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, , 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 .

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 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 , 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. Later on, in the years 2013–2016, this function was performed by Benjamin Shwartz. It was with him that the orchestra started working on, among others, a planned series of recordings of works written by Polish contemporary composers (the first CD, featur- ing Paweł Mykietyn’s symphonic works, was released in spring 2017) and produced the season that marked Wrocław’s tenure as European Capital of Culture in 2016.

Benjanim Shwartz, photo: Łukasz Rajchert Giancarlo Guerrero, 2018, photo: Joanna Stoga Yulianna Avdeeva, 2018, photo:Sławek Przerwa

ince 2017, the artistic director of the ensemble has been Giancarlo Guerrero, a re- S spected conductor and multiple Grammy Award winner. The orchestra regularly performs with outstanding soloists, such as Piotr Anderszewski, Yulianna Avdeeva, Radek Baborák, Seong-Jin Cho, Boris Giltburg, Kevin Kenner, Mariusz Kwiecień, Elis- abeth Leonskaja, Jan Lisiecki, Marcin Masecki, Midori, Alexei Ogrintchouk, Garrick Ohlsson, Julian Rachlin, Sondra Radvanovsky, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, István Várdai and Janusz Wawrowski. As part of the Jazztopad Festival, the orchestra has performed on stage with legendary jazz musicians such as Terence Blanchard, Charles Lloyd, Brad Mehldau and Wadada Leo Smith. The NFM Wrocław Philharmonic frequently performs under the baton of outstanding conductors and carries out prestigious recording pro- jects. In recent years, it has been led by Giovanni Antonini, Andrzej Boreyko, Philippe Herreweghe, Tõnu Kaljuste, Paul McCreesh, Eiji Oue, Ken-David Masur, Krzysztof Pen- derecki, Stanisław Skrowaczewski and Antoni Wit, among others. Charles Lloyd, 2019, photo: Sławek Przerwa Main Hall NFM, photo: Sławek Przerwa

n 2014, on the initiative of director Andrzej Kosendiak, the Wrocław Philharmonic I and the International Wratislavia Cantans Festival were joined together, resulting in the creation of the National Forum of Music. Through this move, the symphony orchestra received a new home that is excellent in terms of acoustics, and changed its name to the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic. The opening of the Witold Lutosławski National Forum of Music, which took place on 4 September 2015, was awarded the Coryphaeus of Polish Music 2016 in the ‘Event of the year’ category. The construction of the NFM was a catalyst for changes in the musical life of Wrocław, and for the sym- phony orchestra. Outstanding young instrumentalists were employed, and top-qual- ity instruments were purchased, including excellent historic cellos, and violas, double basses, a set of wind and percussion instruments, and harps. Thanks to these changes, the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic is now one of the leading Polish orchestras, performing in the most important halls around Europe and the world.

Andrzej Kosendiak, photo: Łukasz Rajchert Cover of one of the albums from the Witold Lutosławski. Opera omnia series, with recordings by Stanisław Skrowaczewski

Arvo Pärt: The Symphonies album cover Stanisław Skrowaczewski, 2016, photo: Sławek Przerwa

n important part of the NFM Wrocław Philharmon- A ic’s activity is promoting symphonic music of the 20th and 21st centuries and collaborating with contemporary composers. The orchestra regularly performs pieces com- missioned by the National Forum of Music; so far these have included works by, among others, Grażyna Pstrokoń- ska-Nawratil, Elżbieta Sikora and Paweł Mykietyn. The ensemble is carrying out the phonographic project Witold Lutosławski. Opera omnia (CD Accord). The second album of the series – Symphonies No. 2 and 4 conducted by Jacek Kaspszyk – received a Fryderyk award in 2011. In 2013, to- gether with Stanisław Skrowaczewski, the orchestra re- corded Witold Lutosławski’s Symphony No. 1 and Concerto for Orchestra, and in 2018, a set of four symphonies by Arvo

Pärt was recorded under the direction of Tõnu Kaljuste. Tõnu Kaljuste, 2018, photo: Sławek Przerwa Piotr Anderszewski, 2020 r, photo: Joanna Stoga David Fray, 2019, photo: Bogusław Beszłej

he orchestra regularly performs in the most important concert halls around the T world. In 2012, it toured the United States, with the musicians playing 14 con- certs under the baton of Jacek Kaspszyk, at venues in West Palm Beach, Miami, Vero Beach, Gainesville, Greenville, Naperville, Cedar Falls, Northridge and Tucson. In Jan- uary and February 2020, the orchestra performed again in the USA, at venues in Chi- cago, Nashville, Greenville and Stanford, among others. It was led by the current ar- tistic director Giancarlo Guerrero, and the soloists featured in the concerts were Piotr Anderszewski, David Fray, Bomsori Kim and Janusz Wawrowski. The orchestra has also played in many places that are important to European musical culture, such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Tonhalle in Zürich, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, the Brucknerhaus in Linz and the Frauenkirche in Dresden. In recent years, the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic has also performed in other cities around Austria and Germany, as well as in Belgium, Croatia, Estonia, Lithuania, Serbia and Sweden.

