PLANS FOR CHOPIN ANNIVERSARY BEGIN TO FORM

IN POLAND

The Polish Sejm [Parliament] has declared 2010 the “Year of Chopin,” in honor of the 200th anniversary of the birth of one of Poland’s most beloved sons, whose music is considered an embodiment of the Polish spirit —pianist and composer Frederic [Fryderyk] Chopin (1810-1849). Organizations and institutions throughout Poland are abuzz with plans for concerts, conferences, exhibitions, and celebrations of all kinds—and the Fryderyk Chopin Institute and CHOPIN2010 Celebrations Committee (Waldemar Dąbrowski - Chairman) is at the center of that excitement.

Here are a few of the events that will be taking place in Poland in 2010, as organized by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute:

• MUSEUM UPGRADE: The Fryderyk Chopin Museum in Warsaw is currently closed for extensive renovations, to be opened for the Chopin Year in a completely new form
  
• THE BIRTHDAY DECADE: The first of the three dominating events of the Chopin Year will be a series of concerts between 21 February and 1 March 2010 (encompassing the two hypothetical dates of the composer's birth). Performances by Martha Argerich, Piotr Anderszewski, Leif Ove Andsnes, Rafał Blechacz (who will open the birthday celebrations), Daniel Barenboim, Dang Thai Son, Evgeny Kissin, Garrick Ohlsson, Janusz Olejniczak, Murray Perahia, Ivo Pogorelich and Yundi Li. The artists will be accompanied by Frans Brüggen’s Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century and the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Antoni Wit.
• 3RD INT’L CHOPIN CONGRESS: This conference will be held from 25 February to 1 March 2010, with the theme of “Ideas - Interpretations – Influence.” The period for accepting proposals of conference presentation is closed.
• CHOPIN AND HIS EUROPE: The special edition of the 2010 Festival will last for all of August and encompass 50 music events with the participation of over 1,000 performers from all over the world. Events will include recitals, classical and jazz concerts, open-air performances and more.
• FRYDERYK CHOPIN COMPETITION: The 16th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition will be held from October 2 – 23, 2010.

For more information and to keep up to date on celebration events, please visit chopin2010.pl. For an interesting and informative  article fron the International Herald Tribune about today’s continuing links to the great composer, visit: www.poland.travel.

IN LOS ANGELES

The 2010 spring concert of the Polish Music Center will be devoted to the music of Chopin on the 200th anniversary of his birth.  Echoing the Thornton School of Music’s beloved annual Chamber Music Marathon, the PMC will present a Chopin Marathon. Students and faculty from USC as well as performers from throughout Southern California will come together in a half-day celebration of Chopin’s beautiful romanticism and demanding technique. In line with the contents of Chopin’s œuvre, most of the performances will be of works for solo piano, although some of the rare chamber works will be presented as well. Join us on March 27, 2010 in Newman Recital Hall on the USC campus for an afternoon of delightful music and celebration. Please call (213) 821-1356 or email polmusic@thornton.usc.edu if you have any questions.

IN SAN DIEGO

On January 15, 2010, San Diego will kick off a year-long “Chopin Bicentennial Celebration” with a performance by Garrick Ohlsson, the first American pianist to win the Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 1970 who considers Chopin to be “a dictionary of the total possibilities of the piano and the human hand together” (see reference below). This celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Frederic Chopin will encompass the complete œuvre of Chopin’s works, performed over the course of 12 concerts in 5 different venues. Several groups are involved to create and support these programs, including the: La Jolla Music Society, San Diego Symphony, California Ballet, and San Diego Youth Symphony.

Artwork by Cristina Martinez Byvik/Union-Tribune Illustration

Journalist Jim Chute wrote about the events of and history behind the Chopin Bicentennial Celebration in his article “The Genius of Chopin” on May 10 in the San Diego Union-Tribune:

“People may say that Bach was the greatest composer of all time, or they might argue and say Mozart was, but there's no argument that Chopin was the master of the piano” [Christopher] Beach[, artistic director of the La Jolla Music Society,] said. “And since the piano is the greatest instrument we have, other than the human voice, he deserves a big anniversary.”

Even if it were not Chopin's anniversary, it's hard to imagine a better time for a full shot of the 19th-century Polish composer's transformative music. In an era of economic, social and political upheaval, you can find solace in Chopin's rare combination of the most sublime elegance and over-the-top, almost unhinged passion.

“He's such a perfect synthesis,” Ohlsson said. “He's right at the cusp of classicism and romanticism, although he thought of himself much more as a classicist. The gods for him were Bach and Mozart, although he knew lots of other music and admired Beethoven. But Beethoven certainly wasn't his guy.”

