STOJOWSKI REVIEW

Another review of Joseph A. Herter’s Zygmunt Stojowski: Life and Music (Polish Music History Series Vol. 10) has been published. This review, written by Dr. Mieczysław B. Biskupski of Central Connecticut State University, was published in the Autumn 2008 issue of Polish American Studies (Volume LXV, no. 2, pp. 91-92).  Dr. Biskupski’s thoughtful and positive review is excerpted below:

Herter has set himself the task of rescuing Stojowski from obscurity and, by discussing his musical accomplishments, of helping to revive his artistic reputation… The efforts Herter has made to assemble this work are exemplary.  There is a “catalog,” extensively annotated, of Stojowski’s compositions assembled from literally scores of repositories… A reconstruction of all his performances follows as does a discussion of Stojowski’s manuscripts and a detailed bibliography.  The volume is moreover richly illustrated with many photographs and reproductions... We have in sum a devoted effort to save a worthy man and his efforts from oblivion; an effort, moreover, of commendable dilligence

Copies of Polish American Studies are available from the Polish American Historical Association. The book, Zygmunt Stojowski: Life and Music ($25), is available for purchase by emailing polmusic@thornton.usc.edu or calling (213) 821-1356.

COMMEMORATING A JAZZ LEGEND

“Astigmatic” is the name of the one and only album recorded by one of Poland’s greatest jazz composers and pianists, Krzysztof Komeda (1931-1969).  It is also the name of a musical society founded in Poland in 2008 and dedicated to the preservation of his musical legacy. Now, 40 years since Komeda’s tragic death, the Astigmatic Society and other institutions are marking the anniversary.

Born Krzysztof Trzciński in Poznań, Komeda studied music from an early age, wanting to be become a virtuoso pianist. The Second World War interfered with these plans, however, and he eventually decided to study medicine. Although Komeda became a medical professional, his interest in music, especially be-bop and jazz, remained.

In the 1950s he moved to Kraków, then a cradle of the emerging Polish jazz scene, and participated in numerous informal jam-sessions with such friends as Jerzy Matuszkiewicz, Andrzej Trzaskowski and Witold Kujawski. Together with these musicians, he formed the band named “Melomani” and began to perform throughout Poland. He also returned to Poznań, performing with Jerzy Grzewiński’s Dixieland band at the First Jazz Festival in Sopot in 1956. Around the same time Komeda began performing with the saxophonist Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski and vibraphonist Jerzy Milan, eventually forming the Komeda Sextet, a group dedicated to modern jazz. Trzciński’s stage name, Komeda, was initially designed to separate his musical career from his medical profession. But the enthusiastic response of the audiences throughout Poland and the relaxed political atmosphere of the late 1950s led Komeda to devote his life to music.

Already in the early days of his career, Komeda began to diverge from the European modern jazz as practiced by Gerry Mulligan and the Modern Jazz Quartet, infusing his compositions with a fascinating mixture of classical roots, Slavic lyricism, and highly original musical textures. His group began to travel abroad to festivals in Grenoble, Moscow, and Paris. Komeda’s show, Jazz and Poetry, was featured not only at the Jazz Jamboree in Warsaw in 1960, but was also presented at the Warsaw Philharmonic a short time later. Another of Komeda’s shows, Ballet Etudes, was performed at the Jazz Jamboree in 1962 and established him as the foremost avant-garde jazz musician in Poland.  

Simultaneously, Komeda’s unique style began to be noticed by film directors such as Roman Polański and Andrzej Wajda. Komeda’s scores to such celebrated films as Niewinni czarodzieje [Innocent Sorcerers] (1960) and Nóż w wodzie [Knife in the Water] (1962) opened another creative channel for this remarkable musician. During his short life Komeda wrote music for over thirty films, including Dwaj ludzie z szafą [Two Men and a Wardrobe], Do widzenia, do jutra [Good Bye, Till Tomorrow], Szklana góra [Glass Mountain], Wyrok [The Verdict], Zbrodniarz i panna [The Criminal and the Lady], Ssaki [Mammals], Prawo i pięść [The Law and the Fist], Cul-de-sac, Bariera [Barrier], Dance of the Vampires, Le Départ, Rosemary’s Baby, and Riot.

