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On March 9, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. in the Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio of the Polish Radio in Warsaw, the Jerzy Semkow Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra and Klaudiusz Baran, the rector of the Fryderyk Chopin Warsaw University of Music, will perform wroks by Szabelski, Riepnikow, Prokofiev.

Finished in 1951, Symphony No. 7, a four-part composition which is traditional in its form, proved to be Prokofiev’s last work. It was created in the dark times of Stalinism, when the composer was in disgrace of the oppressive government. The work’s premiere was the composer’s last concert, as he died on the exact same day as the murderous Soviet dictator, which made Prokofiev’s death and funeral almost unnoticed… Undeservedly, Opus ultimum, a beautiful and moving piece, has gained less popularity than his other symphonies.

Albin Repnikov is one of the most popular accordionists – the master of an instrument that has always been particularly beloved in Russia. Many pieces from his interesting and abundant repertoire belong to the ‘canon’ and are played at almost every competition. Accordion Concerto No. 3, showing composer's great imagination and the rich tones of accordion, will be performed by one of the most notable Polish virtuosos: Klaudiusz Baran, currently the rector of the Fryderyk Chopin Warsaw University of Music.

Another work to be recalled is Bolesław Szabelski’s Etude for orchestra – a relatively unknown, yet interesting piece composed in 1938 when Szabelski worked in a newly established conservatoire of Katowice (after a period during the war when he fought in the Home Army, he continued to work as a teacher). Katowice was also the city where the work’s premiere was hosted. The same school (currently known as Academy of Music) was attended by Maciej Tomasiewicz – formerly associated with Archetti Chamber Orchestra – who will conduct the concert. His artistic achievements include performances with a variety of important ensembles in Poland and abroad.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

More information at: http://sinfoniaiuventus.pl/ 

On March 8, 2019 at 7.00 p.m., Jerzy Przeździecki and Andrzej Karałow will perform at the Heavens of Copernicus Planetarium in Warsaw.

An improvised spontaneous story that guides the listener through stylistically diverse moments which attempt to create their own world. A world in which color is a dominant form-generating element of a common musical language. Wandering through the internal soundscapes of instruments such as the Buchla Music Easel synthesizer, modular synthesizer, piano or DSI Prophet 6, artists take the challenge to map these seemingly different musical lands and merge them into a single, organic whole.

Andrzej Karałow is a pianist and composer. He lectures at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw at the Department of Composition, Conducting and Theory of Music and pursue doctoral studies in composition under the guidance of Professor Aleksander Kościów. He graduated with honors from the FCUM in the piano class of Professor Bronisława Kawalla and in the composition class of Professor Stanisław Moryto. In 2017, he received Magna Cum Laude distinction at his alma mater. He is a laureate of many Polish and international piano and composing competitions. In 2018/19, he became a mentor in the London Philharmonic Orchestra Young Composers Programme. In March 2018, he released his first original album Wir recorded in a duet with Jerzy Przeździecki, a producer of electronics, who performed at the "Warsaw Autumn" and at the largest electronic music festivals.

More information at: http://www.niebokopernika.pl/repertuar/repertoire/detail/cosmic-live-electronic-jerzy-przezdziecki-i-andrzej-karalow/ 

The protagonists of the concert at the National Forum of Music in Wrocław will be artists playing with the Silius Trio. On March 7, 2019 at 7.00 p.m. they will invite music lovers to an unusual meeting with chamber music of the 19th and 20th centuries.

The Silius Trio collaborating with the National Forum of Music bring together musicians known for their varied concert activities. The unusual love for music, which is the driving force behind all the activities of the members of the Silius Trio, motivates them to constantly search for repertoire. This time, the artists will present outstanding chamber music from Bohemia.

When talking about Czech music, Antonín Dvořák's works cannot be ignored. His Piano Trio in F minor, Op. 65 – a work full of intense emotions, characterised by the panache typical of orchestral music. The extraordinary ease of creating chamber music was also a feature of Bohuslav Martinů, called "the fourth classic of Czech music" (after Smetana, Dvořák and Janáček). Among the rich and diverse chamber works by this composer, we find the Bergerettes cycle from 1939, containing five charming miniatures referring to French classical music.

