news

"Polskie Muzyczki" – season 3: educational films about Polish composers

The Life and Art Foundation invites you to the third series of educational films about Polish composers, "Polskie Muzyczki" [Polish Women Musicians]. New episodes will be posted every Saturday from 24 April 2021 on the project's YouTube channel.

The project idea was born before the pandemic. Joint concerts of clarinet player Barbara Borowicz and pianist Anna Miernik were preceded by lectures aimed at introducing the performed music. Currently, instrumentalists have temporarily transferred some of their activities to the Internet. The idea of their online project is to create a series of educational films dedicated to Polish composers, which are posted on YouTube and Facebook to watch for free. The artists want to pursue the idea of "learning through play" – their short film episodes contain high-quality content presented in a light and pleasant form of a dialogue between the pianist and clarinetist, who are also friends.

The third season of "Polskie Muzyczki" will start with an episode devoted to Krzysztof Penderecki on the 1st anniversary of his death. The series will also include interviews with Agnieszka Zdrojek-Suchodolska and Łukasz Woś. The remaining videos will talk about Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar, Karol Kurpiński and Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński. Facts from the history of music will intertwine with funny anecdotes, thus making the materials more accessible to an average audience and helping to break the "artist-viewer" barrier. The aim of the project is to encourge listeners to participate in live concerts when it is fully possible.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

Łódź Premiere of Zygmunt Krauze's cantata "Francesco"

The Łódź premiere of Zygmunt Krauze's Francesco cantata will take place on 26 April 2021 at 5.00 p.m at the Łódź Philharmonic. The concert programme will also include Zoltan Kodaly's Missa brevis. A paid broadcast will be available at https://live.bilety24.pl/.

The Francesco cantata for mixed choir, chamber orchestra and organ is based on the writings of St. Francis and Dante Alighieri. Through this prism, the composer examines the condition of modern man, his obligations and limitations. The individual parts of the work titled Life, Work, Money, Woman, Death are separated with solo organ preludes. The world premiere of the cantata took place in 2018.

Zygmunt Krauze is one of the most outstanding artists of his generation, appreciated in Poland and abroad. In his oeuvre, operas as well as piano pieces and pieces with piano occupy a crucial place. An important chapter of his work is dedicated to unistic music, the theoretical foundations of which were derived from Władysław Strzemiński's paintings. Krauze is a professor of composition at the Academy of Music in Łódź, by which he was awarded the Honoris Causa doctorate.

The concert will be performed by the Łódź Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir under the direction of Dawid Ber and the soloists: Marta Malarska, Magdalena Szymańska, Maria Hubluk-Kaszuba (soprano), Anna Krysztofiak (mezzo-soprano), Paweł Żak (tenor), Adrian Łęczycki (baritone) and Roman Perucki (organ).

More information: https://filharmonia.lodz.pl/pl/wydarzenia/koncert-oratoryjny-16

Chamber Music Concert at the Cultural Center of the University of Łódź "Music of Łódź+"

The Cultural Centre of the University of Łódź invites you on 25 April 2021 at 12.30 p.m. for an online chamber concert as part of the "Music of Łódź+" series. The premiere of the recording will take place on the YouTube channel of the University of Lodz. We will hear music of Grażyna Bacewicz, Anna Rocławska-Musiałczyk and Roman Ryterband.

The series of chamber concerts at the Cultural Centre of the University of Lodz aims at presenting and popularizing the canon of European chamber music literature from the 18th to the 21st century: both works of already established artistic value, as well as those unjustly forgotten or rarely performed, with particular emphasis on the works of Polish composers, including those originating from or directly related to Łódź. The series was initiated by Stanisław Liszewski Foundation, and the concerts are organised in collaboration with the Grażyna and Kiejstut Bacewicz Academy of Music in Łódź.

The programme of the upcoming event includes Suite for two violins by Grażyna Bacewicz, Two Contrasts for a duo by Anna Rocławska-Musiałczyk, Sonatina for guitar by Roman Ryterband, as well as compositions by Marek Walton, Roland Pontinen and Sid Phillips. The works will be performed by Polish Violin Duo, clarinetist Wojciech Sokołowski, pianist Michał Kluska and guitarist Kalina Polańska.