Throughout the 1960s Komeda travelled to numerous concerts and recording sessions in Sweden and Denmark, to European jazz festivals and, with his close friend, Roman Polański, to Hollywood. With so much success and recognition in Europe, it seemed that Komeda’s career in the US film industry was assured. Unfortunately, after brain injuries sustained in an accident in Los Angeles in December of 1968, Krzysztof Komeda lapsed into a coma and was transported to Poland for further medical treatment. He died on 23 April 1969 in Warsaw, following surgery.
Important initiatives have been undertaken by the Astigmatic Society in Poland to commemorate the life and accomplishments of this extraordinary pianist and composer. In December 2008 in Poznań, the Astigmatic Society held a ceremony for the unveiling of a commemorative plaque on the building where Komeda had once lived. In conjunction with the unveiling, a concert of Komeda’s music and poetry took place at the Great Hall of the Poznań Castle on Monday, December 1, 2008. Using archival materials and recollections of vibraphonist, Jerzy Milan—the only surviving colleague of Komeda—the concert re-enacted the Jazz and Poetry program given only twice during Komeda’s lifetime, in 1960 and 1961. Since those early performances were not recorded, it was feared that the music was forever lost. However, with the collaboration of Komeda’s family and Jerzy Milan, the notes and sketches for this spectacle were reconstructed and once again presented to the public.

Other tributes to Komeda have also begun to appear in America. Polish trumpet virtuoso and composer, Tomasz Stanko, with his quartet presented a concert of works by Krzysztof Komeda at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in May of 2008. Screenings of Skolimowski’s Le Départ and Polanski’s Knife in the Water, long considered Komeda’s best film scores, had complemented the Museum’s program dedicated to this great pioneer of Polish Jazz. Given the approaching anniversary of Komeda’s death, it is hoped that his music and achievements will once again resonate in a variety of venues around the world.

[MZ]

[Sources: blubry.pl/art736 and blubry.pl/art745]

KARŁOWICZ YEAR

2009 marks the 100 year anniversary of the untimely death of Polish composers Mieczysław Karłowicz (1876 - February 8, 1909). Despite his short life span and limited musical output, Karłowicz was pivotal in transforming the way in which Polish classical music was created. His anniversary will be celebrated throughout Poland and the world, especially in February.  For example, the Mieczysław Karłowicz Philharmonic in Szczecin has organized a "Karłowicz Month” to commemorate the 100th death anniversary of their patron. Please see www.polmic.pl for details on these and other performances.

Karłowicz was the composer most representative of "Young Poland," the artistic movement based on the idea of a unification of modernistic tendencies and national tradition initiated by Różycki, Fitelberg, Szymanowski, and Szeluto. Although he himself did not belong to the initial group, Karłowicz strongly supported it, and his work expressly reflected their ideals. His settings of poems by Kazimierz Tetmajer, one of the most eminent poets of Young Poland, are characterized by a melancholy and yearning lyricism which was stylistically typical of the Polish art of this movement.

Karłowicz's excellent techniques of orchestration derived from Strauss, Wagner, and Tchaikovsky. Nevertheless, his music, which is dominated by a mood of sadness, melancholy, and resignation, has a clearly individual character. His early output of symphonic poems and songs showed a great talent, which brought about hopes that he would develop into a major Polish composer—possibly of an even greater stature than Szymanowski.

Unfortunately, his death at the young age of 33 on Mały Kościelec in the Tatra Mountains ended those hopes. At least, however, he died doing that which he loved most: mountain climbing.  The quote below from his article " Po młodym śniegu" [On the new snow] written in 1907 gives insight into Karłowicz’s passion for the outdoors as well as his philosophical leanings. This meditation on nature reveals possible inspiration for the symphonic poem Odwieczne Piesni [Eternal Songs], Op. 10 (1904-1906).

When the curtains fall and the blue eyes of the lakes shine, when the snows blush and the mountain tops breathe with a fresh, easterly wind -- then a mysterious, huge hand is stretched towards me from the mountain heights, it captures me and takes me upwards. And when I find myself at the very top, alone, only with the azure dome of the sky above me and with the petrified waves of the peaks that are around me, immersed in the sea of the plains -- then I begin to dissolve in the surrounding expanses, I stop to be an individual, separate person, I feel upon myself the powerful, perennial breath of the All-Being. This breathing touches all the fibres of my soul, it fills it with a gentle light and, reaching into the depths, where the memories of worries and pains that I have experienced are held, it heals, straightens and balances them. Hours spent in this half-consciousness, are seemingly a return to not-Being; these hours give me tranquility in regards to life and death, by speaking about the eternal peace of the dissolution in the All-Existence.