Bomsori Kim and Rafał Blechacz, 2019, photo: Sławek Przerwa Radek Baborák and Michael Schønwandt, 2019 r, photo: Joanna Stoga Giancarlo Guerrero and NFM Wrocław Philharmonic, 2017, photo: Karol Sokołowski

Ken-David Masur, 2020, photo: Joanna Stoga , 2017, photo: Karol Sokołowski Artists performing George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess as part of the Sondra Radvanovsky, 2019, photo: Sławek Przerwa 54th International Festival Wratislavia Cantans in 2019 (photo by Sławek Przerwa)

Midori i Eiji Oue, 2017, photo: Karol Sokołowski Pablo Ferrández, 2019, photo: Joanna Stoga I would like to express my sincere thanks to the Wrocław Philharmonic Orchestra for their excellent work during rehearsals and great concert. I wish you a new, beautiful hall and further development.

Stanisław Skrowaczewski, 23 October 2004

Wrocław, 4.03.05 Best wishes on the 50th anniversary. Congratulations and the best thanks for the wonderful joint music making to all my colleagues from the wonderful Wrocław Philharmonic. See you soon. I am grateful to my dear colleagues from the Wrocław Philharmonic Orchestra for so many Thank you very much for the short With great friendship, Jacek Kaspszyk beautiful performances of my compositions. but very fruitful collaboration and an excellent concert. Wojciech Kilar, 3.09.2004

Krzysztof Penderecki, 5 May 06 (“September Symphony”) Elisabeth Leonskaja, 2018, photo: Sławek Przerwa Paul McCreesh, 2018, photo: Sławek Przerwa

lbums recorded by the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic have won prestigious awards A of the phonographic industry. The album of Hector Berlioz’s Grande Messe des Morts, which was recorded under the direction of Paul McCreesh, was recommended by BBC Music Magazine in 2012 when the monthly magazine awarded it in the ‘Tech- nical Excellence’ category. In 2011, the album Witold Lutosławski. Opera omnia 02 with Symphonies No. 2 and 4, recorded under the direction of Jacek Kaspszyk, received a Fry- deryk in the category ‘Album of the Year – Symphonic and Concert Music’. A year later, another recording from this series, Witold Lutosławski. Opera omnia 03 with Preludes and Fugue for 12 string instruments and Double Concerto for oboe, harp and chamber orchestra, was nominated for this award in the same category as the previous album. The album Paweł Mykietyn, recorded under the baton of Benjamin Shwartz and with the participa- tion of Łukasz Długosz, was nominated for a Fryderyk in 2018 in the category ‘Album of the year – contemporary music’. The album Arvo Pärt: The Symphonies, recorded under the direction of Tõnu Kaljuste, was nominated for this award in 2019 in the category Alexei Ogrintchouk i Robert Spano, 2019, photo: Sławek Przerwa ‘Best Polish album recorded abroad’, and also received the prestigious International Classical Music Award in the ‘Contemporary’ category. The text of this exhibition was prepared on the basis of articles by Beata Maciejewska, written in 2014-2015 at the request of the NFM (Wrocław Philharmonic). Orchestra directors from 1945 until today:

Stefan Syryłło 1945–1947

Kazimierz Wiłkomirski 1947–1952

Adam Kopyciński (principal conductor), Andrzej Markowski, 1984, archive of the NFM Józef Lasocki (conductor and artistic director) 1954–1958

Adam Kopyciński 1958–1961

Radomir Reszke 1961–1963 Marek Pijarowski, 1984, archive of the NFM Włodzimierz Ormicki 1963–1965

Andrzej Markowski 1965–1968

Tadeusz Strugała 1969–1980

Marek Pijarowski 1980–2001

Mariusz Smolij 2002–2004

Jan Latham-Koenig 2004–2005

Jacek Kaspszyk 2006–2013 Tadeusz Strugała, 1976, archive of the NFM

Benjamin Shwartz 2013–2016

Giancarlo Guerrero from 2017 Benjamin Shwartz, 2014, photo: Łukasz Rajchert Jacek Kaspszyk, 1999, archive of the NFM Artists of the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic

