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The second musical evening in the "Old & Modern" concert series, organised by Elżbieta Chojnacka Centre for Contemporary Harpsichord Music, will take place on 26 September 2021 at 6.00 p.m. in the Palace in Rybna.

The "Gajeckie Sisters" duo is composed of twins – harpsichordists and pianists: Hanna Balcerzak and Aleksandra Gajecka-Antosiewicz. The artists debuted in 1992, performing W. A. Mozart's Double Concerto in E flat major. Since then, they have successfully performed at prestigious festivals in Poland and abroad. The duo's repertoire includes a series of pieces for harpsichord and piano for four hands, as well as for two harpsichords and two pianos.

In the programme of the "Old & Modern" concert, the artists will present an extremely interesting and rarely performed repertoire consisting of pieces of early and contemporary music. The harpsichord returned to concert halls not only as a symbol of the past, but also as a harbinger of what is new and unknown, because... forgotten. The juxtaposition of two harpsichords (a copy by Pascal Taskin from the 18th century and a modern model built especially for Elżbieta Chojnacka by Antony Sidey) will allow the audience to familiarize themselves with the wealth of tonal and expressive possibilities of these instruments.

Works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Francois Couperin and Girolamo Frescobaldi will intertwine with the music of the 20th and 21st centuries: computer music by Piotr Klimek, instrumental and electronic music by Stephen Montague, experimental music by Bronisław Kazimierz Przybylski, Marcin Tadeusz Łukaszewski and John Cage, minimalist and repetitive music by Artur Zagajewski and Pierre-Adrien Charpy. Thus the concert will combine tradition with modernity.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

More information: https://bit.ly/2X67PM5 

The new 2021/2022 season of the Gorzów Philharmonic will open with the music of Polish and Russian composers. Their works, presenting extraordinary pictures, landscapes, stories and moods and expressing the great craftsmanship and imagination of each of the creators, will be presented by the Gorzów Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Przemysław Fiugajski. The violinist Anna Maria Staśkiewicz will perform as the soloist.

The City Sketches were written when Henryk Wars was already living in America. This "jazzy" orchestral triptych, akin to Gershwin's style, depicts the landscape of the American metropolis, enchanting with its incredible panache and freedom of instrumentation. The concert will include the first part of the suite – Skyscrapers.

Karol Szymanowski's Violin Concerto No. 2 includes echoes of the Podhale region and highlander music. The work, which eludes all known harmonic, colour or formal patterns, hypnotised the entire musical Europe of the first half of the 20th century. Szymanowski's friend – Paweł Kochański – the first performer of the solo part and the author of the cadence, persuaded the composer to write the concerto.

Russian folk and eastern colours permeate Modest Mussorgsky's Dawn on the Moscow River and the fairy-tale suite from Igor Stravinsky's ballet Firebird, which surprises with brilliant orchestration and extraordinary musical expression.

Sabrina Stachel, a participant of the "Conductor-in-residence" programme run by the National Institute of Music and Dance and financed by the Minister of Culture, National Heritage and Sport, participated in the preparation of the concert.

Ticket information: https://www.filharmoniagorzowska.pl/ 

A concert of flautists Łukasz Długosz and Agata Kielar-Długosz will take place on 24 September 2021 at 6 p.m. at the Paderewski Centre in Kąśna Dolna. The evening will feature two world premieres of pieces for two flutes and piano by Wojciech Ziemowit Zych and Maciej Jabłoński.

Łukasz Długosz is recognized by critics as one of the most famous Polish flautists. As a laureate of all national flute competitions and winner of top prizes at several prestigious international competitions, he is also the most honoured Polish flautist in history. He gives concerts as a soloist and chamber musician in Poland and abroad. He also teaches at the Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk and serves on the jury of national and international flute competitions. Agata Kielar-Długosz is a recognized flautist and propagator of Polish music. She has played as a soloist with all orchestras in Poland. She is regularly invited to collaborate with renowned orchestras in Europe. Professionally, she is also associated with the Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk. The musicians will be accompanied at the piano by Andrzej Jungiewicz, associated with the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice.

The programme of the concert, in addition to the premieres of the latest works by Polish composers, will include Ignacy Jan Paderewski's Melody, Op. 16 No. 2, Henryk Mikołaj Górecki's Good Night, Op. 63 for alto flute and piano, Fryderyk Chopin's Mazurka, Op. 33 for 2 flutes and piano and Astor Piazzolla's Oblivion for 2 flutes and piano. Admission to the concert is free!

Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture, National Heritage and Sport as part of the "Composing Commissions" programme carried out by the National Institute of Music and Dance.

More information: https://www.centrumpaderewskiego.pl/ 

The 'Mundus Cantat' International Choir Festival is coming back to Sopot! 15 choirs from all over the world will take part in the 17th edition of the festival on 22-26 September 2021. The festival’s guest will be this year’s Fryderyk award winner – the Art’n’Voices vocal ensemble.

Due to the global situation, the festival competition will take place in a hybrid form. The organisers invited Polish choirs to live auditions at the Our Lady, Star of the Sea Church in Sopot, but they also invited choirs from around the world to participate in the virtual edition of the festival. The live competition will include choirs from Płock, Wągrowiec, Grudziądz, Wejherowo and representatives of the Tri-City. Eight choirs from all over the world have joined the on-line competition: from Belarus, Brazil, China, Philippines, Mexico, Slovakia, and for the first time in the history of the festival – a choir from Indonesia.

The festival will also feature concerts in Sopot churches, Sopot Centrum and in the Social Welfare Center in Sopot, as well as two concerts dedicated to Sopot on the 120th anniversary of granting city rights, performed by the Mundus Cantat Festival Choir and students of the Sopot Music School. The Final Concert on 25 September in the auditorium of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Gdańsk will feature Art’n’Voices vocal ensemble – winner of the Fryderyk 2021 Award in the contemporary music category for the album Midnight Stories. The ensemble was the Grand Prix winner at the 'Mundus Cantat' Festival in 2015.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

Programme details: https://munduscantat.pl/ 

The tradition of the "Warsaw Autumn" International Festival of Contemporary Music is the Concert of the Youth Circle of the Polish Composers' Union, which is a fringe event. This year, the Youth Circle invites you to the DZiK House of Fun and Culture on 22 September at 10.30 p.m.

The concert programme includes pieces for saxophones and electronics performed by outstanding Polish saxophonists – Paweł Gusnar and Michał Knot. The artists will premiere Krzysztof Ratajski's The Stranger, Andrzej Jakuszew's Traveling in the Rain, Jerzy Fryderyk Wojciechowski's Vincent Ferrer Op. 7 and Aleksandra Chmielewska's Lucid Dreams. We will also hear Abyssus by Anna Maria Huszcza and Shipyard chant by Andrzej Karałow. The event will be streamed online. Free entry!

The Youth Circle of the Polish Composers' Union is also a co-organizer of composers' workshops at the "Warsaw Autumn" Festival, which will comprise of individual meetings with composers and open lectures on 18-24 September at the Austrian Cultural Forum. Among the lecturers will be: Elżbieta Sikora, Pierre Jodlowski, Krzysztof Knittel and Matthias Kranebitter.

More information: https://warszawska-jesien.art.pl/en/2021/programme/programme/22-09/concert-of-the-youth-circle