Reprinted by Elzbieta Dziębowska in Z życia i twórczości Mieczysława Karłowicza [From Life and Music of M. K.], Kraków: PWM, 1970, p. 24.

For more about Mieczysław Karłowicz, his life and works, see PMC Composer Page, PMC Newsletter Dec. 98,  POLMIC Composer Page, or PWM Composer Page.

BACEWICZ CENTENARY

Although Krystian Zimerman is a former winner of the Chopin Competition in Warsaw, he has lived in Switzerland and not given concerts in Poland for 10 years. He returns this month for a very special occasion – from February 5 - 13, this outstanding Polish pianist will give five concerts, commemorating the centenary of Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz (February 5, 1909 - January 17, 1969). 2009 marks the 100th anniversary of Bacewicz’s birth and the 40th anniversary of her death.

Speaking at a press conference in Katowice, Mr. Zimerman said the following of his connection to Bacewicz:

Many years ago Bacewicz was just one of many composers whose music I performed. Today, she is someone very special to me, someone whom I greatly respect. I have corresponded with her sister, Wanda, for thirty years. Grażyna Bacewicz died before I started my career but having talked to many of her friends I feel I know her very well... Bacewicz’s music is absolutely unique. I would like my tour and the recording to give a stimulus, if only a small one, to the promotion of her music.

The above quote is from a Polish Radio report on the concert series.  To read or listen to more, please visit: polskieradio.pl.

Joining Mr. Zimerman in this endeavor will be Kaja Danczowska (1st violin), Agata Szymczewska (2nd violin), Ryszard Groblewski (viola) and Rafal Kwiatkowski (cello). The program will include Bacewicz's 2nd Sonata, and Piano quintets No 1 & 2. The same ensemble will record an upcoming CD for Deutsche Grammophon, the sessions will begin right after the tour is finished.

Venues and dates for the concerts are as follows:

February 2: Artur Rubinstein Philharmonic in Łódź. at 7:00 p.m.

February 6: Warsaw University - Auditorium Maximum at 7:00 p.m.

February 8: Mickiewicz University Hall in Poznań at 7:00 p.m.

February 10: Jagiellonian University - Auditorium Maximum in Kraków at 7:00 p.m.
February 13: Szymanowski Music Academy in Katowice at 7:00 p.m.

Krystian Zimerman will perform these concerts in Poland without pay and the income he would have received will be donated to charity. Tickets are on sale at Warszawski Impresariat Muzyczny.

[Sources: culture.pl, muzyka.onet.pl, polskieradio.pl]

PENDERECKI U.S. PREMIERE

Photo: Marek Beblot

In celebration of Krzysztof Penderecki’s 75th birthday and the Quartet’s 25th, the Shanghai Quartet will perform a new composition by one of the world’s most astonishing and influential living composers. The concert, on February 21st at 8:00PM at the Alexander Kasser Theater, will include the American Premiere of Penderecki’s String Quartet No. 3 “Leaves from an Unwritten Diary,” as well as Mozart’s D minor Quartet k.421, and Debussy’s Quartet. Quartet No. 3 was commissioned by Peak Performances @ Montclair and the University of Richmond in honor of the Shanghai Quartet’s 25th Anniversary and Maestro Penderecki’s 75th Birthday. Generous support has been provided by the Polish Cultural Institute.

The music of Krzysztof Penderecki is both stunningly original and refreshingly accessible. Celebrated primarily for his large-scale compositions, Penderecki has limited his output in the chamber music genre to a few select pieces. The Quartet No. 3 thus represents a significant addition to the composer’s oeuvre.

The work is infused with the rich tonal palette and unique, lush harmonies that have made Penderecki one of the world’s most innovative and exceptional composers. The Quartet No. 3 is in part an autobiographical work, containing motifs pertaining to the composer’s childhood, including as one of its themes a Hutsul folk melody. As Penderecki describes it, “while composing the quartet, I remembered that melody, which I had frequently heard played by my father. I made use of this theme, which grew in successive variations and almost took over my whole composition.” The entire piece represents a sentimental voyage by the composer.

The Shanghai Quartet has earned a reputation as one of the world’s outstanding string quartets, performing in the world’s leading concert halls. Currently in residence at Montclair State University, this premiere ensemble was formed in Shanghai 25 years ago and is known for passionate musicality, astounding technique, and multicultural innovations. The Shanghai Quartet has worked with the world’s most distinguished artists and regularly tours the major music centers of Europe, North America, and Asia.

