Born in Poland, coloratura soprano Katarzyna Dondalska completed her studies in violin and voice at the Academy of Music in Allenstein and continued her music education at the Academy of Music in Würzburg. Ms. Dondalska graduated both disciplines with distinction, and has won many awards and competitions throughout Europe since. She has appeared in recital and concert with the SWR Radio Symphonic Orchestra, Mannheim National Theater, Dortmund State Theatre, Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Welsh National Opera Orchestra, BBC London Orchestra, Nuremburg Symphony Orchestra, and the Cologne Philharmonie. Most recently, Ms. Dondalska was a permanent company soloist for the Heidelberg Municipal Theatre. She is also scheduled to perform the roles of Zerbinetta in R. Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, and the Queen of the Night in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, both with the Welsh National Opera in Cardiff, Wales this season.

The Gregg Smith Singers, a mixed voice company of 16, has been captivating audiences around the world for over 40 years. The singers, who perform both contemporary and rarely heard older music, are also peerless performers of American choral music and are the most recorded choral group in the world with over 100 recordings on various labels. The group has received many honors, including three Grammy awards, and has conducted countless tours in the United States, Europe and the Far East. In addition to its busy performing schedule, the group also engages in major educational activity, through residencies, local inner city school programs and at the Adirondack Festival of American Music.

In January, the Fryderyk Chopin Society of Texas presents famed Chopin interpreter, Kevin Kenner. Kevin Kenner is in demand all over the world for his spiritually profound interpretations of a wide range of repertoire, noted both for his originality and for his illumination of composers' styles. In 1990 he won the top prize, the People's Prize and the Polonaise Prize at the renowned International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw and the bronze medal at the International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow, together with a special prize for his interpretation of Russian music. Further awards have included the International Terence Judd Award (1990), the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (1989) and the Gina Bachauer International Competition (1988). Kevin Kenner has since performed as soloist with world-class orchestras including the Hallé Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic, The Czech Philharmonic, the Belgian Radio and Television Philharmonic Brussels, the NHK Symphony of Japan, and in the US with the principal orchestras of San Francisco, San Diego, Salt Lake City, Kansas City, New Jersey, Rochester, Baltimore, St. Paul and many others. He has been invited to work with many renowned conductors, including Sir Charles Groves, Andrew Davis, Hans Vonk, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Kazimierz Kord, Jiri Belohlavek and Antoni Wit.

His achievements have won him critical acclaim from all over the world. He has been praised as "one of the finest American pianists to come along in years" (Howard Reich, Chopinists such as Rubinstein, Benedetti-Michelangelii and Dinu Lipatti" (Winfried Wild, Schwaebische Zeitung, Germany). Adrian Jack of London's Independent describes one of Kenner's recitals as "...the best performance I have ever heard in the concert hall of all four of Chopin's Ballades". The Financial Times in London described Kenner as a "player of grace, subtle variety and strength, with a mature grasp of dramatic structure and proportion: in short, a grown-up musician nearing his peak." And the Washington Post recently proclaimed him "a major talent... an artist whose intellect, imagination and pianism speak powerfully and eloquently." The conductor Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, who recorded with pianists such as Artur Rubinstein claimed Kenner's Chopin interpretations to be the most sensitive and beautiful he remembered.

He has performed chamber music with the Tokyo String Quartet, the Endellion String Quartet, the Vogler String Quartet and the Panocha Quartet among many others. Along with his concert appearances, he has given master-classes for many years at the International Piano Festival in Krynica, Poland as well as in major centers in Japan and America. More recently he has been giving classes at the International Summer Music Academy in Krakow, Poland. For the last 4 years he has been a professor at the Royal College of Music in London, and his students have won prizes in international competitions. He has also been invited as a member of numerous music competitions this year including the International Chopin Competition in Asia, the International Halina Czerny-Stefanska Competition in Aomori, Japan, and the National Chopin Competition of the Chopin Foundation of the U.S. in Miami.

