She was commissioned to write a "Fanfare for Peace" for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Centennial Celebration. The concert on November 18, 1994 opened with the world premiere of Ptaszynska's "Fanfare". The Cincinnati Post music writer, Mary Ellyn wrote "the muted trumpet calls and brash harmonies were worthy of Beethoven himself (Eroica symph.). The Cincinnati Enquirer stated that the Fanfare, "which combined ancient Polish fanfares with modern techniques, was compelling for its luminous counterpoint, echo effects and orchestral colors..... the audience stood and cheerer".
This year:
For details see: Competitions & Festivals Section
His First String Quartet (which premiered in 1951 to critical acclaim from the NY Times, NY Herald Tribune & Musical America) was recently heard on radio station WQXR-FM in New York. It can be ordered from Polish Cultural Foundation, 177 Broadway, Clark, NJ 07066. Tel.: (908)382-7197.
A pianist, Wojciech Kocyan, is working on his DMA degree at the University of Southern California School of Music under professor John Perry. He was born in Poland and graduated cum laude from the Music Academy in Katowice under prof. Andrzej Jasinski (Krystian Zimerman's teacher).
Kocyan is a laureate of many international piano competitions. Among them, First Prize plus a special prize in the Paderewski Piano Competition in Bydgoszcz; International Busoni Competition in Bolzano, Italy; and the G. B. Viotti and V. Bellini Competitions, also in Italy.
He has performed with several orchestras (the famous WOSPRiTV of Katowice; Symphony orchestras of Gdansk and Krakow; Shreveport, Louisiana; Radio & Tv Orchestras in Turin and Milan. Many recitals in Europe (Poland, England, France, Holland, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Hungary), as well as in Canada, USA and Japan.
Last September he performed in Poland to excellent reviews and capacity audiences: An All-Chopin recital closing the 10th Musica Antiqua Europae Orientalis Festival; performed Rachmaninoff's II Piano Concerto in c-minor, op. 18 at the Piano Festival in Slupsk. He has also recorded for Polish and Hungarian Radio & TV.