Neither Ohlsson nor Beach is aware of a festival of equal scope – surveying the entire range of Chopin's music – anywhere in the United States.

Watch the La Jolla Music Society website for continuing updates on the events of the Chopin Bicentennial Celebration in San Diego.

[Sources: www3.signonsandiego.com, www.tunepiano.com]

IN CHICAGO

In honor of Chopin's contribution to music "We The People of Chicago" want to bring Chopin to Our City and to erect a copy of the famous Art Nouveau Chopin Monument in Warsaw's Royal Baths Park here downtown in Chicago.

The Chopin Monument was designed by Wacław Szymanowski, a prolific artist known for his emotionally charged art. Like most of his work, it is composed in the Art Nouveau style. The design is symbolic with the prominent stylized weeping willow over Chopin's seated figure meant to echo the pianist's hand and fingers.

Chicago is truly a global city of Arts and Culture, and is rightfully assuming its position as a global city on the world's stage. Frank Lloyd Wright famously said, "Eventually, I think Chicago will be the most beautiful great city left in the world." It would be a shame that one of Poland's proudest sons does not have a monument dedicated to him in the city that prides itself as having the largest population of Poles outside of Poland. [quoted from www.chopinmonumentinchicago.com]

SINFONIA VARSOVIA RECORDING

The Sinfonia Varsovia orchestra, with conductor Jacek Kaspszyk, has just finished recording a new CD for Sony Music Japan and it is scheduled for release in Japan in January 2010. The album features Japanese pianist Michie Koyama, a laureate of the XI Chopin Competition in Warsaw and Tchaikovsky Competition in 1982 playing two piano concertos by Frederic Chopin. When it is released, it will be one of the first new releases to celebrate the anniversary year of Frederic Chopin.

[Source: muzyka.onet.pl]

JONATHAN PLOWRIGHT RECORDING

British pianist Jonathan Plowright, champion of Polish romantic music for the piano and 2006 Paderewski Lecture performer, is currently working on a CD for Hyperion Records to be released in early 2010 to commemorate the anniversary. It will feature pieces written in the style of and/or in homage to Chopin. 

The repertoire of the disc will include: BALAKIREV - Impromptu for piano (after Chopin's Preludes in E flat minor and B major), BENDEL - Hommage à Chopin, Opus 111 No.1; BERKELEY - 3 Mazurkas, “Hommage à Chopin”; BUSONI - Variations on a theme by Chopin;  GODARD - Lanterne Magique (Chopin, Opus 66 No.2); GODOWSKY – Walzermasken No.7: Profil, B-flat major (Chopin); GRIEG – Studie,  Opus 73 No.5, “Hommage à Chopin”;  HONEGGER - Souvenir de Chopin (1947); LESCHETIZKY- Hommage à Chopin, Opus 46 No.9; MOMPOU - Variations on a theme by Chopin; NAPRAVNIK – Notturno,  Opus 48 No.1, “Reminiscence of Chopin”; TCHAIKOVSKY - Un poco di Chopin, Opus 72 No. 15 (1893); and VILLA-LOBOS - Hommage à Chopin, No.1: Nocturne and No.2: Ballade (written for UNESCO, to commemorate the centenary of the death of Chopin).

[Sources: Oxford Music Online, www.villalobos.ca, www.godowsky.com]

KILAR HONORED BY VATICAN

On June 8th, Polish composer Wojciech Kilar will receive his "Per Artem ad Deum" [Through Art Toward God] medal from the Papal Board for the Culture, an honor that was announced in April. He will be given the medal in Kielce during the International "SacroExpo" Tradeshow. According to Tradeshow representative Beata Wentura-Dudek: "The artist was highly moved by the award. He said that the medal established by Pope John Paul II will be the most valued of his awards.”

The composer will receive the medal directly from arch-bishop Ginfranco Ravasi, who is the head of the Papal Board for the Culture and will be an honored guest at the “SacroExpo.” During the award gala at the Kielce Art Center, the Świętokrzyskie Philharmonic will perform Kilar’s Krzesany and Kościelec 1909 with conductor Jacek Rogala.

The "Per Artem ad Deum" medal has been awarded for five years now. Last year it was given to Leszek Mądzik – visual artist from the Catholic University in Lublin. Previous recipients include Stanisław Słonina – sculptor, prof. Dobrosław Bagiński – sculptor and designer; and the stained glass workshop "Furdyna" in Kraków.

