Autumn evenings filled with music written mainly by Polish composers is Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra’s proposal for this month. In November, our listeners will have an opportunity to listen to the Orchestra in full force at no fewer than three concerts – at the 6th Ignacy Jan Paderewski International Festival, on the stage of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music and at the EUFONIE International Music Festival of Central-Eastern Europe. Our home at Grochowska Street will feature a meeting with chamber music as part of the continuing Sinfonia Varsovia Chamber Music series. This will be repeated at the Świt Centre of Culture in the Targówek district.
A concert in the Sinfonia Varsovia Chamber Music series will take place on the first Wednesday of the month (6 November, 7:00 p.m.). This time, the Orchestra’s musicians will present works written for a septet. An ensemble of seven musicians: Adam Siebers (violin), Radosław Soroka (clarinet), Szymon Michalik (bassoon), Jan Harasimowicz (cornet), Mariusz Opaliński (trombone), Michał Sobuś (double bass), Piotr Kostrzewa (percussion) and Cezary Nowak (narrator) will perform Igor Stravinsky’s “L’Histoire du Soldat”. This exceptional work combines tradition and modernity, music and theatre, classical music and jazz, and is driven not by melody or harmony, but rhythm.
An identical performance will take place on 20 November at 7:00 p.m. on the stage of the Świt Centre of Culture in the Targówek district. (Sinfonia Varsovia Chamber Music
– Within Reach)
Admission to both concerts is free.
One day before Independence Day (10 November, 6:00 p.m.), musicians of the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra under the direction of Ian Hobson will appear at the 6th Ignacy Jan Paderewski International Festival in the Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio of Polish Radio. The Festival’s closing concert features works written by its patron – the Overture in E-flat major and the Piano Concerto in A minor Op. 17. The latter work is well liked and valued in Polish music for the piano. The Concerto is a dialogue of sorts between the solo instrument (played by Szymon Nehring) with the orchestra. The concerto contains references to folk music, including elements of the mazurka. The expressiveness of the outer movements intertwines with the lyrical character of the middle movement, but the structure as a whole remains clear, consistent and attractive to the listener. The concert will close with the first performance of Moritz Moszkowski’s 2nd Orchestral Suite Op. 47. For many years the composer was a forgotten figure, but his music is now being discovered anew. For more information and tickets please visit www.avearte.pl
Five days later (15 November, 7:00 p.m.), Sinfonia Varsovia under the direction of Gabriel Chmura will appear on the stage of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music to perform works written by three Polish composers: Stanisław Moniuszko’s “Fairy Tale” fantastic overture, Wojciech Kilar’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with renowned pianist Janusz Olejniczak as soloist and Mieczysław Weinberg’s Symphony No. 4 in A minor Op. 61. Moniuszko was a composer with an extraordinary talent for instrumentation, endowed with a sensitivity to the tone of individual groups of instruments. In his youth, Kilar was a promising piano virtuoso – this is evident in his approach to the instrument and in how he combines the soloist’s part with the orchestra. This will not be the first time that Sinfonia Varsovia and Janusz Olejniczak are playing this work. In 2002 they have played (and recorded) the very first performance of the work, with Jerzy Maksymiuk conducting. This year is Mieczysław Weinberg’s 100th birthday. In his works, the composer strived to achieve neo-classical harmony, clarity and lucidity of form. The 4th Symphony is a very good example of these characteristics. Tickets are available at www.chopin.edu.pl
23 November is the last day of the 2nd EUFONIE International Music Festival of Central-Eastern Europe and the birthday of Krzysztof Penderecki, the artistic director of the Orchestra, which will perform the composer’s Polish Requiem. The work is closely linked to events from Poland’s recent history. It was written in a period spanning 26 years and is one of the most important works in Penderecki’s output. It refers to the extensive tradition of the genre and contains references to death and salvation, using various means to underline the dramatic aspects of the work. The Requiem will be performed by Sinfonia Varsovia, the National Philharmonic Choir and a cast of renowned soloists: Iwona Hossa (soprano), Anna Radziejewska (alto), Rafał Bartmiński (tenor) and Tomasz Konieczny (bass), with Zsolt Nagy conducting. Tickets are available at www.bilety24.pl
As every month, the Orchestra’s home features concerts for its youngest listeners – Smykofonia at Grochowska Street. “Autumn Tales” will take place on 16 and 17 November, with music by F. Poulenc, C. Saint-Saens, T. Lalliet, H. Brod, P. Tchaikovsky and R. Paciorkiewicz. Together with the hosts, the audience will look for sounds of nature hidden within the works. singing and dancing for everyone will be led by Violetta Łabanow-Jastrząb with musicians: Aleksandra Rojek (oboe), Leszek Wachnik (bassoon) and Mirosław Feldgebel (piano). Tickets for children and parents are available at www.ebilet.pl