In addition to the compositions by Czech composers, the concert programme includes Andrzej Panufnik's Piano Trio, opening the catalogue of the composer's works. It was written in 1934 and performed for the first time in 1936 by Stanisław Jarzębski (violin), Józef Bakman (cello) and Mieczysław Wajnberg. During World War II, just as all the other scores of the composer written by 1944, it was lost in a fire, but in 1945 Panufnik reconstructed it from memory.

More information at:: https://www.nfm.wroclaw.pl/component/nfmcalendar/event/6723 

The 3rd International Festival of Piano Duets is a unique event not only in Poland, but also in Europe. Between 3-6 March 2019, at the Stanisław Moniuszko Gdańsk Academy of Music, we will see perform as many as nine award-winning piano duos.

Piano duets rarely play in concert halls because of the requirement of having two grand pianos on the stage. This does not contitute a problem for the Music Academy in Gdańsk, which has such instruments in its Concert Hall. The International Festival of Piano Duets will start on 3 March at 7.00 p.m. with the extraordinary recital of Genova & Dimitrov Piano Duo from Germany. In the next three days (March 4-6), there will be two concerts daily, at 4.00 and at 7.00 p.m. Among the festival guests, we will find well-known Polish ensembles, including Ravel Piano Duo (winner of the "Fryderyk" award), Granat & Kreda Piano Duo, Furmańska & Kuchniak Piano Duo, Godziński Piano Duo, and Piórkowski & Sikała Piano Duo, as well as international musicians, like Sakamoto sisters from Japan, Kopeliuk & Sediuk from Ukraine, and Sherniakova & Berezan from Russia.

The repertoire for piano duets includes both pieces for four hands (with one piano), as well as for two pianos. During the festival, we will listen to, among others, works by Jerzy Bauer, Witold Lutosławski, Roman Maciejewski, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Romauld Twardowski, and Władysław Żeleński. The concerts will give the opportunity to get acquainted with these beautiful repertoire and compare different styles and international interpretations.

Admission to all the events is free!

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

Full programme available at: http://www.amuz.gda.pl/events/iii-miedzynarodowy-festiwal-duetow-fortepianowych/ 

Marcin Józef Żebrowski Music School Complex in Częstochowa cordially invites you to the 1st Wanda Wiłkomirska Violin Competition of Polish Music, which will be held on February 28 – March 5, 2019.

The competition will feature 111 young performers in three age categories. The jury is composed of: Łukasz Błaszczyk, Piotr Tarcholik, Jakub Jakowicz, Anna Maria Staśkiewicz, Radosław Pujanek, and Aleksandra Szwejkowska-Belica – the artistic director of the competition. Young violinists will have the opportunity to participate in consultations with the jury members, master classes and lectures. They will compete for prizes funded by the Marshal of Silesian Voivodeship Jakub Chełstowski as well as a violin made by Janina Pawlikowska from Krakow and a master bow from the studio of Marcin Mazur from Łódź. Apart from valuable material prizes, the winners will also take part in the concerts organized by different musical institutions in the country.

The competition will be accompanied by concerts of Polish music, as part of the celebrations of the bicentenary of the birth of Stanisław Moniuszko and the 50th anniversary of the death of the outstanding Polish composer and violinist Grażyna Bacewicz. On February 28 at the Jasna Góra Basilica, the Symphony Orchestra of the Częstochowa Music School Complex under Miłosz Kula and the violinist Wojciech Nidziółka will perform works by Stanisław Moniuszko, Witold Lutosławski and Henryk Wieniawski. The Town Hall – Częstochowa Museum, for four consecutive days will host auditions and, on Monday, March 4, a concert of the laureates. The whole project will end with a concert "Grażyna Bacewicz in memoriam" at the Częstochowa Museum on March 5, featuring Cezary Sanecki, Aleksandra Szwejkowska-Belica and Maria Belica.

All the competition events, like auditions, concerts, workshops or lectures, are open to public.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

More information at: http://www.zsmuz.czest.pl/i-konkurs-skrzypcowy-muzyki-polskiej-im-wandy-wilkomirskiej/