official patronage

The "Czas Sztuki" Foundation invites you to a series of concerts "County Review of Polish Music". Three different concerts composed of the most beautiful pieces of Polish classical music will be held between 27 September and 8 November 2020.

The first concert will take place on 27 September in the Holy Trinity Church in Latowicz, after the church service at 1 p.m. The Time Quartet will perform chamber works by Stanisław Moniuszko, Fryderyk Chopin, Grażyna Bacewicz and Ignacy Jan Paderewski.

The second concert will be held on the same day at the Municipal Cultural Centre in Mrozy at 5.00 p.m. Violinist Maksymilian Grzesiak and pianist Aleksandra Dallali will present virtuoso works by Henryk Wieniawski, Karol Szymanowski, Fryderyk Chopin and Ignacy Jan Paderewski.

During the last concert on 8 November at 12.00 p.m. in the Church of St. Adalbert the Bishop and Martyr in Jeruzal, soprano Katarzyna Wiwer and organist Zuzanna Bator will perform songs by Stanisław Moniuszko and Fryderyk Chopin.

Co-financed from the budget of the Mińsk County. Free admission!

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

More information at: https://www.facebook.com/fundacjaczassztuki/ 

Online broadcast of the fifth concert summarizing the online workshops for young musicians "Don't be afraid to improvise!", organised by the Art Deco Group Music Agency, will be held on 10 October 2020 at 11.30 and 13.30 p.m. This time, we will hear the results of classes conducted by composer and pianist Jarosław Siwiński and actor and director of plays for children Grzegorz Ociepka.

The workshops are free of charge and are intended for children learning to sing or play any instruments at music schools or institutions that conduct music classes. During the workshops, children learn about contemporary music and methods of improvisation and they take part in exercises and games that will help them absorb the knowledge more easily. In this project, it is very important to make music together and collaborate in a group, so children participate in classes with their instruments and actively improvise under the guidance of the teachers.

During the upcoming concert, which will be broadcast live from the Warsaw Quality Studio in cooperation with Rec Audio, everyone will meet live for the first time and make music together.

Co-financed by the National Centre for Culture as part of the "Culture on the Web" programme.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

The concert will be available online at: www.artdecogroup.eu and www.facebook.com/adgagencja 

TVP Kultura will announce the winners of the tenth edition of the Coryphaeus of Polish Music Award on 7 November 2020. Artists nominated by the Polish music community will receive statuettes in the following categories: "Personality of the year", "Event of the year", "Honorary award" and "Discovery of the year". Online voting ends on 9 October.

During the session on 30 September, the Music Programme Board of the Institute of Music and Dance selected nominees in all categories from among 187 submitted applications.

The following artists will compete for the Coryphaeus of Polish Music 2020 in the "Personality of the year" category: Adam Bałdych; Łukasz Długosz; Anna Szostak-Myrczek; Adam Sztaba; Lutosławski Piano Duo.

Chances of becoming the "Event of the year" have: the Stanisław Moniuszko Sacred Music Festival; the Kromer Biecz Festival; the musical Letter from Warsaw from the repertoire of the Warsaw Chamber Opera; the premiere of the album Gismondo, Re di Polonia with a recording of Leonardo Vinci's opera performed by the {oh!} Historical Orchestra; the premiere of the opera Drach by Aleksander Nowak at the AUKSODRONE Festival.

The nominees for the "Discovery of the Year" award are: Maniucha Bikont; Aleksandra Olczyk; Tomasz Skweres; Dominik Wania; Polish Violin Duo.

Due to the nature of the "Honorary Award", the name of the laureate will not be announced until the awards gala, but the candidates will be voted on by the Electoral College.