Kevin Kenner has recorded the Chopin Scherzos as well as the Chopin Preludes (highly recommended by BBC Music Magazine) as well as a CD of piano works by Maurice Ravel. All of these CDs are planned for re-release in Europe and North America on the label "Dux" later this year. Last September he recorded the 2 Chopin Piano Concertos with the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Poland under the direction of Antoni Wit which is now available in Japan under the Avex label and will shortly be released in DVD format.

All recitals begin at 8:00 pm.

OLES PLAYS WITH MAUPIN ENSEMBLE

Bassist Darek Oleszkiewicz, known more commonly by the abbreviated moniker Oles, will join jazz legend Bennie Maupin in a concert at the historic Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. Spend the day exploring a grand movie palace, screening restored Vitaphone and Soundie shorts, enjoying a concert by local L.A. jazz masters, and mingling with incredible musicians as well as fellow jazz aficionados at a special artist reception hosted afterwards in the historic courtyard facing Hollywood Boulevard!

Schedule of Events:

• 2:15pm: Screening of restored Vitaphone & Soundie short films from the late 1920s to the late 1940s featuring both animated jazz cartoons and rare footage of jazz artists in studio performance. The films include Cab Calloway's Minnie the Moocher (1932), The Ingeneus: Band Beautiful (Warner Bros., 1928), Norman Thomas Quintet in Harlem Mania (Warner Bros., 1929), and early George Pal Puppetoons (combining animation and live action featuring Duke Ellington and Woody Herman).

• 3:00pm: Bennie Maupin, whose contributions on Miles Davis' remarkable "Bitches Brew" album are legendary, along with his ensemble (Bennie Maupin, woodwinds; Darek Oles, bass; Munyungo Jackson, percussion; Michael Stephans, percussion & drums) performs Maupin's chamber jazz compositions, including Inner Sky.

• 4:30pm: Post-concert artist reception in The Egyptian's historic courtyard facing Hollywood Boulevard.

For tickets and more information, visit www.dacamera.org

Throughout the entire CD, Jonathan Plowright's playing is tender and virtuosic, providing a perfect companion to Stojowski's late romantic style. Plowright's admirable lyricism and his unerring sense of the musical line imbue the music's ardent emotions and grandiose climaxes with noble majesty. Equally, Plowright's pianistic bravura leads to a scintillating reading of Stojowski's Caprice from Deux Orientales, Op. 10, a great favorite of Józef Hoffman who kept it in his repertoire for over forty years.

[MZ]

VINCENT P. SKOWRONSKI, concert violinist and Master Teacher of that instrument, once again provides evidence with his new LIVE recording, AVEC ET SANS, that a violin in the hands of a master musician can provide an aura of musical magic. So it is no surprise that Skowronski's technical mastery of the instrument along with his often mystical ability to communicate gleam forth from these performances. And, of course, what Skowronski recording would be complete without the collaboration of the magnificent Japanese pianist, SAORI CHIBA. A master teacher of the piano, Chiba is also active in the Chicago area as a recitalist, along with her busy schedule as a chamber music and vocal coach.

On December 20th Tatiana Shebanova, one of the most distinguished Russian pianists, gave a master recital at History Museum of Łódz City in Poland. The recital commemorated the 22nd anniversary of A. Rubinstein's death. Shebanova performed an all-Chopin program.

Chopin's last concert in Paris : On the 21st of December, the Chopin Society in Paris presented the reenactment of Chopin's last performance in Paris, which took place on February 16th, 1848, less than a year before the composer's death. The concert was reenacted once before in Poland in 1999. This performance was a part of France's Nova Polska celebration.

The program features the same works that were most likely performed in 1848, including works by: Mozart, whom Chopin greatly revered; Meyerbeer; Donizetti; and Bellini, who is buried beside Chopin at the Pčre-Lachaise cemetery, in addition to works by Chopin. The French and Polish performers for this reenactment included Tomasz Kuk (Poland), tenor; Olivier Charlier (France), violin; Olga Pasiecznik (Ukraine), soprano; Maciej Pikulski (Poland), piano; Henri Demarquette ( France ) - cello. For a full program of the concert, visit www.infolchopin.pl.