[Source: Polish Cultural Institute NYC]

CANADIAN PREMIERES

For its penultimate concert in this season’s New Music Alberta Concert Series, the Edmonton Composers’ Concert Society (ECCS), in collaboration with the North American Saxophone Alliance Region 9 Conference, will present seven concerti for saxophone solo and full chamber orchestra. The concert, entitled “...of ghosts and daemons...,” will be presented on Sunday, February 15 at 8:00 P.M. at Convocation Hall in the Old Arts Building on the University of Alberta campus.

This performance will feature the Canadian premieres of works by the following Polish-Canadian composers:

Jacek Sobieraj: On the Meadow of Herbivorous Ghosts for Saxophone and Orchestra (2006), performed by saxophone soloist Jeremy Brown (Calgary)

Piotr Grella-Możejko: Dream Daemon – Concerto for Changing Saxophone and Orchestra (2006), performed by saxophone soloist Allison Balcetis (Edmonton)

Other composers on the program are Jacobus Kloppers, George Andrix, Thom Golub, Alex Eddington, and Charles Stolte.

The composers of the works chose the soloists through a western Canada-wide competition.  These artists will be accompanied by the Edmonton Chamber Orchestra under the direction of the outstanding Polish conductor and composer Maestro Jacek Rogala.

POLMIC – 2008 IN REVIEW

The Polish Music Information Centre in Warsaw has published a very interesting article entitled “2008 in Polish Music – A Subjective View,” which highlights the most important events of the musical year, in Poland and for Polish musicians around the world. The Polish Music Information Centre (POLMIC) is closely linked to the Polish Composers Union [ZKP] as well as the Warsaw Autumn Contemporary Music Festival [Warszawska Jesień], two of the most influential forces in the classical music scene in Poland today. Thus, this article and all of the information on the POLMIC website lends insight into the rich treasure of music that is available in Poland every day. Please see the POLMIC website to read the article: www.polmic.pl.

REPORT FROM MIDEM

MIDEM 2009

MIDEM (Marché International du Disque et de l'Edition Musicale) is the world's largest music industry trade fair, which has been held annually at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, since 1967. Bringing together musicians, businesspeople, cultural policy makers, and journalists from many countries, it provides a forum to discuss business, political and legal issues, as well to showcase new artists, musical trends and music-related products. This year’s edition ran from January 18 – 21, 2009.

As part of the Polish presentation at MIDEM 2009, a movie based around a live concert recording of Krzysztof Penderecki’s Seven Gates of Jerusalem, with animations by Tomasz Bagiński, had its premiere on January 18. The hour-long film was directed by Jarosław Minkowicz and produced by the Polish Television. The material in the movie was recorded on November 23, 2008 during Penderecki’s 75th birthday concert at the National Theatre in Warsaw, which was conducted by the composer. During this live production, the animations created by Bagiński were shown on large screens and were mixed with traditional stage design by Boris Kudilcka. The Polish premiere of the film will take place on February 22 on Polish Television channel 2.

Since 2005, MIDEM has hosted the MIDEM Classical Awards, and over the years nominations and awards have gone to many Polish artists. This year the nominee from Poland was in the Opera category: a recording of Cherubini’s Lodoiska conducted by Łukasz Borowicz with Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir. Unfortunately, this year the award went to the Deutsche Grammophon recording of Janaczek’s The Excursions of Mr. Broucek. For a complete list of this year’s winners please visit www.midemclassicalawards.com/winners.

POLAND TO BE HONORED AT MIDEM 2010

Poland will be the featured country in the classical and jazz categories during the 2010 MIDEM conference in Cannes. This means that there will be multitude of concerts by the most recognized Polish artists, ensembles, and acts. Although Polish representatives have not yet released information about possible invitations, one can expect that all the stops will be pulled put.

Chopin Classical Award

In celebration of the 200th birthday anniversary of Frederic Chopin, MIDEM will begin to present a special Chopin Classical Award in 2010. The award will be divided into two sub-categories. The first category will be for any and all available Chopin recordings, even those from 20-30 years ago. Second category is limited to releases from the previous year. Although only the second category will continue past 2010, the award itself will retain the name.

Project Chopin

London’s Breakthru Studios in cooperation with the Polish studio Se-ma-for in Łódź are preparing a new animated film titled Project Chopin.