The audience can vote in the "Discovery of the Year" category on the website www.koryfeusz.org.pl until 9 October. The winners in the other three categories will be selected in a secret ballot of the Electoral College.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

Nominees' profiles and events' descriptions are available on the website: www.koryfeusz.org.pl 

The Organ and Chamber Music Festival will be held on 16-18 October 2020 as part of the 1st Organ Music Days in Sanok, initiated by Łukasz Kot – chairman of the Pro Artis Association based in Sanok. The aim of the festival is to popularize organ and chamber music in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship and to present works of early and contemporary composers.

The event will feature famous artists from different parts of Poland: organists Piotr Rojek, artistic director of the Festival (Wrocław), Roman Perucki (Gdańsk), Henryk Jan Botor (Tychy – Kraków), flautists Łukasz Długosz and Agata Kielar-Długosz (Gdańsk). The programme will include works by Jakub Sowa, Feliks Nowowiejski, Henryk Jan Botor, as well as Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, Georg Friedrich Handel, Henri Mull, Felix Mendelssohn, Gabriel Fauré, Louis Vierny. We will also hear organ improvisations on themes suggested by the audience.

Free concerts will take place in the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Sanok. In addition, Improvisation Master Course for students of secondary music schools will be held at the Wanda Kossakowa Primary and Secondary State Music School in Sanok.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

The audience's favourite, the second prize winner at the 2010 Chopin Piano Competition, Ingolf Wunder will perform on 10 October 2020 at 11.00 a.m. in the anniversary repertoire together with Sinfonietta Cracovia under the baton of its director Jurek Dybał on the newly renowated stage of the Kraków Philharmonic.

2020 is not only a year of extraordinary circumstances, it is above all a Beethoven year. It also marks the 210th anniversary of Fryderyk Chopin's birth. Sinfonietta Cracovia will celebrate both anniversaries during a Beethoven concert tour to the adopted homeland of the famous Viennese classic, which will be inaugurated in Kraków.

Kraków audience will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the bucolic Symphony No. 4 and the lively phrases of the String Quartet No. 11 "Serioso" by Ludwig van Beethoven. Ingolf Wunder will present his skills in Fryderyk Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 written in the brillant style.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

Information on tickets at: www.sinfonietta.pl 

The Elbląg Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Jakub Chrenowicz will premiere Mikołaj Majkusiak's Concerto in G on 11 October 2020 at 6.00 p.m. in the concert hall of the State Music School Complex in Elbląg.

The programme of concert will include works by Polish masters. In the first part, we will hear Mikołaj Piotr Górecki's Divertimento for string orchestra and Concerto-Notturno for violin and string orchestra. The son of Henryk Mikołaj Górecki successfully continues the family tradition and is recognized on both sides of the Atlantic (currently he lives in the USA). The solo part in Concerto-Notturno will be performed by the son of another outstanding musician – violinist Jakub Jakowicz. The Elbląg Chamber Orchestra will also present Wojciech Kilar's Orawa and – for the first time – Mikołaj Majkusiak's Concerto in G for string orchestra. The piece was written as part of the "Composing Commissions" programme carried out by the Institute of Music and Dance.

The concert is under the patronage of PWM Edition as part of the TUTTI.pl project promoting the performance of Polish music.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

Information on tickets at: https://eok.elblag.eu/ 

Free improvisation workshops for children "Tell me a story", organized by the Polish Society for Contemporary Music, will be held on 15-17 October 2020 in the Culture Centre in Krajenka, the  Eugeniusz Paukszta City and Commune Public Library in Skoki and the Culture Center in Środa Wielkopolska.

This time, the classes will be conducted by vocalist Iza Kowalewska, double bass player Małgorzata Kołcz and composer Jarosław Siwiński. The adventure with improvisation will be guided by actor and director of plays for children, Grzegorz Ociepka. During the classes, children aged 3-5 and 6-8 will learn, play and improvise in the company of their parents, great musicians and amazing books.

