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The Association of Polish Chamber Musicians – Kraków Branch returns with a unique music and artistic university of the third century. The "Intergenerational Academy of Music: Kraków / Dobczyce" will be held on 13 September – 14 December 2020 at Villa Decius in Kraków and the Mayor M. Pawlak Regional Educational and Sports Centre in Dobczyce.

The project involves a series of four artistic and educational meetings in each town, including classical music recitals, lectures and meetings with artists. The idea of ​​the project is to present chamber music that derives from home and salon music making. In addition, the concept of the series refers to the tradition of musical societies. The assumption is that the repertoire should be both ambitious and attractive, engaging for a multigenerational audience (grandparents and grandchildren), and presented by the best performers, who will also meet with the listeners and talk about their interpretations of musical works.

Each concert will take place in two venues: Villa Decius in Krakóww and Mayor M. Pawlak Regional Educational and Sports Centre in Dobczyce. The list of performers will include outstanding Polish artists: pianists Julia Samojło, Monika Gardoń-Preinl, Wioletta Fluda-Tkaczyk, violinist Maria Sławek, clarinetist Piotr Lato, and the Extra Sounds Ensemble led by Alicja Śmietana. We will hear pieces by Roman Ryterband, Stefan Kisielewski, Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński, Mieczysław Weinberg, and Ludwig van Beethoven.

Full programme is available at: https://www.facebook.com/stowarzyszeniekameralistow 

The Three Marys oratorio will be premiere by Les Femmes ensemble on 13 September 2020 at 7.00 p.m. in the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Pruszcz Gdański. We will have the opportunity to watch and listen to the work of Anna Rocławska-Musiałczyk under the direction of Piotr Jamioł both live and in broadcast. At a time when the gothic cathedrals are burning, three Marys – the heroines of the medieval mystery play – descend from the altar and speak up.

The Three Marys oratorio tells the story of the title women: Mary – Mother of God, Mary Magdalene and Mary of Clopas, accompanying Jesus in his passion and resurrection. The sculptures and painted figures of the Holy Women "come to life" and "descend from the altar" in Crucifixion – a late medieval Antwerp polyptych currently located in the National Museum in Warsaw. Sophisticated costumes designed by Małgorzata Sosińska-Wasik are almost exact copies of the sculptures' robes, while Cyprian Wieczorkowski's set design refers to gothic stained glass windows.

Anna Rocławska-Musiałczyk uses texts from the Old and New Testaments, old church songs and contemporary religious poetry – their common denominator is the Marian theme, focusing on the history of the three Marys. The new sound shape of songs and the sum of all the elements of the work ultimately transform the performance into a mystery play. The oratorio beautifully and harmoniously combines tradition with modernity: “The Three Marys presents an innovative approach, both in terms of form, performance and selection of texts. It is difficult to find a piece that would address this subject musically in a similar way", explains the composer. The work for three voices and chamber ensemble has a thoroughly universal message. The women from the altar are crying out for hope and joy of life. The Three Marys is a mystery play about the aesthetics of beauty and universal values.

Live broadcast will be available on Les Femmes Opera You Tube Channel.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

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The 12th edition of the “Music on the Heights” International Chamber Music Festival, organised by the Mieczysław Karłowicz Association in Zakopane, will run from 12 to 19 September 2020.

The “Music on the Heights” International Chamber Music Festival has been held every year in Zakopane, southern Poland, since 2009. The festival’s name refers both to the Tatra mountains which lie next to Zakopane, the resort town where the festival is held, and is also a reference to the high quality of music performed.The event promotes artists associated with Zakopane, as well as the city itself on the national and international arena.

This year's programme will feature works by Stanisław Moniuszko, Zygmunt Noskowski, Mieczysław Karłowicz, Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, Tomasz Sikorski, Paweł Szymański and Paweł Mykietyn. The concerts will take place in the Holy Cross Church, Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz Theatre, as well as in Our Lady of Częstochowa Church at Pęksowy Brzyzek. This year's guests of the "Discussion Club on the Hights" series will be conductor Bassem Samir Akiki, baritone Szymon Komasa, harpsichordist Małgorzata Sarbak, Belcea Quartet and violinist Elias David Moncado. Moncad's performance during the inaugural concert is the award of the director of the "Music on the Heights" Festival, Paweł Mykietyn for winning the 1st prize in the 5th International Karol Lipiński Violin Competition in Toruń in 2019. The concerts will be accompanied by numerous cultural events, including screening of the film Second concerto for cello and orchestra directed by Maciej Stuhr with music by Paweł Mykietyn, interactive educational concert and exhibitions.

Free admission!

More information at: http://www.muzykanaszczytach.com 

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the post-war Polish film industry and education. The two upcoming recitals as part of the "Pianos of Freedom" series in Łódź will be dedicated to film music. Witold Janiak will present melodies from popular animated films on 12 September 2020 at 12.30 p.m. at the Schiller Passage. Adam Kośmieja will interpret the most famous pieces of film music composed by Poles on 13 September 2020 at 4.00 p.m. in Fuzja Łódź.

The project, which consists of piano chamber concerts organised in the city space of Łódź, was initiated by the Soundedit Festival in 2018. The upcoming September concerts will feature pianists associated with Łódź and Bydgoszcz.

Composer, pianist and organist Witold Janiak teaches jazz piano, harmony and improvisation at the Academy of Music in Łódź. He is a winner of many industry awards. He has performed with leading Polish musicians and released six original albums. The artist also wrote music for the musical Dlaczego Maciek nie poszedł do nieba. Adam Kośmieja is a rising star of Polish avant-garde pianism. He has performed, among others, at the famous Carnegie Hall or at the Festival of Contemporary Music in Beijing. After studying in Poland, he graduated from the Manhattan School of Music in the piano class of Solomon Mikowsky. He was awarded the Harold and Helen Schonberg scholarship, dedicated to the memory of the eminent music critic of 'The New York Times'. Currently, as a PhD holder, he is a lecturer at the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz.

On 12 September Witold Janiak will present works by Piotr Hertl, Andrzej Korzyński and others, including themes from animated films Miś Uszatek, Przygody misia Colargola and Akademia Pana Kleksa. The organizers invite whole families to this concert. On Sunday, 13 September, Adam Kośmieja will perform famous pieces of film muisic composed by Wojciech Kilar, Waldemar Kazanecki, Zbigniew Preisner and Krzesimir Dębski.

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

The Silesian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra will naugurate its 76th artistic season on 11 September 2020 at 7.00 p.m. with works by Henryk Mikołaj Górecki and Ludwig van Beethoven. Janusz Wawrowski, considered one of the greatest Polish violinists of his generation, will perform as a soloist.

The new season will open with the work of the patron of the Silesian Philharmonic – Henryk Mikołaj Górecki's Three Dances, Op. 34 for orchestra. The Silesian Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Marcin Nałęcz-Niesiołowski will also perform works by Ludwig van Beethoven on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of his birth.

Janusz Wawrowski, who – courtesy of Roman Ziemian – plays the Antonio Stradivari violin built in 1685, will perform the solo part in Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61. The work with an extremely melodious violin part requires sensitivity and virtuosity from the soloist, especially in the final rondeau. The concert finale will feature Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92, dedicated to Count Moritz von Fries. The work was called by Richard Wagner 'the apotheosis of dance'.

More information: https://filharmonia-slaska.eu/