NFM Wrocław Philharmonic with Artistic Director Giancarlo Guerrero
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
1945–2020 NFM Wrocław Philharmonic with artistic director Giancarlo Guerrero, photo: Łukasz Rajchert 2020 is a special milestone in the cultural life of Wrocław – this year we celebrate not only the fifth anniversary of the National Forum of Music but also the 75th anniversary of the city’s symphony orchestra, the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic. The orchestra’s history is complicated, but it truly reflects the story of the capital of Lower Silesia. We invite you to discover the history of our ensemble! Over 70 years ago, the primary concern for the first Polish Old Town, Wrocław, 1944 (photo: public domain) musicians in Wrocław was simply survival. But I think it was just as important for them to share the beauty, even amid the rubble. Andrzej Kosendiak Director of the Witold Lutosławski National Forum of Music Former City Theatre, currently the Opera House (in the background), where the orchestra’s first concert took place View from pl. Wolności, Wrocław, where the NFM is currently located, around 1946 (photo from the collection of Wratislaviae Amici, polska-org.pl) Invitation for Grażyna Bacewicz to inaugurate the artistic season 1947/1948 at the Wrocław Philharmonic Poster announcing a concert conducted by Stanisław Skrowaczewski, crowning the 1946/1947 artistic season he first concert of the Wrocław Philharmonic took place on 29 June 1945, as part T of the city’s Sea Days celebrations. There were only five Poles in the orchestra at that time, and one of them was its founder, the violinist and conductor Stefan Syryłło. The audience gathered in the building at ul. Świdnicka, where the Wrocław Opera is now housed. Works by Polish and Russian composers were performed: Fryderyk Cho- pin, Stanisław Moniuszko, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Franciszek Ksawery Szarwenka. The concert was an important event in the history of the city, which was still destroyed at that time – a symbol of a return to normal existence and old customs. The orchestra’s performance was so appreciated by the military com- mander that he ordered 100 litres of wine to be sent to the Municipal Theatre. On 27 August of the same year, the famous violinist Eugenia Umińska performed in Wrocław, playing compositions by Feliks Nowowiejski, Mieczysław Karłowicz, Fryderyk Chopin and Henryk Wieniawski. In the 1946/1947 season, Stanisław Skrowaczewski was appointed as the second conductor. This world-famous maestro gained his professional experience here in the Announcement of the government plenipotentiary for the registration of musical instruments, 1945 capital of Lower Silesia. Poster announcing the opening concert of the 1947/1948 artistic Poster announcing the concert held on 20 August 1948, season. Kazimierz Wiłkomirski was the conductor, and the solo conducted by Kazimierz Wiłkomirski violin part was performed by Eugenia Umińska with Anna Stella Schic on the piano Poster announcing the concert conducted by Andrzej Panufnik, with Irena Dubiska as soloist, held on 13 August 1948 t the beginning of the 1947/1948 season, the cellist and conductor Kazimierz A Wiłkomirski joined as director. He greatly contributed to the orchestra’s development by bringing many great soloists and conductors to Wrocław. It was thanks to him that one could listen to performances by such pianists as Zbigniew Drzewiecki, Stanisław Szpinalski, Bolesław Woytowicz, Władysław Kędra or Ryszard Bakst. The orchestra was then conducted by Zdzisław Górzyński, Stanisław Wisłocki and Andrzej Panufnik. At that time, the Wrocław ensemble performed a double function, as it not only gave symphonic concerts but also accompanied opera performances. Poster announcing the concert on 17 November 1946, conducted by Kazimierz Wiłkomirski with the solo violin part performed by Wanda Wiłkomirska In memory of the day on which we “christened” Britten’s concerto together, in memory of our brave and probably not the worst performance – none of us have ever heard it before! – in a word, in memory of the day of the premiere. Your devoted Wanda Wiłkomirska Wrocław, May 28, 1965 hen the Wrocław Opera was nationalised on 1 September 1949, the orchestra W was installed in the opera orchestra pit, resulting in the suspension of sym- phonic concerts for another five years. The Wrocław Symphony Orchestra began its permanent activity as a separate ensemble in 1954. Its director and artistic director at the time was Adam Kopyciński, and its principal conductor Józef Lasocki. On 21 Octo- ber 1954, under Kopyciński’s baton, the first concert took place, featuring compositions by Fryderyk Chopin, Ferenc Liszt and Mieczysław Karłowicz. The concerto soloist was Halina Czerny-Stefańska, and her performance was warmly appreciated by the audi- ence. Interest in the event was so great that tickets sold out in a few hours, and the management responded by promising music lovers two additional concerts. Things coincide strangely in life sometimes, and so one of my first performances after the war, in