    Gombrowicz / Krauze

This year's holiday concert of the Los Angeles Children's Chorus', entitled "A Gift of Peace", included Witold Lutosławski's Muszeika. The concert took place on December 18th at the Our Lady of the Angels, Founded in 1986 Los Angeles Children's Chorus, frequently performs with such leading musical ensembles as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and The Pasadena Symphony. It also assists the Los Angeles Opera by providing and training children for all of its opera productions that require children's chorus or soloists. LACC currently has 240 choristers in five choirs.

On 19 December 2004, the Grand Theatre-National Opera in Warsaw premiered its production of Peter Tchaikovsky's Dama Pikowa [The Queen Of Spades]. The production, directed by Mariusz Treliński, featured scenery designed by Boris F. Kudlicka, costumes by Magdalena Tesławska and Pawel Grabarczyk, and choreography by Emil Wesołowski. The Orchestra of the Grand Theatre-National Opera was conducted by Kazimierz Kord, with soloists will including Krzysztof Bednarek, Paweł Wunder (Ghermann), Zbigniew Macias, Mikołaj Zalasiński (Count Tomsky), Artur Ruciłski, Adam Szerszeń (Prince Yeletsky), Ryszard Minkiewicz, Krzysztof Szmyt (Chekalińsky), Czesław Galka, Piotr Nowacki (Suryn), Rafał Bartmiński, Jacek Parol (Chaplitsky), Mieczysław Milun, Ryszard Morka (Narumov), Joanna Cortés, Malgorzata Walewska, Alicja Węgorzewska (The Countess), Lada Biriucov, Agnieszka Piasecka (Lisa, her granddaughter), Monika Ledzion and Małgorzata Pańko (Pauline, Lisa's friend).

The public that gathered on 19 December, 1890, at the Maryinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg gave Tchaikovsky's The Queen Of Spades a very warm reception. This opera continues to be highly regarded to this day. Alongside Eugeniusz Oniegin [Eugene Onegin], it remains Tchaikovsky's most popular opera. It is the composer's crowning achievement in the field of operatic music and simultaneously one of the most outstanding operas in the history of Russian music. Exquisite vocal parts, colorful instrumentation that is both subtle and clear, a cohesive and coherent form achieved through the introduction of themes that enrich the main storylines, and finally a fundamentally good libretto have helped The Queen Of Spades become vastly popular throughout the world. A mood of sadness, tragic passion and extreme pessimism hangs over this work, much as it did over the composer in the latter years of his life, in spite of his ever greater artistic successes.

This production was mounted in collaboration with the Staatsoper of Berlin. A second performance of the opera was offered on 21 December, 2004.

					CALENDAR OF EVENTS

JAN 7 & 8: Warsaw National Philharmonic Concert with Ralph Gothóni of Finland, cond. and Kun Woo Paik of Korea, piano. Program features Fryderyk Chopin: Fantasy on Polish themes, Op. 13, Rondo à la Krakowiak, Op. 14, Andante spianato and Polonaise in E flat Major, Op. 22. National Philharmonic, Warsaw, Poland. 7:30 & 6:00 pm, respectively. JAN 8 & 9: Jouyssance Early Music Ensemble presents a special night of sacred seasonal music and carols from Mediæval and Renaissance Eastern Europe, representing traditions from Poland, the Czech lands/Bohemia, Cyprus, Slovenia, and Byzantium. 8:00 pm. St. Paul's Lutheran Church (8th) & Church of the Angels (9th) in Los Angeles, CA. www.jouyssance.org. JAN 10: Lutosławski: Concerto for Orchestra. BBC Proms Revisited. BBC Radio 3: 7:30-9:30 pm. 90-93FM. JAN 14: Chopin: Sonata, Op. 65; Grand Polonaise Brilliante, Op. 3. Jakub Omsky, cello; Wojciech Kocyan, piano. Murphy Recital, Loyola-Marymount U., Los Angeles, CA. 8:00 pm. Free. JAN 14 & 15: Chopin interpreter Kevin Kenner plays in Texas. St. Pius X in Corpus Christi, TX (14th) and the Cultural Arts Center in Harlingen, TX (15th). Fryderyk Chopin Society of Texas. JAN 16: Malawski: Piano Trio, American premiere. Eakon Piano Trio. Kosciuszko Foundation. 15 E. 65th St., New York City. 3:00 pm. $20. 212-734-2130. JAN 18: Chopin: The Music and Legacy. Polonaises, Op. 26/1&2; Op. 40/1&2; Op. 53. Polonaise Fantaisie; Andante Spianato & Grande Polonaise. Fabio Bidino, piano. Leeds College of Music. www.leedsconcertseason.com. JAN 23: Lang Lang Recital at Royal Festival Hall, featuring Chopin's Piano Sonata No.3 in B minor, Op.58. Royal Festival Hall, London, Great Britain. JAN 23: Katherine Chi in Recital, playing Chopin: 'La ci darem' Variations. Presented by the Frederic Chopin Society of Minnesota at the Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center. 130 Macalester Street, St. Paul, MN. 3:00 pm. www.chopinsocietymn.org/chi.htm

