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Important Dates and Anniversaries

  • April 29, 1997. International Day of Dance
  • May 15, 1997. Day of Polish Music and Fine Arts
  • May 21, 1997. European Day of Music
  • June 4, 1997. Anniversary of the death of STANISLAW MONIUSZKO
    (5.05.1847 - 4.06.1862) Composer, creator of the Polish national opera
    (HALKA, THE HAUNTED MANSION) and Polish lyrical song.
  • October 1, 1997. International Day of Music

    Forthcoming Anniversaries

  • 1998, 400 Years of Opera as a Musical Genre.
    1598 in Florence DAPHNE by JACOPO PERI, the first vocal/instrumental work - later
    recognized as the first opera, was performed.
  • 1999, UNESCO International Chopin Year celebrating the 150th anniversary of his death.

    January

      JANUARY:
      POLISH NATIONAL COMPETITION OF SUNG POETRY AND ONE PERSON THEATRE
      Youth Cultural Center, Gryfino, Poland.

      JANUARY:
      ZYWIEC FESTIVITIES - REVIEW OF CHRISTMAS CAROLLING ENSEMBLES
      Zywiec Cultural Center, Zywiec, Poland.

      JANUARY:
      PROVINCIAL MEETING OF CHRISTMAS CAROLLING GROUPS
      Wojewodzki Osrodek Animacji Kultury, Bialystok, Poland.

      JAN 8:
      THE POLISH NATIONAL ANTHEM AND ITS AUTHOR
      Wojwodzka i Miejska Biblioteka Publiczna, Lodz, Poland.

      JAN 18:
      Kazimierz KORD conducts the WARSAW PHILHARMONIC in
      LUTOSLAWSKI's FOURTH SYMPHONY. California Center for
      the Arts, Escondido, California.

      JAN 19:
      MUSIC OF SZYMANOWSKI. (Symphonies no. 3 and 4)
      AMERICAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA. Leon BOTSTEIN, cond.
      Avery Fisher Hall, New York.

      JAN 19:
      THE KOSCIUSZKO FOUNDATION CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES.
      Program 4. The BACHMANN-KLIBONOFF-FRIDMAN TRIO.
      Kosciuszko Foundation Concert Hall. NY. 3:00 p.m.

      JAN 22:
      KRYNICA '97 - INTERNATIONAL GUITAR FESTIVAL
      Wojewodzki Osrodek Kultury, Krynica, Poland.

      February

      FEBRUARY:
      MUSICA POLONICA NOVA - FESTIVAL OF POLISH CONTEMPORARY
      MUSIC
      W. Lutoslawski National Philharmonic, Wroclaw, Poland.

      FEB 21 & 22:
      Piotr GAJEWSKI leads The NATIONAL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA in
      GORECKI's Piano Concerto. Bryan GANZ,
      piano. Rockville, Maryland. 8:30 p.m.

      FEB 21
      : ALL-CHOPIN RECITAL. Mack MC CRAY, piano. Celebrating
      Chopin's birthday and the 10th anniversary of the San Francisco Chopin Council.
      Old First Concerts, 1751 Sacramento st. San Francisco. 8:00 p.m. $9, $7.

      FEB 23:
      THE KOSCIUSZKO FOUNDATION CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES.
      Program 5. The CHESTER STRING QUARTET.
      Kosciuszko Foundation Hall. NY. 3:00 p.m. Broadcast live.

      March

      MAR 5-8:
      POLISH NATIONAL DANCE COMPETITION
      Panstwowa Szkola Baletowa, Gdansk - Wrzeszcz.

      MAR 5-11:
      REVIEW OF ACTORS' SONGS
      Centrum Sztuki - Impart, Wroclaw.

      MAR 9-15:
      "THE SONGS OF KAROL SZYMANOWKI" - INTERNATIONAL
      FESTIVAL AND SYMPOSIUM ON THE OCCASION OF THE 60th
      ANNIVERSARY OF KAROL SZYMANOWSKI'S DEATH
      Towarzystwo Muzyczne im. Karola Szymanowskiego, Zakopane.