[Source: rmfclassic.pl]

KIEPURA INTERNATIONAL TENOR CONTEST

Arnold Rutkowski has won the 1st edition of the European Jan Kiepura Tenor Voice Competition in Sosnowiec, Poland. The second place was given to Kirilianit Cortez-Galvez from Columbia, and the third to Adam Sobierajski.

The jury, comprised of Zdzisława Donat, Jadwiga Romańska-Gabryś and Bogdan Paprocki, was led by Wiesław Ochman, who also gave his own special award to Witalij Wydra from Ukraine.

This first edition of the competition attracted 18 young singers from several countries. The competition was open to tenors from around the world who were students or graduates of higher education music schools. The age limit for the participants was 38. The competition was organized in Sosnowiec as it is the hometown of Jan Kiepura, one of the greatest Polish singers of all time.

[Source: rmfclassic.pl]

KIEPURA MUSIC THEATER AWARDS

The winners of this year’s Jan Kiepura Music Theater Award of this past season are:

• Best Show:  the Kraków Opera production of Diabły z Loudun [Devils from Loudun] by Krzysztof Penderecki
• Best Director: Laco Adamik
• Best Singers (male and female): Piotr Friebe and Aleksandra Kubas
• Best Debut (male and female): Krystian Adam Krzeszowiak and Liza Wesołowska
• Best Condutor: Tadeusz Serafin
• Lifetime Achievement Award: Bogdan Paprocki, tenor

The 12 award recipients (including others in stage and costume design) in this year’s edition were presented during a press conference in Sosnowiec. The awards ceremony took place on May 16 during a gala in Hala Zagórze in Sosnowiec.

Diabły z Loudun was prepared for the opening of the new building of Kraków Opera by stage director Laco Adamik. Piotr Friebe is a singer with the Grand Theater National Opera in Warsaw and Aleksandra Kubas is from the Wrocław Opera. Tenor Krystian Adam Krzeszowiak is touring around Europe and Liza Wesołowska sings with the Mazovian Jan Kiepura Music Theater and Operetta. Tadeusz Serafin is the director of Silesian Opera in Bytom—see above for more information on his new staging of Paderewski’s Manru with Laco Adamik as director.

[Sources: muzyka.onet.pl, Silesian Opera]

POLISH SINGER HONORED

Soprano Aleksandra Chacińska has won the second prize at the International Vocal Competition in Barcelona, co-organized by Gran Teatre del Liceu. This year the competition attracted 180 singers from around the world. Only 80 were invited to perform in Barcelona and only 12 musicians (1 bass, 2 tenors and 9 sopranos) were invited to the final round. Aleksandra Chacińska is the first Pole to ever perform in the final round of this competition.

This honor in Barcelona is not the first prize in the collection of this Polish singer. She has already made her mark at the Flavio Labo Competition in Piacenza, the Riccardo Znadonai Competition in Riva del  Garda, and the Ottavio Ziino competition in Rome. In 2006 she won the first prize and a special prize at the 11th International Vocal Competition in Bilbao.

Aleksandra Chacińska is a graduate of the Bacewicz Music Academy in Łódź. She has performed with Grand Theater – National Opera in Warsaw, Grand Theater in Poznań, Kraków Opera, and Łódź Music Theater in Poland, as well as theaters in Kassel, Gelsenkirchen, and Bilefeld in Germany.

[Sources: muzyka.onet.pl, rmfclassic.pl]

WIT OPENS PRAGUE SPRING

Photo credit: © Prague Spring – Ivan Malý

Antoni Wit, Music Director of the Warsaw National Philharmonic, conducted the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra (pictured above) in two concerts inaugurating the 64th Annual Prague Spring International Music Festival on May 12 and 13. He was serving as the last-minute replacement for Estonian conductor Neeme Jarvi, who had suddenly taken ill. Per Festival tradition, the program of the concert was Bedřich Smetana’s cycle of symphonic poems, Má vlast [My Country].

[Sources: www.polskieradio.pl, www.prague-spring.net]

POLISH PIANISTS FÊTED IN PARIS

On May 13, Polish-Hungarian pianist Piotr Anderszewski performed a recital at the Champ-Elysees Theatre in Paris, and according to Polish Radio, he received “an enthusiastic reception”:

The programme included pieces featured on his latest CD ‘Anderszewski at Carnegie Hall’ recorded live six months ago [see details in Discography]: a selection of Chopin’s mazurkas and works by Bach, Beethoven and Janacek. There were two encores of Bach and Bartok, followed by the signing of the CD for crowds of fans. Anderszewski told the Polish Press Agency that he will give a concert in Lodz next month.

