news

"House Party with Dwójka" – cellist Marcin Zdunik and his musical surprise

Four concerts have been already held in the series "House party with Dwójka", during which artists and friends of the Polish Radio Channel 2 invite listeners to their homes to share their music in difficult times of isolation. The next episode will be held on 16 May 2020 at 7.00 p.m. live from Marcin Zdunik's place.

The programme of the fifth evening in the series was selected by the artist who performs various music from the Renaissance to contemporary works. There will be pieces for cello solo, cello arrangements of famous works from the repertoire of classical music, and ... as a surprise – a composition written by Marcin Zdunik especially for this recital.

"The invitation to perform a solo recital as part of the "House Party with Dwójka" inspired me to pursue some new artistic ideas. I prepared new arrangements and improvisations, I also wrote a new solo work, which I called Pictures from Quarantine. By pictures I understand different attitudes and human emotions that we observe and discuss in this new reality. Life is still fascinating, " said the musician.

The concert will be broadcast on the Dwójka radio station and – in the form of video – on its website and Facebook page.

Musica Polonica Nova 2020

The National Forum of Music invites you to the Musica Polonica Nova 2020 Festival, which will take place online on 14-17 May. The Festival's artistic director is Paweł Hendrich.

The programme of the festival refers to the reality that surrounds us – it redefines what music is and sets new ways of creativity. The next edition will take place with the motto ‘daCamera’. How can it be understood?

Less Means More – this is the title of one of the festival concerts, and the organisers encourage you to perceive chamber music this way. Sometimes it is worth focusing your attention on the details in which – like in the image formed in the lens – musical beauty is emphasized. Paweł Hendrich will present his own selection of the most interesting new chamber works available on SoundCloud and Mateusz Ryczek will discuss with his guests issues such as the origins of music, and the role of voice, instruments and recorded sounds in electronic music.

This year's edition focuses on a strong presence of attractive visual layers in the works being performed. The programme will feature recordings of works written in the "Composing Commissions" programme run by the Institute of Music and Dance: Fables of Robots – co-opera by Cezary Duchnowski and Paweł Hendrich, Sursounds by Marcin Stańczyk, and MiniOpera by Katarzyna Dziewiątkowska, Joanna Woźna, Mateusz Rycz and Tomasz Skweres. Music will be combined with video art, performance art and intermedia. The image used during the concert changes the perception of sound and makes it possible to perceive the presented works in a wider context. Hear more while watching? It is worth finding out that it is so!

Festival events will be broadcast on the Musica Polonica Nova Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/musicapolonicanova

#cultureonline: webinars for artists

How to use new technologies in creative work? Does copyright work differently in the digital world? Answers to these and other questions will be provided during webinars directed to artists who are in a difficult situation due to the coronavirus pandemic and introduced restrictions.

The series of virtual meetings is the result of joint initiative of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Digital Poland Association and Fabryka Creativity Center in Łódź. The Creativity Center, where culture and technology intersect, organizes workshops, debates and training in the effective use of modern technological solutions.

From April, artists can take advantage of a special website Patronite, which enables patrons, including private individuals, to support financially their favorite artists. The digital industry has decided to introduce additional grants to selected artists participating in the project.

The series of webinars held from 7 May to 4 June 2020 will discuss such issues as: tools for promoting art in the digital world, opportunities to run a professional online music school, copyright in the digital world, and rules of building social media platforms for artists.

Webinars will be available on Facebook profiles of Fabryka Creativity Centre and #cultureonline.

European Contemporary Composers Orchestra (ECCO) 2020

The Youth Circle of the Polish Composers' Union invites its members to submit works to be considered for the15 th European Contemporary Composers Orchestra (ECCO) Concert in Luxembourg, which will take place on 6 October 2020 at the Philharmonie de Luxembourg in Luxembourg. The concert will be performed by the ensemble United Instruments of Lucilin.

In 2019, the Youth Circle of the Polish Composers' Union established cooperation with the European Contemporary Composers Orchestra. It is a project of the European Composer and Songwriter Alliance (ECSA), in which selected works from member countries are performed during conventions held twice a year in different European countries. So far, among the performers have been Ensemble Fractales, Stockholm Saxophone Quartet and Wiener Conzert-Verein.

Since 2019, the selection of composers from Poland has been narrowed to members of the PCU's Youth Circle. The scores and recordings, which parameters are specified on the ECCO website (www.eccoconcert.eu), should be send to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 15 May 2020.

Thanks to the financial support of ZAiKS, Polish composers selected by the international commission have transport and accommodation for the time of rehearsals and concerts provided. So far, Ryszard Lubieniecki's work The different view on "Layers" has been performed as part of the ECCO concert.

More information about this year's edition of the project: https://eccoconcert.eu/current-edition/call-4-works/

Piotr Moss live stream birthday concert

Experimental Workshop publishing house invites you to an online broadcast of the live concert to celebrate Piotr Moss birthday on 13 May 2020 at 4.00 p.m.

Guitarist Marcin Kozioł will present solo works from his latest album Piotr Moss: Solo & chamber works for guitar, including 5 Impromptus (1982) and Esquisses I (1984). The album was recorded at the end of 2019 on the occasion of the 70th birthday and 50th anniversary of the artistic work of outstanding Polish composer Piotr Moss. This is the first CD release of all the works, except 5 Impromptus.