      MAR 12:
      EVENING OF MASTERS Andrzej CHOROSINSKI, organ;
      Roman LASOCKI, violin. Works of BACH, LUTOSLAWSKI,
      BOGUSLAWSKI and BORKOWSKI.
      Chopin Academy of Music, Warsaw. 7:00 p.m.

      MAR 13:
      World premiere of Marta PTASZYNSKA'S Saxophone Concerto.
      Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra. Marusz Smolij, cond.
      Fred Hemke, sax.

      MAR 14 - 22:
      THE FORUM OF WITOLD LUTOSLAWSKI
      Filharmonia Narodowa, Warszawa.

      MAR 16:
      THE KOSCIUSZKO FOUNDATION CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES.
      Program 6. AUREOLE TRIO. Kosciuszko Foundation Hall. NY. 3:00 p.m.

      MAR 21-23:
      PADEREWSKI FESTIVAL in Paso Robles, California.
      Concerts, lectures, tours of wineries and site of former Paderewski ranch.
      For info call: Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce, (805) 238-0506

      MAR 21-24:
      "KALISZ '97" - INTERNATIONAL PRESENTATIONS OF MODERN
      DANCE FORMS
      Centrum Kultury i Sztuki, Kalisz.

      MAR 30: Recital. Jean-Marie PERCHALSKI, soprano (San Francisco
      Conservatory of Music) and Gustavo PONZOA, piano
      (Winner of the 1975 National Chopin Piano Competition) .
      First United Methodist Church, Miami. 4:30 p.m.
      The fifth event in a series of Sunday Concerts sponsored by
      the Chopin Foundation of the U.S.

      April

      APR 6-11:
      THE DANA NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL NEW MUSIC FROM POLAND Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. The Festival included:
      Seven concerts:
      1. Polish Music. Dorota Sobieska - soprano, Wanda Sobieska - violin, Jacek Sobieski - piano.
      2. Polish Sacred Lenten and Easter Music. St. Stanislaus Polish Choir, St. Philip & James Choir, New Castle, Rev. Edward Neroda.
      3. YSU Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Percussion Ensemble.
      4. Children's Music. Davie Middle School, Youngstown Connection.
      5. New Music Society Grand Concert. Composers Ensemble, Festival Chorus and Chamber Orchestra.
      6. YSU Faculty and Students.
      7. YSU Faculty and Students. with projections of Polish folk art and contemporary poster art.
      Four lectures:
      1. Maria Anna Harley - musicologist, Director - Polish Music Reference Center.
        National Identity and Internationality in Polish Music of the 20th Century The Music of Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki
      2. Gerald E. Evans - theorist.
        Chain Technique in Works of Lutoslawski.
      3. Peter Laki - musicologist.
        Polish music of the '60s.
      Three panel discussions:
      1. The Holocaust and Polish Music (Maria Anna Harley, Joseph Rudjak, Robert Rollin).
      2. Creativity in Poland in the 20th Century (Maria Anna Harley, Joseph Rudjak, Lou Zona, Robert Rollin).
      3. Return of Tonality to Polish Music (Peter Laki, Maria Anna Harley).
      Workshops, lecture/recitals, events for children, etc. Invited guests included Maria Anna Harley, Peter Laki, Marta Ptaszynska (who could not arrive due to a car accident). A report from the festival will soon be available.

      APR 13:
      THE KOSCIUSZKO FOUNDATION CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES.
      Program 7. PENDERECKI STRING QUARTET.
      Kosciuszko Foundation Hall. NY. 3:00 p.m.

      APR 20:
      CONCERT of the WINNERS of the TADEUSZ WRONSKI
      INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION FOR SOLO VIOLIN.
      Chopin Academy of Music, Warsaw. 7:00 p.m.