Then, on May 14 also at the Champs-Elysees Theatre, Polish pianist Rafał Blechacz was the soloist for a French National Orchestra concert under Fabien Gabel. According to a Polish Radio report entitled “Blechacz takes Paris audience by storm”:

[Blechacz] played the Second Piano Concerto by Saint-Saens and, following a long ovation from a packed hall, two pieces by Chopin as encores. Less than two months ago Blechacz gave a highly successful recital in Paris.

FINAL GALA OF POLISH YEAR IN ISRAEL

The final gala concert of the Polish Year in Israel took place on May 24 in the Sherover Theatre of Henry Crown Hall in Jerusalem. The special concert featured a performance of Henryk Mikołaj Górecki’s 3rd Symphony “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs” and Frederic Chopin’s Piano Concerto in E Minor op. 11 and Don Giovani variations in B flat Major op. 2. The concert was performed by the Israeli Philharmonic conducted by Michał Dworzyński. Soloists for the evening were Polish soprano Iwona Hossa, Polish pianist Jacek Kortus (concerto) and Israeli pianist Dorel Golan (variations). Poland’s First Lady Mrs. Maria Kaczyńska was the evening’s special guest.

The Polish Year in Israel 2008/2009 is a joint venture launched by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The main objective of the Polish Year in Israel is to bring together Polish and Israeli societies by strengthening cultural and economic contacts as well as contacts on a tourist and scientific level. Moreover, the venture is aimed at starting long-term cooperation between the institutions of both countries.

[Source: culture.pl, Adam Mickiewicz Inst., Event press release]

MEYER PREMIERE ON TOCCATA

Krzysztof Meyer - Complete Works for Cello and Piano
Cello Sonata No. 1, Op. 62; Cello Sonata No. 2, Op. 99; and Canzona, Op. 56
Evva Mizerska, cello; Emma Abbate, piano; and Katarzyna Glensk, piano
Toccata Records TOCC0098

This disc is the first complete recording of works for piano and cello by Krzysztof Meyer, including the World Premiere recording of his Cello Sonata No. 2, Op. 99. Although the official release date is July 6, 2009, it is already available for purchase and download at Toccata Records.  

According to the Toccata Records website:

Krzysztof Meyer, born in Kraków in 1943 and a student of Penderecki, Lutosławski and Nadia Boulanger, is one of the leading Polish composers of the day. His music marries a powerful sense of drama with a long-breathed lyricism in a largely tonal framework, placing him downstream from Shostakovich, who was a friend and supporter of the young composer. Of his two cello sonatas (1983 and 2004) and Canzona (1981), Meyer writes, ‘I wanted the melody to be predominant – not a post-Romantic cantilena but absolutely contemporary. And the cello, like no other instrument, is perfect for that’.

Tim Homfray of The Strad says of this disc that, “[cellist Evva Mizerska] shows a great expressive range and impressive authority” (see article here).

PENDERECKI PREMIERE ON DUX

Krzysztof Penderecki - Complete Choral Works
Penderecki (b. 1933): Choral works for female, male, and mixed choirs a cappella, including the World Premiere recording of Kaczka pstra (2008) and “Aria” from Three Pieces in Old Style (1963)
Polish Chamber Choir Schola Cantorum Gedanensis, Jan Łukaszewski – cond.
Series: Penderecki Special Edition
DUX 0694

“Looking at Krzysztof Penderecki’s choral output, one cannot help noticing that in comparison with other, highly diverse forms of his artistic utterance, it constitutes the most homogenous whole. While it is possible to point to various stylistic references that inspired many strands of his musical itinerary, his works for a cappella choir, spanning as they do almost five decades, appear to be very coherent in terms of their expressive features and also stylistically homogeneous. The reasons for this state of affairs may be found both in the sound matter itself and the specific sound possibilities of an ensemble of human voices, to which Penderecki deliberately assigned an idiomatic value, and in the ‘external’ inclinations of his choral compositions which are something far more than an ideological inspiration. The organic homogeneity of these works stems first and foremost from Penderecki’s mature compositional craft which is manifested not only in the masterful command of many stylistic practices from previous periods (evident also in his pieces in other genres) but above all in the expressively perfect synthesis of numerous musical styles and trends. All of Penderecki’s a cappella choral compositions on this CD go a long way to show that reconciling broadly-understood traditions with openness to contemporary avant-garde trends is possible and can bring aesthetically impressive results.”