Project Chopin will consist of a 30 minute puppet animation, a quasi-documentary combining the “making of” and the animated impression, and twenty-four 2-minute animated etudes. The music will consist entirely of Frederic Chopin compositions, arranged by Jan A.P. Kaczmarek. The film is directed by Martin Clapp and Adam Wyrwas, who worked together on the recent Oscar-winning Peter and Wolf animated film,based on the musical tale by Sergey Prokofiev. The animation is filmed in Łódź as well as studios in Canada and Great Britain. The premiere of the movie is planned for 2010 to celebrate the 200th birthday of Frederic Chopin and will have two parts: first in National Theater in Warsaw and then in O2 Arena in London.

The movie tells a story of two teenage dancers living in magical world and experiencing their first love. Naturally, they will be dancing to the music of Frederic Chopin.

During a press conference at MIDEM on January 19, the producers presented an exclusive short teaser animation prepared especially for the MIDEM. The actual production will start in the summer of 2009 and the premiere is tentatively scheduled for August 2010 in Warsaw. The production will be widely distributed and showed in theaters.

You can find out more by visiting www.breakthrufilms.co.uk/uk/films/chopin/synopsis or www.breakthrufilms.co.uk/pl for the Polish version.

[DK]

[Sources: infochopin.pl; midemclassicalawards.com; rmfclassic.pl; muzyka.onet.pl; breakthrufilms.co.uk; rmfclassic.pl]

WIŁKOMIRSKA DOCUMENTARY

Polish Television Channel 1 has aired Ja wam to zagram [I will play it for you] a documentary film about the greatest Polish female violinist of the 20th century, Wanda Wiłkomirska. She has just recently celebrated her 80th birthday in Warsaw with a concert at the National Philharmonic. Read an article about the gala concert in her honor, including biography, on the Polish Radio website.

The authors of the film, Christine Jezior and Maciej Białobrzeski, accompanied Wiłkomirska for a year—following her around three continents and performing interviews with family and prominent friends such as Kurt Masur, Krzysztof Penderecki, Antoni Wit, Tadeusz Strugała and Daniel Olbrychski. The film is narrated by Wiłkomirska herself, telling dramatic stories of her life. She is completely open in front of the camera. Background music includes works by Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Szymanowski, whose compositions Wiłkomirska tirelessly promotes around the world.

[Source: wyborcza.pl, tvp.pl]

CANTORES MINORES PREMIERE
By Joseph A. Herter, conductor of Cantores Minores

On February 4th, the Warsaw Boys' Choir “Cantores Minores” will perform the World Premiere of Vittorio Giannini’s Missa ‘Adeste fidelis.’ The question that many might ask is how an unpublished and unperformed setting of the Mass ordinary—written in the United States by Vittorio Giannini, of Italian immigrant heritage, in 1943—is to receive its world premiere in Poland 66 years later. Last summer, the undersigned delivered a paper on the roles of Polish soprano Marcella Sembrich and composer Zygmunt Stojowski in the Polish relief effort during World War I. Incidental to that event, I also compiled a list of songs dedicated to Sembrich. One of these was a song by Giannini entitled, Tell Me, Oh Blue, Blue Sky, written in 1927, Dedicated most respectfully to Madame Marcella Sembrich. The find piqued my curiosity, and basic encyclopedic research led me to a mention of a Mass based on the carol Adeste fideles among the composer’s compositions.

The music of Giannini is not known in Poland for several reasons. Among his most successful works are songs and operas written in English, a language, which for the most part, has not yet been welcomed by Polish singers or opera companies into their standard repertoire. Equally appealing are his beautiful works for concert band which are included in the canon of the repertoire of North American wind ensembles (the excellent Third Symphony for Band, to name one). In Poland, the performance tradition of serious music for concert bands is not as well entrenched. Indeed, were it not for the fact that both of Giannini’s sisters studied with the brilliant Marcella Sembrich at the Curtis Institute where the celebrated star headed the vocal department, the Polish-Italian-American connection might never have been made. In the summer of 1927, the composer accompanied his sisters to Sembrich’s summer home and teaching studio at Bolton Landing on the shores of Lake George in upstate New York. It was here that he composed the earlier mentioned song for Pani Marcelina that continues to enjoy considerable popularity and is found in the repertoire of several famous singers in the English-speaking world, including soprano Roberta Alexander and baritone Thomas Hampson who have recorded the piece. 
Missa ‘Adeste fidelis’ was written in 1943. Composed for men’s choir and organ during World War II, it makes one wonder if an all-male musical ensemble could have been available to Giannini. This may in fact be the reason that the work was put aside and has never before been performed.

