsaw.
Sponsor: Raiffeisen Polbank
Cooperation: Warsaw Camerata, Art Deco Group, Culture Centre Praga, Strategia Group, Marek Rychłowski Law Firm.
Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC, "Presto" Magazine, In Your Pocket, Wawcity.pl, Cameralmusic.pl
Polish Society for Contemporary Music invites children and parents to participate in the workshops "Tell Me a Story" held on Decemebr 12, 2015 in the Wilanów Culture Centre in Warsaw (3 Kolegiacka Street).
The workshops involve literature- and music-based improvisation, the happiest and most natural form of artistic activity, and will be led by violinist Dagna Sadkowska, clarinetist Michał Górczyński (members of Kwartludium ensemble), double-bassist Małgorzata Kołcz and composer Jarosław Siwiński.
10:00 am – children aged 3-5 years
12:00 pm – children aged 6-8 years
Admission is free, however making a booking is required (mobile: +48 790 395 228 or e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
The project is co-financed by the Culture Department of the City of Warsaw.
8th edition of the Gdańsk Art of Accordion Music Interpretation will be held on December 14, 2015 at 7.00 pm in the Old Town Hall in Gdańsk (33/35 Korzenna Street).
The programme of this year's edition of the event is divided into two parts - performance of works by young Polish composer and accordionist Paweł Sławiński, Romanian composer Gabriel Mălăncioiu, and Michael Beil from Germany, as well as "Symphony of Improvisation" - a performance combining image, animation, light effects and musical improvisation.
Performers:
Paweł Zagańczyk – accordion
Anna Wandtke – violin
Wiktoria Vysotska – visual effects, media
Programme:
Part I
Michael Beil – Und Acht for Accordion and Tape **
Paweł Sławiński – Bolero *
Paweł Sławiński – Prelude and fugue *
Gabriel Mălăncioiu – Pāramitā **
Part II
"Symphony of Improvisation"
*premiere
** Polish premiere
Admission free.
Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.
65 violinists from 23 countries will participate in the 1st Grażyna Bacewicz International Violin Competition held in Łódź between 9th and 13th of December 2015. Admission to all concerts and auditions is free.
The event will have its opening on December 9, 2015 at 6.00 pm – 3 members of the jury (Janusz Wawrowski, Łukasz Błaszczyk and Lars Erik ter Jung) will perform Polish and Norwegian music in the Concert Hall of the Academy of Music in Łódź (2a Żubardzka Street).
Auditions of the 1st stage: December 10-12, Chamber Hall of the Academy of Music in Łódź (4 1-go Maja Street)
Auditions of the 2nd stage: December 13, Concert Hall of the Academy of Music in Łódź (2a Żubardzka Street).
Jury: Łukasz Błaszczyk (chairperson), Bartosz Bryła, Massimiliano Caldi, Lars Erik ter Jung, Robert Kabara and Janusz Wawrowski. The competition is a part of the Grażyna Bacewicz International Music Festival (November 27 – December 13, 2015) co-organized by the Council of the City of Łódź.
More information: www.amuz.lodz.pl
See: YouTube trailer
Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.
Department of Music Education of the Kalisz Branch Campus of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań invites young Polish and foreign composers (age limit: 35 years old) to participate in the composition competition organized on the occasion of the 100th birth anniversary of priest Jan Twardowski.
The prizes will be awarded in 3 categories – song, a cappella choral work and vocal-instrumental composition (for solo part(s), choir and orchestra).
Prizes: PLN 15.000
Jury: Agnieszka Sobczak (Director of the Department of Music of Education of the Kalisz Branch Campus), Adam Klocek (Director of the Kalisz Philharmonic), Mieczysław Szcześniak (singer, composer, author of texts, lecturer at the Department of Music Education in Kalisz), Fryderyk Stankiewicz (composer, lecturer at the Department of Sacral and Choral Music in Kalisz), Beata Michalak (musicologist, lecturer at the Department of Music Education in Kalisz)
Application deadline: December 10, 2015
Co-organizer: Kalisz Philharmonic
Honorary patronage: Prof. dr hab. Bronisław Marciniak (Rector of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań), Grzegorz Sapiński (Mayor of the City of Kalisz)
More information: www.wpa.amu.edu.pl
Media patronage: TVP Kultura, Radio Merkury Poznań and Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.
1st edition of the festival, during which international choirs will perform carols and Christmas songs from various parts of the world, will be held on December 11-12, 2015 in Sopot.
The concerts will take place in the Forest Opera, the Church of Christ at 21 Obrońców Westerplatte Street and in the local Social Welfare House.
The festival is organized by the "Mundus Cantat" Foundation and co-organized by the Baltic Artistic Agency BART and the City of Sopot.
Admission to all concerts is free.
Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.
Another concert of the “Music +” cycle will be held on December 9, 2015 at .7.00 pm in the Youth Culture Centre in Krakow (“House of the Scouts”, 18 Reymonta Street).
The programme, which includes Władysław Żeleński’s Piano Quartet in C minor, Op. 61 and solo compositions, will be interpreted by Artsemble - Błażej Kociuban (violin), Ewa Szczepańska-Chwast (viola), Krzysztof Sadłowski (cello) and Piotr Kosiński (piano).
Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.
Professor Piotr Gliński, Minister of Culture and National Heritage of Poland and Deputy Prime Minister, will present the Oskar Kolberg Awards “For Merit to Folk Culture” for the 40th time. The gala will be held on December 11, 2015 in the Royal Castle in Warsaw at 12.00.
The Oskar Kolberg Award For Merit to Folk Culture has been presented since 1974. It has always been the most important Polish distinction for involvement in folk culture, granted in 6 categories – folk visual artists, musicians and dancers; folk tale writers; folk groups (authentic); folk ensembles; scholars and researchers; institutions and organisations (both Polish and foreign). The award is a recognition of these individuals’, ensembles’ and institutions’ long-lasting, consistent efforts aimed at preserving and celebrating traditions and genuine values of regional folk culture in its material, social, and artistic aspects.
This year's edition was organized by the Institute of Music and Dance, Open-Air Museum of Rural Architecture in Radom and Oskar Kolberg Museum in Przysucha. The awards have been funded by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage of Poland, the "Cepelia" Polish Art and Handicraft Foundation, and local authorities of the Mazovia Province.
Partners: Polish Radio Programme 2, Folk Artists Association
Media patronage: TVP Kultura, Polish Radio Programme 2, Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC, MuzykaTradycyjna.pl and Folk24.pl.
Polish Composers’ Union, celebrating its 70th anniversary, invites the listeners to attend the concert cycle entitled „Portraits of Composers” presented this year for the 25th time. The concerts featuring music by Piotr Komorowski and Sławomir Zamuszko will take place on December 7 and 8, 2015 in the Mazovia Institute of Culture (12 Elektoralna Str.)
The compositions will be performed by outstanding soloists and chamber players, such as Stanisław Miłek (accordion), Julia Samojło (piano),Tomasz Strahl (cello), Łucja Szablewska-Borzykowska (mezzosoprano), Flute O’Clock and Opium Quartet. The programme includes works which prove that music may also become engaged in social issues.
The concerts are co-organized by the Mazovia Institute of Culture, co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and supported by the Association of Authors and Composers ZAiKS and Department of Music Education of the Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz.
Admission free.
See: programme
Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.