From the liner notes by Tomasz Jeż
translated by Michał Kubicki
[Reprinted with permission from DUX Records]

MORE FROM DUX

Moniuszko – Halka
Stanisław Moniuszko: Halka opera
Tatiana Borodina - soprano, Aleksandra Buczek - soprano, Mariusz Godlewski - baritone, Andrzej Kalinin - tenor, Zbigniew Kryczka - bass-baritone, Oleh Lykhach - tenor, Rafał Majzner - tenor, Jacek Ryś - tenor, Janusz Zawadzki - tenor, Radosław Żukowski – bass; Wrocław Opera and Choir; Ewa Michnik – conductor
DUX0538-0538

Andrzej Nikodemowicz – works for violin in piano
Andrzej Nikodemowicz: Romance; Kołysanka [Lullaby]; Notturno; Poeme I; Poeme II; Sonata
Katarzyna Duda – violin; Agnieszka Schulz-Brzyska – piano
DUX0705

GÓRECKI ON BLU-RAY

The first-ever release of Henryk Mikołaj Górecki’s 3rd Symphony “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs” recorded on Blu-Ray disc was presented by the National Culture Center and Lipinski Royal Fidelity Company at the F. Chopin Music University in Warsaw on May 28. The Blu-Ray format allows the best clarity and fidelity of picture and sound available today.

The disc is being released as a part of the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of WWII and the 20th anniversary of the fall of communism in Central Europe, which carry the theme "Zaczęło się w Polsce" [It started in Poland].

The publication contains:

• a Blu-Ray disc with a Hi-Def recording of Górecki’s 3rd Symphony. The recording was made in Zakopane by the Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR) and soprano Zofia Kilanowicz in Zakopane on 14 December 2003
• a 48-page hardcover booklet with essays about the Symphony by Wiesław Stróżewski and Andrzej Nowak, as well as biographies of Górecki, Kilanowicz and NOSPR
• a commemorative hardcover with a logo of Zaczęło się w Polsce celebrations and an illustration by Rafał Olbiński
• a 22-page pamphlet with essays by Paweł Lisicki, Jarosław Kurski, Michał Karnowski, and Paweł Fąfara discussing the importance of the events that occurred during the years 1939-1989 for the history of modern Poland. [read these essays online here]

More information about this commemorative disc and other celebrations is available on the anniversary website, 3989.pl.

[Sources: muzyka.onet.pl, nck.pl]

GÓRECKI ON TELARC

Gorecki: Symphony No. 3, "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs"
I. Lento: Sostenuto tranquillo ma cantabile; II. Lento e largo: Tranquillissimo cantabile; III. Lento: Cantabile, semplice
Christine Brewer, soprano, with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Donald Runnicles, conductor
Telarc 80699

In a review for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Pierre Ruhe discussed not only a recent performance of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, but also their recent recording, which features Polish composer H. M. Górecki’s most famous symphony:

Henryk Gorecki’s “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs” is a modern classic with an incredible back story. It’s arguably the finest disc Runnicles has cut during his nine-year tenure as ASO principal guest conductor and should fuel the Scottish-born maestro’s reputation as a comprehensive interpreter of the highest international rank….

London’s BBC Music Magazine gave the ASO’s new Gorecki recording a superlative five stars.

“[Christine] Brewer’s rich voice and subtle inflections are sufficiently personal to distinguish her equally fine interpretation from Upshaw’s,” the magazine wrote, “and at times there is an edge, an almost gritty quality, that will appeal to anyone who found the earlier recording to be perhaps just a little too celestial.”

The Telarc website also lends some perspective from conductor Donald Runnicles, as well as more background information on this piece, which has reached cult classic status:

“Any new recording with the Atlanta Symphony is quite special to me,” said Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Principal Guest Conductor Donald Runnicles. “Working also with my dear friend Christine Brewer is one of my greatest joys, particularly on such a profoundly spiritual piece as the Górecki. Christine and I treasure a long history of collaboration, and we look forward to sharing this new adventure with audiences worldwide.”

Written in 1976, the symphony, which is also known as the “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs,” is a setting of three Polish texts with the theme of separation through war: The first is a 15th century Polish lament in which Mary speaks to her son Jesus as he is dying; the second is a message written on the wall of a Gestapo cell by a teenage girl during the Second World War; and the third is a folk song in which a mother grieves for her son killed in the Silesian uprisings.

The symphony marked a change in compositional style for Górecki, who was previously identified as a member of the modernist wing of European music that was prone to compositions constructed of clashing sound masses and serially ordered elements. The symphony’s simplicity, chant-like melodic nature and largely consonant harmonies took many listeners and critics by surprise. The symphony also became an unexpected crossover hit record when a 1992 recording by soprano Dawn Upshaw and David Zinman and the London Sinfonietta was embraced by record buyers. The recording sold more than a million copies and climbed to the top of the classical music charts in both the U.S. and the U.K. It also reached number six on the mainstream U.K. album chart.