First violins Bassoons Radosław Pujanek (principal concertmaster), Marcin Danilewski (concertmaster), Dariusz Katarzyna Zdybel-Nam, Alicja Kieruzalska, Blicharski, Bartosz Bober, Dorota Bobrowicz, Elżbieta Bolsewicz, Maria Brzuchowska, Józef Czichy, Bernard Mulik Ewa Dragon, Beata Dziekańska, Jowita Kłopocka, Anita Koźlak, Malwina Kotz, Danuta Drogowska, Sylwia Puchalska, Beata Solnicka, Dorota Tokarek, Anna Undak, Karolina Horns Bartoszek Mateusz Feliński, Adam Wolny, Łukasz Łacny, Czesław Czopka, Jan Grela, Robert Wasik Second violins Wojciech Hazuka, Tomasz Bolsewicz, Wioletta Porębska, Tomasz Kwieciński, Wojciech Trumpets Bolsewicz, Zuzanna Dudzic-Karkulowska, Alicja Iwanowicz, Krzysztof Iwanowicz, Aleksander Kobus, Piotr Bugaj, Aleksander Zalewski, Marzanna Kałużny, Lilianna Koman-Blicharska, Małgorzata Kosendiak, Ewa Kowol-Stencel, Paweł Spychała, Justyna Maliczowska Andrzej Michna, Dorota Stawinoga-Morawiec, Marzena Wojsa Trombones Violas Eloy Panizo Padrón, Paweł Maliczowski, Artur Tokarek, Artur Rozmysłowicz, Bożena Nawojska, Magdalena Dobosz, Paweł Brzychcy, Wojciech Nycz, Mariusz Syrowatko Bogusława Dmochowska, Marlena Grodzicka-Myślak, Ewa Hofman, Michał Mazur, Jolanta Tuba Mielus, Aleksandra Wiśniewska, Aleksandra Zych, Wojciech Koczur, Wiktor Rudzik Piotr Kosiński Cellos Percussion Maciej Młodawski, Maciej Kłopocki, Wojciech Fudala, Jan Skopowski, Sylwia Matuszyńska, Miłosz Rutkowski, Aleksandra Gołaj, Ewa Dymek-Kuś, Lidia Broszkiewicz, Radosław Gruba, Anna Korecka, Dorota Kosendiak, Adrian Schmid, Camille Bialas Robert Stencel, Miłosz Drogowski Timpani Double basses Diego Yañez Busto, Jacek Wota Janusz Musiał, Damian Kalla, Krzysztof Królicki, Czesław Kurtok, Jacek Sosna, Jan Galik, Marek Politański, Paulina Rosłaniec Harp Malwina Lipiec-Rozmysłowicz Flutes Jan Krzeszowiec, Ewa Mizerska, Małgorzata Świętoń, Henryk Rymarczuk Saxophone Władysław Kosendiak (associate) Oboes Wojciech Merena, Justyna Stanek, Waldemar Korpak Piano Alina Wojtowicz (associate) Cor anglais, oboe Stefan Małek

Clarinets Maciej Dobosz, Jan Tatarczyk, Mariola Molczyk, Michał Siciński, Arkadiusz Kwieciński JOIN US AT A CONCERT!

Wrocław, NFM, Main Hall

4.10.2020 / 6 pm The Great Anniversary Inaguration of the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic season A. Kosendiak, M. Dobosz, A. Turalska, J. Lezhneva, K.A. Krzeszowiak, M. Godlewski, NFM Choir, A. Franków-Żelazny NFM Wrocław Philrarmonic, photo: Łukasz Rajchert

23.10.2020 / 7 pm Bomsori Kim and NFM Wrocław Philharmonic G. Guerrero, B. Kim

6.11.2020 / 7 pm Dialogue with Mozart B. Akiki, A. Kieruzalska

13.11.2020 / 7 pm Carmen Fantasy B. Akiki, J. Krzeszowiec

4.12.2020 / 7 pm Rococo Variations G. Guerrero, T. Daroch

11.12.2020 / 7 pm Musical Confession G. Guerrero, R. Pujanek

18.12.2020 / 7 pm From the very first moment I stood in front of this orchestra, I felt a strong bond with it. I do not know Heroic Symphony why. And if you ask the musicians, they will surely answer that they don’t know either. It just happens. M. Venzago, P. Alexewicz Not only was I impressed by the beautiful city and the great concert hall, but from the very first note played by the orchestra, I felt that there was something special about these musicians.

Tickets +48 71 715 97 00 / NFM.WROCLAW.PL Giancarlo Guerrero Artistic director of the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic

Presenter: NFM – City of Wrocław institution of culture co-managed by: The project is part of the commemoration of the centenary of regaining NFM Sponsors: NFM Donor: NFM Media Partners: independence and rebuilding Polish statehood