Giannini was a Neo-Romantic who imbued his music with the aesthetics and principles of Romanticism, even when using Baroque forms such as the fugue or passacaglia. Certainly, he was a Traditionalist in a century of great musical change.  

In his biographical entry for Giannini in Voices in the Wilderness (2006) Walter Simmons records that, despite his Italian upbringing, the composer was not a practicing Catholic. Nonetheless, he describes him as a “spiritual person.” In any case, this non-practicing, spiritual Catholic left a considerable legacy of sacred music. In addition to the Mass, his catalogue includes the following religious works: a large-scale Requiem Mass; a piece for double bass and orchestra inspired by Psalm 130 (De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine), Four Devotional Motets for choir a cappella, A Christmas Canticle for choir and orchestra as well as an unfinished tetrology of operas based on the life of Christ.

Vittorio Giannini died in 1966 at the age of 63.

LUTOSŁAWSKI POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP

The Management Board of the Witold Lutosławski Society has announced that, acting on behalf of the Composer’s family, in the year 2009 the Society can grant one Witold Lutosławski scholarship for postgraduate studies abroad, in the amount of $10,000 USD. Those eligible for this scholarship are: graduates of Polish nationality who completed their studies in music academies and music universities in Poland, including instrumentalists of various kinds, singers, composers and conductors.

Applications with the required documents (such as the Polish degree, proof of passing entrance exams to the foreign academy of their choice, a list of achievements, incl. competitions and concerts, as well as reference letters from two academic lecturers with professorial titles) must be submitted by 15 February 2009 to: Witold Lutosławski Society, ul. Bracka 23, 00-028 Warszawa, POLSKA.

Jadwiga Rappé, President of the Witold Lutosławski Society Management Board

[Source:www.polmic.pl]

FITELBERG’S CHANSON TRISTE ONLINE

A rare sound recording of the Chanson Triste [Sad Song] for piano by Grzegorz Fitelberg can be viewed on YouTube: www.youtube.com. Chanson Triste was published in Warsaw in 1900 by the Association des Employés en Libraries - Société à Responsabilité Limitée [Association of Bookstore Employees – a Limited Liability Company]. It was also published as an insert in the January 1, 1911 issue of Echo Muzyczne [Musical Echo] in Warsaw.

[GF]

CHOPIN RECITAL CYCLE

The National Frederic Chopin Institute is instituting a new series of Chopin piano recitals taking place at the Grand Theater – National Opera in Warsaw. Having started on January 27, the recitals will be held on fairly regular basis, eventually establishing a series of “Chopin Wednesdays.” The first artist to perform a solo recital was Nelson Goerner performing on a period instrument.

Eventually there will be three separate categories of the recitals: Masters – the most recognized and established artists; Debuts – the new and upcoming young talents; and Recommendations – artists invited by representatives of the world of culture and science.

[Source: infochopin.pl]

YEAR OF SEMBRICH FINALE

The Marcella Sembrich Opera Museum brings down the curtain on its “Year of Sembrich” with a special commemorative recital entitled "A Bouquet for Marcella Sembrich" in the Helen Froehlich Auditorium of the Hyde Collection in NY. The evening will feature many of the soprano arias made famous by the Polish-born prima donna during her long career at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, as performed by soprano Megan Weston and pianist Michael Fennelly. The recital will be performed on the centennial of Madame Sembrich's farewell at the Metropolitan Opera.

“A Bouquet for Marcella Sembrich”
Saturday, February 7 at 7:00 PM
 The Hyde Collection - Helen Froehlich Auditorium
161 Warren Street, Glens Falls, NY 12801
Tickets & information: (518) 644-2431
A champagne reception will follow the performance.

JAN A.P. KACZMAREK’S PROJECTS

Jan A.P. Kaczmarek has started work on a new movie—The Horsemen, directed by Swedish director Jonas Akerlund. This Academy Award-winning composer says that the new score is going to be very dark and brutal, just like the movie. Kaczmarek admits that this is not the kind of movies he goes to see, but from the composer’s perspective it was a good challenge to write a fitting score. The premiere of the movie is scheduled for May 2009.