					MARCIN DYLLA, POLISH GUITARIST

by Liliana Osses Adams © California, December 2004 My interest in guitar comes from my husband playing the classical guitar. In Tehran, years ago, I had occasion to listen to the guitar players Siegfried Behrend, Julian Bream, Jean Pierre Jumez and Konrad Ragossnig. I have also experienced the most memorable performances of Andres Segovia in San Francisco (1979), and his last guitar recital in the United States, in Ann Arbor, Michigan (1986). Last week, November 19 and 20, 2004, I had the chance to listen Polish guitarist Marcin Dylla, the finalist at the Omni Master International Classical Guitar Competition in San Francisco, an international guitar prodigy, who was described as a "profound young artist", and who in the last years has won first prize in seventeen of the most prestigious international guitar contests taking place in Europe and in the USA. [LOA] The Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts was created nearly a quarter-century ago by internationally acclaimed guitarist Richard Patterson. He has studied with virtually all of the world's leading guitarists, including Andres Segovia. He received his Masters Degree in Music from San Francisco State University. He then initiated the guitar concerts "Dynamite Guitars" in San Francisco; now in its 24th season, this is one of the foremost guitar series in the world. This series, presented in San Francisco Herbst Theatre, has highlighted superb artists such as Pepe Romero, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, David Russell, Manuel Barrueco, Antigoni Goni, Xuefei Yang, John Williams and Leo Kottke, who will return by popular demand after his last season show at the Palace of Fine Arts. Dedicated to helping young artists, Richard Patterson also founded the San Francisco International Guitar Competition and Residency Program in 2002. The Competition was first presented in 2002 at the University of San Francisco. The Residency Program for the First Prize winner alternates on an annual basis with the Guitar Competition. The winners of 2002 were: 1st prize—Alieksey Vianna, Brazil; 2nd prize—Xuefei Yang, China; 3rd prize—Lydia Danihelova, Slovak Republic; 4th prize—Marco Tamayo, Cuba. The finalist from Ukraine, Galina Vale, surprised the audience with her amazing musical skills, her incredible technique and unusual stage presence. The 2004 San Francisco International Classical Guitar Competition entered a new phase this year with the Masters Guitar Competition. During two evenings four of the world's top young artists were presented, all having won multiple First Prizes in major international competitions and described as the stars of tomorrow. The 1st round of the Finals of the Second International Guitar Competition took place on November 19th at the University of San Francisco and the 2nd round took place on November 20th at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor Florence Gould Theater. During the competition, each player had a maximum of 30 minutes of stage performance. They had a free choice of repertoire from contemporary to classical works. They had two obligatory pieces to perform from the Book of the Unknown Standards—Monk-a-Ning and one other piece of their choice by Dusan Bogdanovic, who also served as one of the four jurors. After the two round finals the judges for the 2nd San Francisco International Master Classical Guitar Competition announced their decision at midnight. Thibault Cauvin, 20-year-old French guitarist, captured the first prize. During the 2005-2006 season he will return to San Francisco as the Artist-In-Residence at the Omni Foundation for Performing Arts, acting as an artistic ambassador, performing the concerts in San Francisco Bay Area and working on outreach programs at schools and local communities. The judges also stated that all finalists were excellent, they all performed exquisitely and they declared a tie for second place between Marcin Dylla from Poland and Flavio Sala of Italy. Third place went to Anabel Montesinos, the 18-year-old guitarist of Spain, who performed as soloist with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Lublin, in Poland, during the 9th Guitar Festival, Lublin, 2004. During first round finals, Marcin Dylla performed the following program: Johann Kaspar Mertz's Bardenklänge: Romanze, Unruhe, Liebeslied, Tarantella; the obligatory piece by Dusan Bogdanovic Monk-a-Ning and Twelve-note Samba from Bogdanovic's Book of the Unknown Standards, and Five Bagatelles for Guitar by