ANDERSZEWSKI LIVE AT CARNEGIE HALL

Piotr Anderszewski – Live at Carnegie Hall
Piotr Anderszewski, pianist
Bach: Partita No. 2; Schumann: Carnival Scenes from Vienna; Janacek: In the mists; Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 3; and Bartok: Three Hungarian Folksongs from the Csik Distrist
Virgin Classics 5099926729121

"It can be hard not to wax hyperbolic when confronted with the pianist Piotr Anderszewski's sensitive touch and potent imagination." New York Times

Since his first release for Virgin Classics, Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations in 2000, Polish pianist Piotr Anderszewski's has produced a catalogue which ranges from Bach and Mozart, through more Beethoven to Chopin, Szymanowski and Webern, and which includes several prizewinning recordings.

Both intellectual and inspirational, Anderszewski has said of musical interpretation: "One can speculate endlessly about the right ingredients, the perfect combination but the essential question remains unanswerable, lying far beyond the limits of the cleverest and most refined argument. And yet one goes on searching and, while realising that the search is about everything, the essence may yet reveal itself in the most unexpected way."

This new release captures live performances by Anderszewski at a very recent recital – December 2008 – in New York’s legendary Carnegie Hall. The critic of the New York Times made clear that this was an exceptional musical experience. "After a performance so intense and draining, the notion of encores almost seemed superfluous. But Bartók’s Three Hungarian Folksongs from the Csik District had a welcome earthiness"

Anderszewski repeated the programme in Chicago shortly afterwards, and the response of the Chicago Sun Times was at a similar level of enthusiasm:

There is something deeply comforting about the kind of perfection that Polish-Hungarian pianist Piotr Anderszewski brought to his program of Bach, Janáèek and Beethoven ... Perfection is a relative term when it comes to art, of course. There are myriad but equally valid ways to play a Bach partita or Beethoven sonata ... Different artists plumb different facets in a piece of music, and listeners can only benefit from hearing what each one has managed to unearth…. But during the two hours or so that they are onstage, artists like Anderszewski manage to create a universe that seems utterly complete unto itself. There is a sense of inevitability in their performance, a feeling that the true essence of a composer's intentions has been discovered. Especially when our daily lives are battered by forces beyond our control, it is reassuring to spend an afternoon in a world of such richly calibrated balance.

[from the Virgin Classics website]

[Source: Virgin Classics, Polskie Radio]

SZYMANOWSKI ON NAXOS REVIEW

Szymanowski: Symphonies no. 1 & 4
Karol Szymanowski: Concert Overture Op. 12; Symphony no. 1 in F Minor Op. 15; Symphony no. 4 Op. 60 “Symphonie Concertante”; Study in B flat Minor Op. 4 no. 3 (arr. G. Fitelberg)
Jan Krzysztof Broja – piano; Warsaw National Philharmonic, Antoni Wit – conductor
NAXOS 8.570722

Although his May 10 article in the Detroit Free Press is entitled “Emerson Quartet soars with passionate Janacek works,” Mark Stryker also spends several paragraphs discussing the recent Naxos release featuring Symphonies No. 1 & 4 of Szymanowski:

…Speaking of underrated 20th-Century composers, the Polish master Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) wrote extraordinary music ripe with native folk melody folded into a late-romantic sound world. Conductor Antoni Wit and the Warsaw Philharmonic have been turning out a string of fantastic Szymanowski (shih-ma-NOFF-skee ) discs for Naxos, and the latest includes beautifully paced and sumptuous performances of the First and Fourth Symphonies (****).

The Fourth Symphony, which has such a prominent solo piano part that it's practically a concerto, is bracingly unique. The music is full of folk-like melodies bathed in the composer's magical and sophisticated harmonic world. Tactile textures capture the ear, and the open-hearted expression ensures that nobody misses the point….

NEW JAZZ FROM POLAND

Levity
Levity: original compositions
Jacek Kita – piano; Piotr Domagalski – upright bass;
Jerzy Rogiewicz - drums
LACDABC

Levity is an exceptional jazz trio formed in 2005 by two composers and a bassist. This unusual cooperation has created highly personal and adventurous music. The group’s unlimited influences range from contemporary classical through avant-garde jazz to electronica. But, most of all it is clear that Levity loves simple songs and beautiful melodies.