The event is co-organized by the Polish Music Foundation as part of an action for artists #staywithmusic. We encourage you to support the initiative at: https://zostanzmuzyka.pl/o-cji-zostanzmuzyka/

Event participants will receive discount codes for the purchase of Marcin Kozioł's album Piotr Moss: Solo & chamber works for guitar available in the publisher's online store.

The concert will be broadcast at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsV6w3g8dtk

More information at: Facebook Event

"Culture (re)new" online forum of the European Solidarity Centre in Gdańsk

The European Solidarity Center and the Baltic Opera in Gdańsk invite you to participate in the online forum "Culture re(new)" ["Kultura (od) nowa"] on 13 May 2020 at 6.00 p.m.

The pandemic has dramatically changed our daily lives. No one was ready for social quarantine. Materials from museums, galleries, libraries, theatre halls, operas, concert halls and artists' studios have moved to the internet, which gives us a sense of community. We do not know how long the pandemic will last and when life will return to the way it was, but we know for sure that there will be a change, also in the field of culture. Questions multiply. What is the meaning of culture today? How will the current situation affect our expectations of culture in post-pandemic times? Will we find motivation to visit cultural institutions? Will we be willing to use paid content?

These issues will be discussed by Magdalena Fryze-Seroka and Dorota Brzezińska with guests of the Gdańsk European Solidarity Center – Joanna Cichocka-Gula, Arkadiusz Hronowski, Honorata Martin.

In addition, the ballet dancers of the Baltic Opera will present a dance etude choreographed by Izabela Sokołowska-Boulton and Wojciech Warszawski to the music of Beniamin Baczewski.

Join the Facebook Event.

Kinga Augustyn – Fundraising Concert for Scena Kamienica

Live from New York, on 11 May 2020 at 3.00 p.m. (USA) / 9 p.m. (Poland), excellent young Polish violinist Kinga Augustyn will perform a unique violin recital to raise funds for Scena Kamienica Theatre in Wrocław.

Scena Kamienica presents a diverse repertoire, including unique artistic projects of outstanding artists from all over Poland, cultivates the rich operetta traditions of Wrocław, host the Anna Dymna Kraków Poetry and Music Salon in Wrocław, and conducts educational activities. It also supports the Wrocław Senior Choir, which often performs during special events. The current situation related to the pandemic has caused numerous changes not only in the functioning of the world economy, but also in the artistic environment. New premieres and performances planned to celebrate the theatre anniversary artistic season of 2019/2020 were cancelled and the artists have lost the possibility to earn their living.

During the fundraising concert organized by Kinga Augustyn, we will hear her interpretations of works by Fryderyk Chopin, Aleksander Zarzycki, Krzysztof Penderecki, as well as Jules Massenet, Fritz Kreisler, Niccolò Paganini, Pablo Sarasati and Astor Piazzolla.

Join the Facebook Event.

Results of the "Culture – Interventions" 2020 programme

The National Centre for Culture announced the results of the "Culture – Interventions" grant programme, financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. In the coming months, PLN 10,000,000 will go to 277 beneficiaries throughout the country to support local cultural initiatives.

The strategic objective of the National Centre for Culture's grant programme "Culture – Interventions" is to create conditions for strengthening identity and participation in culture at regional, local, and national level through financial support for projects promoting cultural heritage and increasing the presence of culture in social life.

This year, 1,622 applications were submitted to the programme for a total amount of PLN 85.4 million. 277 projects were selected as a result of the substantive assessment. The winning projects will be implemented until 30 October 2020. The programme will support, among others, competitions, festivals, concerts, musical spectacles, happenings, performances and interdisciplinary activities.

List of applications is available at: https://bit.ly/2WMXnVw

Wojtek Blecharz's "Rechnitz. Opera" – for the first time online!

A special presentation of Wojtek Blecharz' Rechnitz. Opera directed by Katarzyna Kalwat and based on a drama by Elfriede Jelinek, a Nobel prize winning Austrian writer, will take place on 9 May 2020 at 8:00 p.m. on TR Warszawa Facebook and Vimeo pages. A meeting with the creators will take place after the performance, around 10:30 p.m.

The presentation of the Rechnitz. Opera – The Exterminating Angel, which premiere took place on 25 September 2018 at the 61st "Warsaw Autumn" International Festival of Contemporary Music, is a part of the action "Stay at home, do not leave the theater!".

The scenario of the opera presents the tragic events which took place in March 1945 in the castle of Baroness Margrit Batthyány in Austria, Rechnitz. According to the testimonies of witnesses, during the reception, issued by the Baroness Margit von Batthyány, her guests - local SS and Gestapo officers - took part in the massacre of two hundred Jewish forced laborers brought there from Hungary. The mass grave of the slaughtered labourers has never been found and the sluggish progress in the investigation made it possible for the executioners to escape. In Jelinek's play, the events at the castle in Rechnitz are described by Messengers whose relations contradict each other. The play, will not be a reconstruction of the events from 70 years ago from Rechnitz. RECHNITZ. OPERA - The Exterminating Angel is an attempt at understanding the mechanisms of collective memory. Its main theme is the language as an instrument of manipulation, lies and violence. It’s also an account of the contemporary European history, European identity, a part of which is the experience of war and Holocaust.

English and Polish closed captions available only on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user52046418