Sinfonia Varsovia – a concert to commemorate the 74th anniversary of the outbreak of Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Two days after the 74th anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, we will commemorate its heroes with the concert of Sinfonia Varsovia. The orchestra will perform pieces by Mieczysław Weinberg, Władysław Szpilman and Richard Addinsell. The audience will also listen to a first performance of a piece by Jerzy Maksymiuk, who will conduct the orchestra.
- 21 April, 8 PM, free admission, reservation required
Free tickets to the concert will be available for booking at www.bilety.polin.pl on the following dates:
- 5 April, from 12 noon
- 12 April, from 12 noon
- 19 April, from 12 noon.
The programme of the evening will include:
- Jerzy Maksymiuk: A Lonely Star over Be’er Sheva
- Mieczysław Weinberg: 4th Symphony, op. 61
*** - Władysław Szpilman – Concertino for piano and orchestra
- Richard Addinsell – Warsaw Concerto for piano and orchestra
Władysław Szpilman’s Concertino was composed in 1940 in the Warsaw Ghetto. Working on the piece served as a self-defence shield against the atrocities of the surrounding reality. The first performance of the piece took place in Los Angeles.
Warsaw concert of Richard Addinsell made the composer hugely famous. It was written in 1941 as a soundtrack to Dangerous Moonlight, a film about a Polish pilot-pianist during the Second World War.
The 4th Symphony of Mieczysław Weinberg. Danuta Gwizdalanka on Weinberg’s 4th Symphony (material from the National Philharmonics recording published by the Warner Classics): “40 year old Weinberg had already composed three symphonies (1st from 1942, 2nd from 1946, 3rd from 1949 – none of them performed) when he sat down to write his fourth. He might have expected that his new oeuvre would meet a similar fate – at best, he would play it from time to time on the piano to his friends, or perhaps someone would read the score. That is why he dedicated the piece to such a prospective “reader” - his younger colleague, composer Revol Bunin. Unexpectedly, the new decade turned out to be a golden one for Weinberg. His music was widely performed, both the old and new compositions. On 16 October 1961, the 4th Symphony was performed for the first time by the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Kirill Kondrashin. While preparing the piece for its premiere, the composer introduced minor changes to the score – he changed the sequence of free movements and removed their titles.”
Performers:
- Marek Bracha – grand piano
- Sinfonia Varsovia
- Jerzy Maksymiuk – conductor
About the soloist:
Marek Bracha – educated in Warsaw and London, Marek is considered one of the most interesting Polish pianist of his generation. His manner of playing is noble and graceful, his musical expression aloof and refined. The artist feels most at ease in the classic and romantic repertoire, which he performs on both contemporary and historic instruments alike, with great success. However, he does not keep off contemporary music and has numerous first performances of new music pieces to his name. Aside from his performances, Marek also lectures and runs workshops dedicated to playing historic instruments. He has been popularizing Polish music worldwide (i.a. China, Japan, Italy, Greece, Germany, Algeria, Ethiopia, Chile) and regularly cooperates with conductors such as: Alun Francis, José Maria Florêncio or Jacek Kaspszyk. As for the chamber music, he has performed with Tobias Koch, Marcin Masecki, Maciej Frąckiewicz as well as with ensembles such as: String Quartet, Royal String Quartet and Meccore String Quartet.
Biography of Jerzy Maksymiuk >>
History of the Sinfonia Varsovia orchestra >>
Organizers
Partners
In 2016, the Museum of the History of Polish Jews purchased a sound, lighting and multimedia systems, thus broadening the access to its cultural offer and increasing its quality. The purchase was supported financially by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage and Association of the Jewish Historical Institute of Poland.