Recently, another movie with Kaczmarek’s music had its premiere. The Visitor, directed by Thomas McCarthy, tells a story of college professor and recent widower, Walter Vale (played by Richard Jenkins, who has a 2009 Oscar nomination for this performance), who discovers a pair of illegal aliens who were the victims of a real-estate scam living in his New York apartment. Kacmarek speaks about his experience of scoring the film The Visitor in the L.A. Times article “Kacmarek - Music for 'The Visitor'”:

“The Visitor” took me by surprise in how quickly and unexpectedly it took shape musically in my mind. In part, I think it was because at the core it is a musical film with a drum as its heartbeat. The drum sets the pace. It creates the basis that brings Walter Vale… out of his empty life. His first tentative taps on the djembe were to me like his sputtering heart waking up again.

[Sources: muzyka.onet.pl and imdb.com]

SLAVIC DUO IN IRVINE

Alicja Dutkiewicz, cello and Natasha Kislenko, piano will perform on Saturday, February 7th, at 4 PM at Irvine Valley College.

Widely regarded as an inspiring Polish musician of her generation, Alicja Dutkiewicz has achieved international success as a performer and teacher.  Born in Warsaw into a distinguished family of musicians, Miss Dutkiewicz first came to the United Sates in 1987 to continue her music education and was awarded scholarships for both her graduate and post-graduate studies. She graduated from Eastman School of Music and earned her Masters Degree in Cello Performance at the University of Southern California.  She is an avid chamber musician who has collaborated with distinguished artists including Yo-Yo Ma, Paul Katz and James Buswell. She performed live on National Public Radio with the Australian pianist Piers Lane and has participated in the Australian Chamber Music Festival and Winter School as a performer teacher.  

Pianist Natasha Kislenko has concertized extensively as a soloist and a chamber musician throughout Russia, Europe and the United States. Critics praise her “great artistry,” “perfect technique,” and “extraordinary richness of nuance and color.” Born in Moscow, Russia, Ms. Kislenko began piano studies when she was six, gave her first solo Moscow recital at fourteen, and appeared with several symphony orchestras while still in the Special Music School for Gifted Children of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory

Saturday, February 7th - 4 PM
Irvine Valley College
Alicja Dutkiewicz, cello
Natasha Kislenko, piano

POLISH MUSIC IN MASSACHUSETTS

Krzysztof Kaczka (flute) and Perry Schack (guitar), the Polish artists of the ensemble Duo Artus, will perform a Polish-German concert at the Goethe-Institut Boston on February 10th.  The event is presented by the Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Boston and by the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland in Boston.

Duo Artus Concert
Tuesday, February 10, 8:00pm
170 Beacon Street, Boston
More Info: (617) 369-4910 or culture@bost.diplo.de

 An exceptional Polish jazz duo comprised of Bogdan Holownia –  piano and Bronek Suchanek – bass will perform a concert entitled “All That Jazz” at the Polish American Citizens Club.  The concert will go from 7:30 – 10 PM including one intermission.

All that Jazz Concert
Friday, February 20, 7:30pm
Polish American Citizens Club
2nd Floor Reception Hall
82 Boston Street, Dorchester, MA 02125
Tickets & more info: (781) 694-4049 or martamalina@comcast.net

SZYMANOWSKI/SKOWRONSKI ON THE RADIO

WFIU-FM radio at Indiana University - Bloomington will program the rarely recorded and/or heard Romans [Romance] in D Major by Karol Szymanowski.  The online broadcast is scheduled for February 22nd at 7:10pm (EST). The violinist is Vincent P. Skowronski and the pianist is Donald Isaak.  The recording is from the CD entitled Skowronski Plays! Strauss & Szymanowski.

According to violinist Vincent P. Skowronski, the Romance was an unusual work for violin and piano by Karol Szymanowski, in that it was a long and curiously expansive exercise. The framework allows Szymanowski more than ample time to considerably develop thematic material for BOTH instruments. As well, the composition calls for the placement of the violin in an extremely high tessitura, which (as in most all of Szymanowski's works for violin and piano) demands that the instrument be stretched to its limits.  Needless to say, it is an extremely difficult work.  However, it must never appear to be or sound......... difficult. [comments given via email]

21ST CENTURY BERLIN PHILHARMONIC

The world renowned Berlin Philharmonic has made their live performances available for streaming online. They have created a beautiful website, dch.berliner-philharmoniker.de, on which all live performances of the orchestra can be viewed. The subscription is a paid service, with options from a single concert to full access for a season.

The upcoming featured Polish composition is Witold Lutosławski’s Concerto for Orchestra on March 14.

Although the service offers three stream quality settings, to experience the best sound and picture quality a fast internet connection is necessary—and the result is stunning.

