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At the end of the summer, Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra prepared a concert inspired by American cities. The event entitled "City Sketches" will take place on 6 September 2019 at 7:30 p.m. in the concert hall  at 272 Grochowska Street. The programme includes music by Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland as well as Henryk Mikołaj Górecki and Henryk Wars. The orchestra will be led by Maestro Mariusz Smolij and the soloist of the concert will be a talented and charismatic pianist Piotr Orzechowski "Pianohooligan". 

Sinfonia Varsovia under the baton of Mariusz Smolij will begin the concert with Three dances episodes by Leonard Bernstein from the musical On The Town and Quiet City by Aaron Copland. After the works about American cities, the audience will listen to the Concerto for harpsichord (or piano) and string orchestra by Henryk Mikołaj Górecki. The work based on a constantly repeated melodic and rhythmic structure keeps listeners and musicians in suspense, allowing harmony to influence its character. Piotr Orzechowski "Pianohooligan" will perform the solo part on the Rhodes piano – an electric instrument with a characteristic timbre.

Next, the orchestra will present City Sketches by Henry Wars. The cycle consists of three parts: High-Rise, Downtown Blues and Freeway Scherzo. The composer wrote them during his stay in America, hence the references to the blues genre originating in the United States. What does America sound like to a Polish composer? The answer will come with this work. Finally, we will listen to Henryk Wars's Piano Concerto. This unusual one-part concerto with lyrical themes and orchestration evokes associations with film music. After all, Henryk Wars worked primarily for the cinema. The composer conquered Hollywood with his music, and his songs were sung by the greatest stars: Bing Crosby, Brenda Lee and Doris Day.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

More information available at: www.sinfoniavarsovia.org 

Young artists will perform at the Fryderyk Chopin Baltic Philharmonic on 6 September 2019 ay 7 p.m. Talented students and graduates of the Stanisław Moniuszko Gdańsk Academy of Music who make up a dynamically developing BalticAlians Chamber Orchestra will perform together with members of the Zehetmair Quartet.

BalticAlians is a chamber orchestra founded in November last year. Despite the short period of activity, the orchestra has completed many projects, including a concert under the baton of the artistic director of the Polish Baltic Philhamonic – Maestro George Tchitchinadze. In September, the musicians of the orchestra will perform along with the members of the Zehetmair Quartet: Jakub Jakowicz – violin virtuoso, lecturer at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, and Christian Elliott – soloist, concertmaster of the cello group at the Irish Chamber Orchestra in Scotland and member of the Phoenix Piano Trio.

The programme of the concert will include Serenade, Op. 22 by Antonín Dvořák, Chamber Symphony in C minor, Op. 110a by Dmitri Shostakovich, Concerto for Violin and Cello, RV 547 by Antonio Vivaldi and To the Cuddled One into the Violin by Marek Czerniewicz. The latter work was written by the esteemed Gdańsk composer, lecturer at the Academy of Music in Gdańsk, for the 60th anniversary of pedagogical activity of Prof. Jerzy Hazuka. The composition will be performed by Jakub Jakowicz together with the three founders of BalticAlians: Rafał Marek Wiśniewski, Jan Staruch and Janina Olszewska.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

More information at: https://filharmonia.gda.pl/pl/ 

The 48th Musicological Conference of the Polish Composers' Union "Borders of Freedom" will take place on 5-7 September 2019 in Łagów Lubuski ("Leśnik" Recreation Centre, 10 Bolesława Chrobrego St.).

The infamous congress of composers and music critics in Łagów Lubuski, during which representatives of the power apparatus imposed the socialist realism doctrine on Polish artists, took place in 1949. It was not the first meeting of the communist authorities with the artists' circles: earlier there were conventions of writers (in Szczecin), artists (in Nieborów), theater people (in Obory) and architects (in Warsaw). The Łagów events received wide coverage among Polish composers and musicologists. The reactions varied, ranging from moral dilemmas related to attempts to adapt to the new situation to dramatic decisions about emigration.

After 70 years, it is worth returning to Łagów – the place where you can still hear the faint echoes of the events of 1949, to think about matters related to the relationship between music and power, music and freedom, abstract form and mimetic content of the art of sounds. In this historic place, scholars will discuss problems regarding the borders of freedom in music. The presentations will concern both detailed issues related to the consequences of socialist realist pressure or the Cold War division of Europe, as well as much wider dimensions of the relationship between artistic freedom and its conditions in the context of the entire history of music.

The organizers of the event are: Musicologists' Section of the Polish Composers' Union; Branch Office of Historical Research, Institute of National Remembrance in Poznań; Institute of Music of the University of Zielona Góra. The conferene's partner is ZAiKS Association of Authors.

DOWNLOAD: Conference Programme

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On 27 and 28 September 2019, the Municipal Cultural Center in Nowa Ruda (2A Strzelecka St.) will host improvisation workshops for children entitled "Tell me a story". The events are organized by the Polish Society for Contemporary Music.

The workshops are a continuation of a project commenced in 2015. During this year's edition, the classes will take place in two series: in Nowa Ruda, Lower Silesia (27-28 September 2019) and in Skoki, Krajenka and Wągrowiec, Greater Poland (24-26 October 2019). They are intended for groups of 25 children at the age of 3-5 years and for children aged 6-8 years. In total, there will be 12 workshops for preschool and school groups as well as workshops open for children and their guardians.

The main idea of ​​the project is to trigger graphic-inspired improvisations. Children will create their own stories based on picture books. Improvisation is the most basic, primary and joyful form of music performance, which is why the workshops combine children's creativity and imagination with books and contemporary music. The musical guest of the workshops will be the Trillingen Duo group, composed of: multi-instrumentalist Iwona Jędruch and double bassist Małgorzata Kołcz – workshop coordinator. Adventure through improvisations together with artists will be led by composer and pianist Jarosław Siwiński.

The organizers invite children aged 3-5 and 6-8 to the upcoming classes. The youngest group will learn, play and improvise from 10:00  to 11:30 a.m.; children aged 6-8 years – from 12:00 to 13:30 p.m.

Participation in the workshops is free, but due to the limited number of places, prior registration is required. Registrations for 27 September: 74 872 44 85 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; Registration for 28 September: 790 395 228 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

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