the fall of 1945, was in Wrocław – on the stage of the Opera House – and now I am glad that I had the opportunity to take part in a concert in which Wrocław celebrates its musical 20th anniversary. Therefore, for this celebration, I performed the work of Michał Spisak, a Silesian, who died this year in Paris. Eugenia Umińska 7 May 1965 Na dobruju naszu [Good luck] À la Philharmonie de Wroclaw en m’excusant pour Sviatoslav Richter, 15 December 1964 l’horrible concert, vraiment Pardon! [Asking for forgiveness for this terrible concert at the Wrocław Philharmonic, I am really sorry.] Martha Argerich, 1965 he renewed orchestra became very active. Over the next four seasons as many T as 248 concerts were staged, attended by approximately 100,000 listeners. On 1 August 1958, the institution changed its name to the State Philharmonic in Wrocław, with Kopyciński keeping his role as its director. The best pianists of that time performed with the orchestra, including the enthusiastically applauded winners and jurors of the Chopin Competition such as Lew Oborin, the winner of the first edition of the competi- tion in 1927. The winner of the fifth edition of the competition – Adam Harasiewicz – became the undisputed star of the concert series and the idol of the Wrocław audience, and the world-famous player Witold Małcużyński also performed here. In 1961 Radomir Reszke became the new artistic director and principal conductor. This artist did not ignore the importance of the latest music; during his leadership the Philharmonic, together with the Polish Composers Union, organised the Music Festival of Western Composers. In 1964, it became the nationwide Festival of Polish Contemporary Music, and in 1988 it was renamed Musica Polonica Nova, the title under which it operates to this day. Martha Argerich, photo: Dick DeMarsico, Library of Congress In the 1970s, Tadeusz Strugała became head of the facility, working not only as conductor but also as manager. Stru- gała brought outstanding soloists to Wrocław, educated the audience and successfully attracted them to concerts, and he also organised foreign trips for the orchestra. The tour to the Berlin Philharmonic in 1972, during which Józef Elsner’s Passion was performed, was particularly prestigious. The orchestra’s programme at that time was still mainly based on subscription symphonic concerts, but it also staged cycles of Chopin recitals and chamber, organ and choral concerts, as well as the ‘Philharmonic for the Young’ educational series aimed at students. The capital Andrzej Markowski, archive of the NFM of Lower Silesia had numerous visits from piano virtuosos such as Garrick Ohlsson, Louis Kentner, Zoltán Kocsis and Krystian Zimerman (winner of the ninth edition of the Chopin Competition), and Sviatoslav Richter also returned to Wrocław. n the 1960s, the most outstanding pianists gave concerts in Wrocław, including I Sviatoslav Richter and Martha Argerich. In 1965, the great conductor and com- poser Andrzej Markowski, who gave concerts all over the world, became the direc- tor of the State Philharmonic. In just three seasons, he significantly raised the level of the orchestra, hiring a number of new musicians and broadening the repertoire across the concert series that attracted large audiences: Concert Concerts and Recitals of Conductors. He also established the International Festival Wratislavia Cantans, which soon became one of the most important musical events in Poland. Before the Philharmonic acquired its own home in 1968, with a hall seating 470 people at today’s ul. Piłsudskiego, the orchestra performed in the hall of the Wrocław Univer- sity of Technology at Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego. Tadeusz Strugała, archive of the NFM Marek Pijarowski, archive of the NFM Antoni Wit, archive of the NFM Jerzy Maksymiuk, archive of the NFM n 1980, Marek Pijarowski, who was only 29 years old at the time, became the head I of the Wrocław Philharmonic. Despite his young age, he already enjoyed great recognition as a conductor. Pijarowski headed the facility until 2001. Great soloists came to Wrocław during that time – violinists Roman Totenberg, Oleg Kagan, Wadim Brodski and Midori, as well as pianists Nikita Magaloff and several winners of the 1980 Chopin Competition, including Dang Tai Son from Vietnam. Such outstanding conductors as Antoni Wit and Jerzy Maksymiuk also performed with the orchestra. During Pijarowski’s tenure, in 1994 Witold Lutosławski became the patron of the Wrocław Philharmonic. During this period, the orchestra also began to go on more trips abroad and concert tours. Witold Lutosławski during a concert in Wrocław in 1993 (photo: archive of the NFM) Jacek Kaspszyk, photo: Sławek Przerwa Paweł Mykietyn i Marcin Zdunik, photo: Karol Sokołowski ince 2005, the institution has been managed by Andrzej Kosendiak. A year after S his appointment, the position of artistic director of the orchestra was taken over by Jacek Kaspszyk, a conductor valued for his interpretations of late Romantic music. He held this role until 2013 and significantly contributed to the ensemble’s development.