William Walton. In the 2nd round finals he performed the Sonata para Guitarra by Antonio Jose and Sonata Giocosa by Joaquin Rodrigo. Marcin Dylla's beautiful, mellow-sounding guitar was crafted by the Spanish luthier Manuel Contreras (Model 10° Aniversario). Marcin Dylla Photo courtesy of Daria Dylla, December 2004 Polish classical guitarist Marcin Dylla was born on June 6, 1976 in Chorzów. At the age of eight, he began playing the guitar at the State School of Music in Ruda Śląska in 1984. He continued his guitar study at the Karol Szymanowski Music Secondary School in Katowice in the class of Prof. Wanda Palacz from 1995 to 2000. Starting in 1997 he studied simultaneously at the Music Academy in Basel with Prof. Oscar Ghiglia. In June 2000 he graduated with honors from the Academies in Katowice, Poland, and in Basel, Switzerland. In October 2002, he began his postgraduate study at the Music Academy in Freiburg, under the instruction of Prof. Sonja Prunnbauer. Since September 2002 he has been studying at the Musical Conservatory in Maastricht under the guidance of Carlo Marchione. In 2002 he won the Scholarship for Young Guitarists from CEI (Central European Initiative) to attend the courses at the Accademia Chitarristica "Francisco Tárrega". He attended master classes with Manuel Barrueco, Roberto Aussel, and David Russell, among others. Many music critics and music lovers consider Marcin Dylla one of the most outstanding classical guitar players. He has played concerts at Schubertsaal-Konzerthaus and Musikverein-Brahmssaal in Vienna, Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, the Hermitage Theatre in St.Petersburg, the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Turin, and Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo, New York. He has performed as soloist with the Orchestra Filharmonica di Torino, St.Petersburg Philharmonic, the National Spanish Youth Orchestra of Madrid, and with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in the Concerto del Sul by Manuel Maria Ponce, conducted by JoANN Falletta. Dylla's international fame is confirmed by his accomplishments, especially his unparalleled number of competition awards. In 1996, he won his first prize at the International Guitar Competition of Edmund Jurkowski-"Silesian Autumn" in Tychy, Poland. From that time, the impressive list of first prizes at international guitar competitions includes: Tredrez-Locquemeau, France, 1997; the "Karl Scheit", Vienna, Austria, 1998; Liechtenstein, 1999; Alcoy, Spain, 2000; Gargnano, Italy, 2000; the "Gitarre Forum", Vienna, Austria, 2001; Sernancelhe, Portugal, 2001; Alassandria, Italy, 2002, where he also received the "chitarra d'oro" ("gold guitar"), the award granted by musical critics for the best young guitar player; the "Joaquin Rodrigo", Madrid, Spain, 2002; Almeria, Spain, 2002; Crete, 2002; the H.R.H. Princess Cristina Competition, "Jacinto & Inocencio Guerrero", Madrid, Spain, 2002; Markneukirchen, Germany, 2003; the "Rene Bartoli", Aix-en-Provence, France, 2003; the "JoANN Falletta", Buffalo, N.Y., USA, 2004; the "Printemps de la Guitare", Charleroi, Belgium, 2004. Marcin Dylla's artistic life leads him on many concerts tours, music festivals, master classes, and recordings. In 1989 he recorded Polish Guitar Music (Settembrini, Poland). In 1998 he released his album of Polish Music for Guitar by Jerzy Bauer, Feliks Horecki, Jan Nepomucen Bobrowicz, Edmund Jurkowski and Aleksander Tansman, hoping to offer it for sale on the Internet. In 2003 he recorded the Sonatas for Guitar by Manuel Maria Ponce, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Leo Brouwer (RTVE-Música Clásica, Casa de la Radio, Madrid, Spain). In 2004 he received a recording contract with Fleur de Son Classics. The organization "Polonia Global Fund" (PGF) in Albany, N.Y. and Polonia in America honored Marcin Dylla as the Person of the Month of July 2004. Recently, as jury member for the Alhambra International Guitar Competition in Alcoy, he said that for him every competition is a festival concert, and that his main purpose is to play well before an appreciative audience and for the judges to recognize his performance. Asked if he plans to participate in other competitions, he answered that he would like to take part in two more competitions outside of Europe, perhaps Viña del Mar in Chile or in Tokyo. We wish Marcin Dylla all the best in his endeavors and the fulfillment in his work and his life. Marcin Dylla en route. Photo courtesy of Daria Dylla, December 2004