      May

      MAY 11:
      THE KOSCIUSZKO FOUNDATION CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES.
      Program 8. ARCADIA PLAYERS. Kosciuszko
      Foundation Hall, New York 3:00 p.m.

      MAY 16-18:
      The JUTRZENKA SINGING SOCIETY of Brooklyn will host the 52nd Convention of District VII of the POLISH SINGERS ALLIANCE OF AMERICA (representing Downstate New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Eastern Pennsylvania) . Part of the Convention is devoted to a competetion between choruses of three categories: Male, Female, Mixed. At last year's convention ARIA CHORUS won first place among the Mixed Choruses and won a trophy for the highest points of all competing choruses. The events of the convention to which the public is cordially invited are Saturday's CHORAL COMPETITION at 3:00 P.M. and DINNER-DANCE at 7:00 P.M. at WAGNER COLLEGE on Staten Island; Sunday's MASS at 9:30 followed by brunch at OUR LADY OF CZESTOCHOWA PARISH in Brooklyn and the GRAND CONCERT at 2:00 P.M. followed by the AWARDS BUFFET in the Grand Ballroom of PROSPECT HALL in South Brooklyn.

      District VII hosts a District-wide Convention each year, except for every third year when an International Convention is held. The next one of these International Conventions will be hosted by District I in May of 1998, in the greater Chicago area. For more information contact Ms. Dorothy Kostecka-Wieczerzak at DKWASOP@aol.com.

      MAY 18:
      CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
      will present the String Trio of Polish - Jewish composer Jozef KOFFLER who
      perished during WWII. Washington, D.C. (202) 488-0427.

      MAY 18-24:
      IX DAYS OF MUSIC BY CRACOW COMPOSERS.
      Cracow and Zakopane, various venues.

      Program includes 10 world premieres of works by Bujarski, Walacinski,
      Korzeniowska, Moszumanska-Nazar, Rychlik, Bien, and others. Performances
      of works by Lutoslawski, Penderecki, Pfeiffer, Stachowski, Pyzik,
      Haubenstock-Ramati, Dobrowolski, Krzanowski, Szymanowski, etc.
      Chamber music concerts on May 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24; Luciuk's oratorio
      Sanctus Adalbertus flos purpureus on May 21 (St. Catharine's Church, Cracow);
      monographic concerts of Walentin Silvestrov (May 19) and Krzysztof Meyer
      (May 22, Sukiennice). Performers from Poland (Czestochowa Philharmonic,
      Cracow Philharmonic, Silesian Quartet, Cracovia Quartet, DAFO Quartet,
      soloists), Canada (Penderecki String Quartet) and Ukraine
      (Lysenko Quartet, soloists).

      MAY 27- June 1:
      TENTH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON WOMEN IN MUSIC
      California Institute for the Arts; Valencia, California.
      Organized by the International Alliance for Women in Music, this Congress
      will bring together many women composers and experts on their music
      from around the world; including Polish composer, Marta PTASZYNSKA,
      who will perform in her song cycle, Liquid Light (with Patricia Chiti,
      soprano, and Paul Hurst, piano; May 29), and Maria Anna HARLEY (PMRC
      director) who will participate in a panel discussion on May 28, and will
      present issues facing Polish women composers in the era of globalization
      and computerization ("Striving towards a global outlook").

      June

      JUN 1:
      SECOND SAN FRANCISCO CHOPIN COMPETITION sponsored by
      the Chopin Council of San Francisco. San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

      JUN 20-22:
      POLISH FEST, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
      Concerts, dance performances; Polish food, Polish art, books and other items.
      For more information contact:
      Polish Fest Inc.,
      6941 South 68th Street
      Franklin, Wisconsin 53132
      tel: 414--529-2140
      fax: 414--529-1055


      JUN 22:
      World premiere of Joanna BRUZDOWICZ's Song of Hope and Love.
      Steven HONIGBERG, cello; Carol HONIGBERG, piano.
      U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

      JUN 23-29:
      The Polish Boys Choir Szczecin Nightingales
      at the Golden Gate International Children's Choir Festival, Oakland, CA.