[Source: ladoabc.com]

POLISH RADIO RE-EDITION

Jerzy Godziszewski – Szymanowski
Karol Szymanowski: Complete solo piano works
Jerzy Godziszewski – piano
PRCD1261-64

This is a re-edition of an album that was originally released by Polish Radio in 1998, when it was awarded the Fryderyk award, the most important award of the Polish recording industry, and a monthly pick from the Polish audiophile magazine, Studio. The album contains all solo piano works written by Karol Szymanowski.

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

CHOPIN BICENTENNIAL HONORED IN HUNGARY

The complete bicentennial edition of the works of CHOPIN, Vol. 1-2: Mazurkas
Op 6 – 4 Mazurkas (1830); Op 7 – 5 Mazurkas (1830/31); Op 17 – 4 Mazurkas (1832/33); Op 24 – 4 Mazurkas (1834/35); Op 30 – 4 Mazurkas (1836/37); Op 33 – 4 Mazurkas (1837/38); Op 41 – 4 Mazurkas (1838/39); Op 50 – 3 Mazurkas (1841/42); Op 56 – 3 Mazurkas (1843); Op 59 – 3 Mazurkas (1845); Op 63 – 3 Mazurkas (1846); Op 67 – 4 Mazurkas (OEuvre posthume); and Op 68 – 4 Mazurkas (OEuvre posthume)
Alex Szilasi, piano
Hungaroton Records HCD 32469-70 (2 discs)

This recording features Hungarian pianist Alex Szilasi on an authentic Pleyel concert grand piano. It is produced by Hungary’s original recording copmany, Hungaroton Records.

LUTOSŁAWSKI CHAIN FESTIVAL

The 6th edition of the Witold Lutosławski Chain Festival takes place between June 3 and 7 in the Lutosławski Concert Studio of the Polish Radio in Warsaw. The festival is organized by the Witold Lutosławski Society in cooperation with Polish Radio Chanel 2.

Łańcuch, or Chain, is a musical form created by Witold Lutosławski, which he used in three compositions of the same name. Creation of constructions with overlapping links is one of the characteristics of Lutosławski’s style and this festival is such a chain of events: concerts, meetings, and other music related ventures for musicians from around Europe.

This year there will be five concerts by talented Polish and international performers. In addition to music by Lutosławski, there will be compositions by composers who were close to and valued by him. The festival will be inaugurated by the Lutosławski Piano Duo (Emilia Sitarz and Bartłomiej Wąsik). The evening’s program includes Variations on a theme by Paganini by Witold Lutosławski, Six epigraphes antiques by Claude Debussy, Mazurka elegiaca by Benjamin Britten and Makrokosmos IV by George Crumb.

For more information and a complete program of the festival, please visit the official website of the Lutosławski Society.

[Source: culture.pl]

XIX INT’L SACRED MUSIC FESTIVAL

The main event of the 19th International Sacred Music Festival (May 31-June 5) will be the inaugural concert, commemorating the 200th anniversary of death of Joseph Haydn. The Holy Cross Basilica in Warsaw will host a concert of Haydn’s Creation oratorio, performed by the National Opera Orchestra and Mozart Knabenchor Wien conducted by Peter Lang. Marta Boberska, soprano and Andrzej Klimczak, bass will be the soloists for the evening.

In all there will be 9 solo, vocal and symphonic concerts by artists from Poland, Germany, Italy Austria and Russia. All the concerts take place in beautiful churches around Warsaw. During the festival, Director and organist Przemysław Kapituła will receive the “Silver Pipe” Award, established by Primate of Poland in recognition of development and promotion of sacred music in Poland.

The detailed program of the festival is available on the official website at www.kapitula.org.

[Source: culture.pl]

CHOPIN RECITALS

Chopin Recitals in Royal Łazienki Park - 50th Anniversary Year

The Chopin recitals at Łazienki Park in Warsaw have always attracted Chopin fans from around the world. Every concert has audiences of over 3,000 people, which during the course of a complete season yields approximately 120,000 attendants. The high artistic level of the recitalists is ensured by the Fryderyk Chopin International Society, the group responsible for booking artists for this prestigious series, and all concerts are watched over by the park’s enormous statue of the great composer himself.

The concert cycle starts in mid-May and lasts until the end of September. Concerts are held every Sunday at 12 and 4 pm. In June the concert calendar is as follows:

• June 7, 2009, 12:00 - Anna Maria Stańczyk
• June 7, 2009, 4:00 - Lidia Grychtołówna
• June 14, 2009, 12:00 - Andrzej Stefański
• June 14, 2009, 4:00 - Ewa Bukojemska
• June 21, 2009, 12:00 - Krystyna Man Li-Szczepańska (China)
• June 21, 2009, 4:00 - Joanna Marcinkowska
• June 28, 2009, 12:00 - Eugen Indjic (USA)
• June 28, 2009, 4:00 - Eri Iwamoto (Japan)

For more information, please visit tifc.chopin.pl .