JOIN: Facebook Event

"Job" by Karol Wojtyła and Krzesimir Dębski – Online Premiere

Polish Royal Opera invites you on 25 April 2021 at 7.00 p.m. to the world premiere of Krzesimir Dębski's Job – an opera based on Karol Wojtyła's drama. Online concert will be held on the Polish Royal Opera YouTube channel.

"I myself wrote a new drama with Greek form, Christian spirit, eternal content […]. A drama about suffering: Job". This is how the twenty-year-old Karol Wojtyła wrote about his work in 1940 in a letter to his friend – Mieczysław Kotlarczyk. The young playwright read the Old Testament tale of innocent suffering and the steadfastness of faith from a Christological perspective, and saw its parallel with the fate of Poland plunged in the horrors of war. As part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Polish Pope and the 80th anniversary of the creation of this extremely mature and symbol-rich text, the Polish Royal Opera invites you to a contemporary musical interpretation of the story of Job.

Krzesimir Dębski’s opera is full of bold juxtapositions of archaic language with modern orchestration techniques and the captivating sound of the choir’s commentary, reminiscent of a Greek tragedy. It is not without significance that the premiere of the work, originally planned for May 2020, had to be postponed due to the pandemic that spread across almost the entire world. For that same reason, it was not possible to present the concert version of the work in October 2020. Perhaps, however, all these difficult circumstances will strengthen the universal message of the work. It is, as the composer himself emphasizes, “an opera […] about the fate of a man who has fallen into misfortunes and then arises from this fall”.

More information at: www.operakrolewska.pl

Premiere of Olga Hans' "Absence"

On 24 April 2021 at 6.00 p.m. the Symphony Orchestra of the Academy of Music in Łódź conducted by Marcin Wolniewski will present music of Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Franz Joseph Haydn and Olga Hans. The concert will be broadcast on the Academy's YouTube channel.

The concert will begin with the premiere of Olga Hans' Absence for string orchestra. According to the composer, this piece was created in the last days of November 2020 as a reaction to the pandemic. The mood and thoughts that accompanied the artist at that time are perfectly reflected in Wisława Szymborska's poem Rachunek elegijny [Elegiac Calculation] – hence the title of the composition, which is the last word of this poem.

The programme will also include Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy's Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 and Joseph Haydn's Symphony in D major No. 104 – the twelfth in the series of "London Symphonies", also known as "Solomon Symphonies", after Johann Peter Salomon who organised the composer's concert tours.

The Symphony Orchestra of the Academy of Music in Łódź will perform with Adrianna Zając, winner of the Academy's Competition for the best performance of a concerto or aria. Adrianan Zając is a violin student of Ludwika Maja Tomaszewska-Klimek.

More information: http://www.amuz.lodz.pl/pl/koncerty-i-wydarzenia-zapowiedzi/kwiecien-2021/155768-koncert-symfoniczny

2021 Polish Composers' Union Honorary Award for contribution to the promotion of Polish music

On 17 March 2021 the Presidium of the Main Board of the Polish Composers' Union awarded this year's Honorary Award of the Polish Composers' Union for contribution to the promotion of Polish music. The award went to Łukasz Borowicz, Lech Dzierżanowski, Agata Kielar-Długosz and Łukasz Długosz.

Łukasz Borowicz received the Honorary Award for reintroducing and promoting unjustly forgotten symphonic and operatic works of the 19th- and 20th-century Polish music. Lech Dzierżanowski – for taking up many publishing and concert projects that successfully bring back the work of Roman Palester to musical life and for inspiring many people and institutions to join these activities. Agata Kielar-Długosz and Łukasz Długosz – for expanding the contemporary flute repertoire, for stimulating composers' creativity in this area and promoting new Polish music.

The award ceremony is planned during the 64th "Warsaw Autumn" International Festival of Contemporary Music at the headquarters of the Polish Composers' Union in Warsaw.