      JUN 26:
      Marta PTASZYNSKA: Saxophone Concerto. Ljublijana Symphony
      Orchestra,
      Mark Letonji, cond. In Slovenia.

      JUN 26-27:
      INTERNATIONAL LUTOSLAWSKI SEMINAR, Warsaw, Poland.
      Organized by Dr. Zbigniew Skowron (Institute of Musicology,
      University of Warsaw), this seminar will gather the world's leading
      Lutoslawski scholars, including Steven Stucky (USA), Charles Bodman Rae,
      Adrian Thomas and John Casken (Great Britain),
      Martina Homma (Germany), Irina Nikolska (Russia), James Harley (Canada)
      and Maria Anna Harley (PMRC Director, USA). The presented papers
      will be published by Oxford University Press in Lutoslawski Studies,
      edited by Z. Skowron (forthcoming in 1999).

      July

      JUL 5:
      The Polish Boys Choir Szczecin Nightingales Concert.
      Music by various composers, including Polish music.
      Bozena DERWICH, conducting. Our Lady of the
      Bright Mount Polish Church. 3424 W. Adams Blvd., Los Angeles.
      Saturday 6:30 p.m. $10 tax-deductible donation.
      Info: Vladek Juszkiewicz (818) 982-8827.

      August

      AUG 14-20:
      16th Congress of the International Musicological Society
      "Musicology and Sister Disciplines," Royal College of Music,
      London, England. The Congress, held every five years, will include
      a special session on Polish music, organized by Dr. Mieczyslaw
      TOMASZEWSKI "Music between East and West and the work of
      Lutoslawski, Penderecki and Gorecki" (August 19). Speakers at
      this session will include: John Casken, Irina Nikolska, Regina
      Chlopicka, Krzysztof Droba, Teresa Malecka and Roman Berger.
      In addition, Study Session on "Auditory Scene Analysis"
      organized by Maria Anna HARLEY (August 16) will include
      references to the work of Polish composers (Lutoslawski,
      Bacewicz) and Polish theorists (Chominski).

      AUG 20-30:
      Second International Master Course for Composers & Contemporary
      Chamber Music Workshop, S. Moniuszko Academy of Music, Gdansk.
      With Paul MEFANO (France), Elzbieta SIKORA (Poland),
      and Stephen MONTAGUE (England); honorary patronage Pierre Boulez.
      Application deadline June 16. For more information contact:
      Akademia Muzyczna im S. Moniuszki; u. Lagiewniki 3, 80-847 Gdansk,
      Poland. tel: (48) 58 31 77 23; fax: (011- 48) 58 31 43 65.


      September

      SEPT 1-15:
      17th Summer Course for Young Composers, Radziejowice, near Warsaw,
      Poland. Organized by the Polish Society for Contemporary Music.
      This year's edition is mainly devoted to the music of non-Western cultures.

      Lecturers include: composers--Krzysztof Penderecki (Poland), Paul Patterson (England), Alejandro Iglesias Rossi (Argentina); instrumentalists--Wu Man (China-USA), Tran Quang Hai (Vietnam-France), and Inok Paek (Korea-England), as well as ethnomusicologists-- Frank Kouwenhoven (Holland), Jozef Pacholczyk (USA-Poland), and Slawomira Zeranska Kominek (Poland). The cost is $ 500 (including room and board). Participants from Poland and Eastern Europe are eligible for scholarships which limit the costs to $ 200.