The main idea of ​​the project is to trigger graphic-inspired improvisations. Children will create their own stories based on picture books. The improvised fairy tales will be then "translated" into musical language under the guidance of class teachers. Improvisation is the most basic, primary and joyful form of music performance, which is why the workshops combine children's creativity and imagination with books and contemporary music. In addition to improvising and playing with books, children will learn various techniques of producing sound, which expose its color and dynamic values, and will also have a chance to play percussion instruments on their own.

Classes last about 90 minutes with a short break. Participation in the workshops is free – due to the limited number of places prior registration is required.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

More information at: https://www.facebook.com/ptmw1923 

The Association of Polish Chamber Musicians – Kraków Branch, as part of the "Culture on the web" programme of the National Centre for Cultre, has implemented an innovative project "Children's chamber music online and at home" covering about 1100 minutes of recordings of Polish chamber music. Starting from 14 October 2020, the materials will be available in the new con.sol.la mobile application and on the YouTube channel of PWM Edition, which is a partner of the project.

"Children's chamber music online and at home" includes recordings of individual parts of children's instrumental duets published by PWM Edition, enabling ensemble playing at home, remote learning and social isolation. The project consists of over 375 audio and audio-video recordings of duet pieces.

Among them there are compositions by outstanding contemporary composers, such as Hanna Kulenty, Grażyna Bacewicz, Janina Garścia and Romuald Twardowski. For each work, recordings of individual parts were prepared in two different tempos to enable ensemble playing by students of various education levels, and to encourage amateur musicians. Model versions were also prepared for each piece.

The recordings at BBrecords Studio were performed by excellent musicians: Ravel Piano Duo, Anna Maria Staśkiewicz (violin), Joanna Konarzewska (violin), Julia Samojło (piano), Piotr Gach (cello), Michał Panasiuk (cello), Maria Sławek (violin) and Anna Kuk (violin).

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

Project website: http://spmk.com.pl/ 

The Polish Composers' Union – Krakow Branch invites you to the 32nd Krakow International Festival of Composers, which will be held on 17-25 October 2020. We will hear 16 world premieres and 3 Polish premieres.

During this year’s 32nd Festival, traditionally the output of the composers from Kraków in the context of the international music will be presented. The repertoire will be enriched by the compositions inspired by nature, such as: Wyspy (Islands) by Eugeniusz Knapik, Warkocz Bereniki (Coma Berenices) by Jerzy Kornowicz, Sounds of Forest by Sofia Gubaidulina or Le merle noir (Blackbird) by Olivier Messiaen.

During the inaugural concert, we will hear the composition by Krzysztof Penderecki: Ciaccona in memoria del Giovanni Paolo II, performed by Sinfonietta Cracovia under the baton of Jurek Dybał. It will be a special event commemorating our Master from Kraków who passed away this year as well as the 100th birth anniversary of the Polish Pope. During this concert, the orchestra will also premiere e.g. the newest pieces of Wojciech Widłak and Kamil Kruk (the part of musical saw played by the composer himself). The tradition of the festival is the annual concert of the Studio of Electroacoustic Music at the Academy of Music in Kraków. This year, at the concert titled “Electronic Cocktail”, the newest works by the music composition students will be presented, most of them being at the same time the world premieres.

The important element of the programme of the 32nd Festival is the 3rd Krzysztof Penderecki International Competition for Young Composers, inaugurated on his 85th birth anniversary. This year’s jury awarded the Main Prize to the piece Streams… contacts for flute and piano, the author of which is Austrian composer Otto Wanke (b. 1989).

The festival will be complemented by the musicological session “Music and nature”, during which the speeches will be given by theoreticians from the Academy of Music in Kraków and the Institute of Musicology of the Jagiellonian University.

Due to the dynamically developing pandemic of Covid-19 in Krakow, all festival concerts will unfortunately take place without the audience. Live broadcasts of the concerts will be available on our festival websites: http://festiwal.zkp.krakow.pl; http://facebook.com/festiwalkompozytorow. 

Marcel Chyrzyński, General and Artistic Director

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

Full programme is available at: http://festiwal.zkp.krakow.pl/