2021 Polish Composers' Union Award for merits in the field of music education

On 17 March 2021 the Presidium of the Main Board of the Polish Composers' Union awarded for the sixth time the Award of the Polish Composers' Union for merits in the field of music education.

The award was given to the State Primary Music School in Domosławice, represented by its headmaster Kazimierz Wojnicki and teachers Renāta Stivriņa and Grzegorz Majka – for an unprecedented programme in the field of contemporary music, employed in large artistic projects.

The Music School in Domosławice was established in 2012 on the initiative of Kazimierz Wojnicki as the first institution of this type in the Brześć poviat – it offers classes in seven branches scattered within a radius of 50 kilometers. The school has developed its own, unique, integral way of music education. It combines the acquisition of performance skills and knowledge about early music as well as active participation in the creation of modern art. The teachers of theoretical subjects are three composers and a conductor. It is the annual production of a new piece for large vocal and instrumental ensemble, written by teachers-composers especially for their students, that became the most important element of the curriculum, integrating the entire teaching process and several hundred young musicians.

The award ceremony is planned during the 64th "Warsaw Autumn" International Festival of Contemporary Music at the headquarters of the Polish Composers' Union in Warsaw.

More information at: https://www.zkp.org.pl/

17th Kazimierz Serocki International Composers' Competition

The Polish Society for Contemporary Music announces the 17th Kazimierz Serocki International Composers' Competition under the honorary patronage of the Polish Composers' Union. The deadline for entries is 1 September 2021.

The competition is open to composers of all ages and nationalities. More than one score per composer is permitted. The piece should be written for chamber ensemble of 3 to 5 instruments. The use of live electronics and tape is not permitted. Duration of the piece should be from 10 to 16 minutes.

The prize pool is PLN 25,000. The youngest winner of the Competition will receive the PWM's Edition Special Prize. The jury will consist of composers: Paweł Łukaszewski, Dariusz Przybylski and Paul Patterson.

The awarded compositions will be performed on 6 November 2021 at the Władysław Szpilman Polish Radio Concert Studio in Warsaw, at a special concert organised by the ISCM Polish Section and Polish Radio Channel 2. The concert will be broadcasted and offered to all members of the European Broadcasting Union.

Co-financed under the "Music" programme operated by the Institute of Music and Dance.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

Rules and regulations are available at: https://ptmw.art.pl/serocki-2021

"Res Facta Nova" Discussion Meeting: Centenary of Prof. Michał Bristiger (1921-2021)

1 August 2021 marks the centenary of the birth of Prof. Michał Bristiger (1921-2016). To celebrate this occasion, the editors of the "Res Facta Nova" journal invite you on 23 April 2021 at 6.00 p.m. to an online meeting dedicated to the famous Polish musicologist.

Prof. Michał Bristiger, an honorary member of the Polish Composers' Union, taught theory and aesthetics of music as well as music history at the University of Warsaw, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and at the PhD programme of the Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He conducted research as a senior fellow at the Institut für die Wissenschaften von Menschen in Vienna. He co-organized several dozen Polish-Italian musicological conferences. From 1983 he collaborated with the Musicological Institute of the University of Palermo. In the years 1992-1998 he was permanently employed as a professor of music at the University of Calabria in Arcavacata di Rende and he lectured at the Macerata-Fermo University. From 1967 he was the editor-in-chief of the journal "Res Facta", which he founded and which was later re-issued as "Res Facta Nova", and the accompanying periodical "Res Facta Library".

The upcoming meeting will be attended by editors of the 18th volume of the periodical "Michał Bristiger (1921-2016) in memoriam" as well as Karol Berger, Daniel Cichy, Aleksander Laskowski, Barbara Przybyszewska-Jarmińska, Monika Prusak, Anna Tenczyńska, and Sławomir Wieczorek.

The meeting will be held on the ZOOM platform with live-streaming on the YouTube channel of the Institute of Musicology at the University of Wrocław. To receive the meeting ID, please contact the organisers at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.