[Source: culture.pl]

Chopin Recitals in Żelazowa Wola

Starting at the beginning of May and ending in September, in the Żelazowa Wola Manor where Frederic Chopin was born, a cycle of piano recitals dedicated to music of the great composer is hosted. The concert series always attracts outstanding Polish and international pianists. Every Sunday there are two recitals at 12 and 3 pm.

The June concert calendar includes the following performances:

• June 7, 2009, 12:00 - Joanna Ławrynowicz
• June 7, 2009, 3:00 - Iwona Klimaszewska
• June 14, 2009, 12:00 - Marek Drewnowski
• June 14, 2009, 3:00 - Maria Korecka
• June 21, 2009, 12:00 - Joanna Marcinkowska
• June 21, 2009, 3:00 - Joanna Trzeciak
• June 28, 2009, 12:00 - Filip Wojciechowski
• June 28, 2009, 3:00 - Piotr Paleczny

For more information, please visit The Fryderyk Chopin Institute.

[Source: culture.pl]

FESTIWAL PIEŚNI EUROPEJSKIEJ

The 5th edition of the “Festival of European Songs” will be held from June 6 - 14 in the Łazienki Museum and Wilanów Museum in Warsaw. Each concert will celebrate the songs of a different country: Germany (June 6), England (June 7), Scotland (June 13), Austria (June 14), and Italy (June 14). This Festival will attract some of Poland and Europe’s greatest musicans: Małgorzata Ajdukiewicz – soprano, Witold Żołądkiewicz – baritone, Ewa Pelwecka – piano, Ryszard Cieśla – baritone, Maja Nosowska – piano, Paweł Bazan – baritone, Grzegorz Skrobiński – piano, Catherine King – mezzo-soprano, Elżbieta Mucha – piano, Urszula Kryger – mezzo-soprano, Krzysztof Szmyt – tenor, Łukasz Hajduczenia – baritone, Jan Stanienda – violin, Lidia Grzanka-Urbaniak – cello, Katarzyna Jankowska – piano, Jan Monowid – alt, Artur Janda – bass, Anton Birulya – chitarone, Justyna Rekść-Raubo – cello, and Lilianna Stawarz – harpsichord.

The Festival of European Songs is organized by the R. Traugutt Philharmonic, Krzysztof Kur – Director and Ryszard Cieśla – Artistic Director.  For more information, please see: www.fit.waw.pl

• June 1, 1909 - Maria DZIEWULSKA, composer and theoretician (d. 2006)
• June 4, 1845 - Aleksander POLIŃSKI, music historian (d. 1916)
• June 4, 1784 - Adam CZARNOCKI, music ethnographer (d. 1825)
• June 5, 1865 - Felicjan SZOPSKI, composer and music critic (d. 1939)
• June 6, 1929 - Bogusław SCHAEFFER, composer, writer
• June 12, 1897 - Aleksander TANSMAN, composer and pianist,
• June 16, 1923 - Henryk CZYŻ, conductor and composer
• June 17, 1930 - Romuald TWARDOWSKI, composer
• June 28, 1895 - Kazimierz SIKORSKI, composer and teacher
• June 28, 1904 - Włodzimierz POŹNIAK, musicologist

DIED THIS MONTH:

• June 1, 1869 - Jozef DULEBA, pianist and participant of January Uprising, died in a duel (b. 1843)
• June 3, 1904 - Daniel FILLEBORN, singer and performer of main parts in Moniuszko's operas (b. 1841)
• June 4, 1872 - Stanislaw MONIUSZKO, Father of Polish National opera (b. 5 May 1819)
• June 5, 1964 - Henryk SZTOMPKA, pianist, Chopin specialist, teacher
• June 9, 1932 - Natalia JANOTHA, pianist and composer, student of Clara Wieck-Schumann, Royal Pianist in London, 400 opus numbers (b. 1856)
• June 10, 1953 - Grzegorz FITELBERG, conductor, composer, great promoter of new music, esp. Szymanowski (b. 1879)
• June 28, 1938 - Ludwik DRZEWIECKI, pianist and father of Zbigniew Drzewiecki
• June 29, 1945 - Kazimierz GARBUSINSKI, pianist, organist, composer
• June 30, 1957 - Michal SWIERZYNSKI, composer and choral conductor