[Source: wiadomosci.wp.pl]

PIOTR JANOWSKI

Piotr Janowski, world famous violinist and the first Polish winner of the Henryk Wieniawski Competition, died on December 6th, 2008 in London, aged 57. The funeral took place on 18th December 2008 at 11 am at the Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw.

Piotr Janowski began his violin studies at the age of eight. At 16 he was awarded First Prize at the 5th International Wieniawski Competition in Poznań, Poland. He is also a First Prize winner of the Philadelphia Orchestra Competition, G.B. Dealy (Dallas, Texas), and of the Naumburg Competition (New York), twice, with the New Arts Trio.

After completing his studies in Poland at Warsaw's Frederic Chopin Music Academy, Piotr Janowski continued his studies at the Curtis Institute of Philadelphia (with Zino Francescatti), at the Juilliard School in New York (with Ivan Galamian) and at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles (with Jascha Heifetz).

He performed as a soloist with major American and European orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, and collaborated with such conductors as Leonard Bernstein, Leonard Slatkin, and Erich Leinsdorf.

A consummate recitalist and chamber musician, Mr. Janowski toured many times Asia, Europe, and South and North America, and performed at numerous festivals, including Marlboro, VT, Chautauqua, NY, Warsaw Autumn, and Dimitrios, Greece. He taught at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, and at Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. He gave master classes at numerous institutions, including the Bologna Conservatorio, Italy, Barratt Due Institute in Oslo, Norway, the Oberlin College, and Northwestern University, Chicago.

JOACHIM OLKUŚNIK

Joachim Olkuśnik, composer and publicist, passed away in Warsaw on December 18th, 2008, aged 81. He was born on March 27, in Kostrzynia, he studied composition with Tadeusz Szeligowski in State Higher School of Music in Warsaw, from which he graduated in 1960.

Together with composers Benedykt Konowalski, Jan Fotek, Zbigniew Penherski, Romuald Twardowski and poets Andrzej Brycht, Stanisław Grochowiak, Ireneusz Iredyński, and Roman Śliwonik he created the "Camerata" artistic group. The group cooperated with Współczesność magazine and organized literary-musical evenings.

Mr. Olkuśnik was a member of the Polish Composer’s Union (ZKP). In 1964-70 he was a member of Music Section of the Polish Radio in Warsaw. Between 1974-1986 he served as Editor in Chief of Agencja Autorska Publishing Company, which was crucial in publishing and promoting Polish contemporary Music, especially solo and chamber.

His compositions were honored at the Fitelberg Competition in 1964 and Łańcut Competition in 1980. His music was performed all around the world.

STEPHEN HERX

Stephen Herx, Marcella Sembrich researcher and educator, passed away on the morning of January 7th, 2009.  Mr. Herx knew more about the life & career of Marcella Sembrich than anyone else today. He gave numerous talks at the Marcella Sembrich Opera Museum over the past 14 years.   Most recently, he participated in Sembrich Symposium held in honor of the “Year of Sembrich” this past August. Mr. Herx was also the former Director of Programming at Education Through Music. Memorial details for Mr. Herx are available at educationthroughmusic.org.

FRANCISZEK WOŹNIAK

Franciszek Woźniak, well known composer, pianist and teacher, died on January 15th, 2009, aged 77. Woźniak was the winner of many competitions for composers. He was the long-time lecturer and vice-chancellor of the Music Academy in Bydgoszcz. He served as president of the Polish Composers’ Union’s Poznań Branch and was a member of the “Poznań Music Spring” Repertoire Committee.

KRYSTYNA KOBYLAŃSKA

Krystyna Kobylańska, Polish musicologist and Chopinologist, died on 30th January 2009 in Milanówek at the age of 84. She was born on August 6, 1925 in Brześć. She studied piano at the Warsaw Conservatory and musicology at Warsaw University.

From 1951 to 1966 she worked at the Fryderyk Chopin Society in Warsaw, holding such posts as head of the FCS Museum. In the years 1966-67 she carried out research into French Chopinalia at the Centre Nationale de Recherche Scientifique.

Ms. Kobylańska's research into the Chopin oeuvre is of a documentational and source-analytical character. She is the author of an edition of the composer's correspondence and of catalogues of his work, the most important of which is her catalogue of manuscripts of Chopin's works (2 vols. 1977). Her articles are also important contributions to Chopin's biography. Memorial details are available at the Fryderyk Chopin Institute website.