Renowned director and composer Krzysztof Penderecki presented Polish chamber pieces, performed by the Sinfonietta Cracovia, at the Moscow “Small Festival” of Polish Chamber Music
The two-day festival presented chamber music from the best Polish composers and musicians, as well as pieces from two Russian greats. The first day featured a concert directed by Krzysztof Penderecki with the Sinfonietta Cracovia and Robert Kabara as a soloist. The programme included Penderecki's Concerto for Viola, Percussion, Celeste and Orchestra, Grażyna Bacewicz's Concerto for String Orchestra, and Piotr Tchaikovsky's “Souvenir de Florence (Version for String Orchestra)”. The festival's second day featured several young Polish soloists, including Janusz Wawrowski (violin), Anna Maria Staśkiewicz (violin), Katarzyna Budnik-Gałązka (viola), Marcin Zdunik (cello) and Magdalena Bojanowicz (cello), accompanid by Ewa Pobłocka on the piano. The musicians played Witold Maliszewski's String Quintet in D-minor op. 3, Igor Stravinsky's “Italian Suite” and Juliusz Zarębski's Piano Quintet G-minor op. 34.
The event was a huge success and the Sinfonietta finished their concerts to a standing ovation from the Russian audiencs and a call for an encore.
The festival was organised by the Kraków Industrial Society which, since 1996, has been putting on classical music events within Poland that earned an award or cultural promotion from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage in 2006. The “Small Festival” in Moscow was the organisation's first attempt to present Polish classical music outside of the country and it was put together as a special event under Poland's 2011 EU Presidency.
The “Small Festival” took place on the 14th – 15th of October 2011 at the Moscow State Conservatory, one of the most renowned and prestige music venues in the Russian capital. The first day's concert took place in the Small Hall, while the second day's concert was held in the Rachmaninov Room.
Date: 14 – 15 October 2011
Venue: Moscow P.I. Tchaikovsky State Conservatory, Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street 13/6
Organised by: Kraków Industrial Society
This event is cofinanced by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Reublic of Poland.