					ANNIVERSARIES

BORN THIS MONTH: 1 January 1927 - Juliusz ŁUCIUK, composer, musicologist 1 January 1872 - Tadeusz JARECKI, conductor (d. 1955) 2 January 1894 - Artur RODZIŃSKI, conductor, music director (d. 1958) 2 January 1907 - Henryk GADOMSKI, composer and conductor (d. 1941, Auschwitz) 3 January 1885 - Raoul KOCZALSKI (d. 1948), pianist and composer 13 January 1921 - Wanda WILK, founder of the Polish Music Center 17 January 1898 - Jerzy LEFELD, pianist and piano professor 23 January 1888 - Jerzy GABLENZ, composer (d. 1937) 25 January 1913 - Witold LUTOSŁAWSKI, composer (d. 1994) 25 January 1928 - Andrzej CWOJDZINSKI, composer and conductor 28 January 1717 - Just Franciszek KASPER, priest, composer, conductor (d. 1760) 26 January 1886 - Artur RUBINSTEIN, pianist (d. 1981) 31 January 1926 - Stanisław PRÓSZYŃSKI, composer DIED THIS MONTH: 1 January 1953 - Ludomir RÓŻYCKI (b. 1884), composer, pianist, member of the group Young Poland 9 January 1842 - Józef KROGULSKI (b. 1815), pianist, conductor, voice teacher 9 January 1981 - Kazimierz SEROCKI (b. 1922), composer, co-founder of the Warsaw Autumn Festival 11 January 1935 - Marcellina SEMBRICH-KOCHAŃSKA (b. 1858), singer - coloratura soprano 12 January 1934 - Paweł KOCHAŃSKI (b. 1878), virtuoso violinist, Szymanowski's collaborator 17 January 1969 - Grażyna BACEWICZ (b. 1909), composer, violinist, pianist 19 January 1951 - Stanisław GOLACHOWSKI (b. 1907), musicologist 21 January 1618 - Krzystof KRAIŃSKI [Crainscius], preacher, author of a song collection (b. 1556) 23 January 1946 - Feliks NOWOWIEJSKI (b. 1877), composer, conductor, organist 23 January 1921- Władysław ŻELENSKI, composer (b. 1837) 26 January 1946 - Ignacy FRIEDMAN, composer and virtuoso pianist (b. 1882)

					OBITUARY

MAREK STACHOWSKI Marek Stachowski, professor, composer, and administrator, died in Kraków on 3 December, 2004. Prof. Stachowski was an accomplished composer and a friend of the Polish Music Center, having donated several manuscripts to our collection. In addition to his compositional work, he was a respected professor throughout the world and, since 1993, held the position of rector at the Music Academy in Kraków. The Academy honored his memory with an inspirational concert on 16 December, featuring music by Albrechtsberger, Bach, Mozart and Rodrigo.

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