      Application deadline: June 30, 1997. For more information contact:

      Grazyna Dziura, Executive Director
      Polskie Towarzystwo Muzyki Wspolczesnej
      ul. Mazowiecka 11, 00-052 Warszawa, Poland
      tel 011-48--22--827-69-81
      fax: 011-48--22-- 827-78-04

      October

      Oct 1-5: GORECKI AUTUMN @ USC

      Oct 1: C0NCERT I. SOLO & CHAMBER MUSIC


      USC students and alumni; Dr. James Harley, artistic director.
      8:00 p.m. Hancock Auditorium
      Solo and Chamber Music of Gorecki: including Sonata no. 1 op. 6 for solo piano (1956-1990); Intermezzo (1990) and Four Preludes (1955) for solo piano; For You, Anne-Lill op. 58, for flute and piano (1986); Variations for violin and piano, op. 4 (1956); Valentine Piece op. 70 for flute solo and little bell (1996).

      Oct 2: LECTURE AND FILM

      Adrian Thomas, Prof. of Music, Cardiff University of Wales, Great Britain (the author of a recent monograph on Gorecki's music, published by Oxford University Press, 1996)
      7: 00 p.m. Arnold Schoenberg Institute.
      Public Lecture: "Introduction to the Music of Gorecki" followed by the screening of a Dutch TV documentary about the composer, Master Composers: Henryk Gorecki.

      Oct 3: CONCERT II: GORECKI CONDUCTS GORECKI


      Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki, conductor
      Elizabeth Hynes, soprano
      USC Symphony Orchestra
      8:00 p.m. Bovard Auditorium
      Performance of H.M. Gorecki's Symphony no. 3 op. 36 The Symphony of Sorrowful Songs (1976). Announcement of the creation of the Endowed Position in Polish Music, funded by Stefan and Wanda Wilk, the founders of the Polish Music Reference Center.

      Oct 5: THE GORECKI PHENOMENON: MUSIC HISTORY SYMPOSIUM


      Maria Anna Harley, moderator
      Participants:
      Prof. Adrian Thomas (Cardiff, Wales, UK),
      Asst. Prof. Maria Anna Harley, USC
      Dr. James Harley, Los Angeles
      David Kopplin, los Angeles
      Asst. Prof. Luke Howard, Minnesota
      Mark Swed (LA Times, Los Angeles).
      11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Arnold Schoenberg Institute
      Scholarly papers about the music of H.M.Gorecki, with a closing discussion about the phenomenon of the Third Symphony, and questions from the audience. The composer will be present to participate in the discussion.

      Oct 5: CONCERT III: CONTEMPORARY MUSIC ENSEMBLE


      Participants: Donald Crockett, conductor,
      USC Contemporary Music Ensemble
      8:00 p.m. Hancock Auditorium
      Contemporary Polish music for larger chamber ensemble: Witold Lutoslawski: Chain 1 for chamber ensemble (1981)
      Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki: Good Night op. 63, for soprano, alto flute and piano (1990)
      Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki: Kleines Requiem fur eine Polka for chamber ensemble (1995)


      November

      October 30-November 2:
      Annual Meeting of the American Musicological Society, Phoenix, Arizona
      Special Session celebrating the music of Witold LUTOSLAWSKI.
      Papers by Prof. Adrian Thomas (Great Britain, on Jeux Venitiens),
      Dr. Martina Homma (Germany, on harmony and tone color in Lutoslawski's
      music), and Prof. Maria Anna Harley, session organizer (PMRC director,
      on Lutoslawski's concept of the sound plane).

      December

    DEC 12:
    The premiere performance of Boguslaw SCHAEFFER's Symphony-Concerto by Pomeranian Symphony orchestra, Marek Pijarowski conducting. This work was commissioned by the director of the Pomeranian Symphony Eleonora Harendarska, to celebrate the 650th anniversary of the City of Bydgoszcz. Schaeffer wrote a monumental work, the longest symphonic composition on record. It is a union of two musical forms: symphony (three movements) and concerto (two sections). This gigantic composition, entitled Sinfonia-Concerto per 15 solisti ed orchestra lasts two full hours and features solos of fifteen different instruments, including the vibraphone, trumpet, flute harp, piano, cello , oboe, violin, and even the organ.

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    This page updated on 21 May 1997 by Marcin Depinski.