The programme of the concert, held on 6th April 2018 at the Vietnam National Academy of Music, featured Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16 by Edvard Grieg and Symphony No. 5 by Felix Mendelssohn.
In the autumn of 2017, Wojciech Czepiel conducted workshops as well as symphonic concerts in Rangoon and Hanoi. On 24th November 2017 at the Vietnam National Academy of Music in Hanoi, the orchestra under his baton performed works of Polish classical and film music: Polonaise in A major by Fryderyk Chopin, Sequence II by Wojciech Czepiel, Morskie Oko Concert Overture by Zygmunt Noskowski, Polonaise from the film Pan Tadeusz by Wojciech Kilar as well as Piano Concerto No. 5 by Ludwig van Beethoven. The concert was enthusiastically received by the audience, and as a result of good cooperation with the Academy, Wojciech Czepiel was invited to conduct the Viet Nam National Symphony Orchestra (VNSO). The ensemble is the foremost orchestra in Vietnam and the only one regularly invited to perform abroad.
Wojciech Czepiel made his conducting debut in 1981 with the Chamber Orchestra of Kraków Music Academy. Between 1982 and 1984 he worked as an assistant conductor and a concertmaster of the Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra. From 1984 to 1986 he was an artistic director and a principal conductor of the Baltic Philharmonic in Gdańsk. Between 1986 and 1990 he worked as a conductor of the Warsaw Chamber Opera. From 1990 to 1991 he was associated with the Artur Rubinstein Philharmonic in Łódź and from 1991 to 1994 he worked as a conductor and a deputy artistic director of the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Warsaw. Between 1997 and 2006 he was a chief conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of Kraków Music Academy, with whom he performed at the Beethovenfest in Bonn and at the Warsaw Autumn Festival, as well as at the Warsaw Philharmonic. From 2000 to 2013 he was an artistic director and conductor of the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra in Beirut. Wojciech Czepiel has appeared in many prestigious festivals: Midem in Cannes, Dresdner Musikfestspiele, Palermo, Forum Bratislava, Carintischer Sommer in Villach, Beethovenfest in Bonn, Al Boustan Festival in Beirut, Warsaw Autumn, Cracow Music Festival, Tunis Festival and Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Festival, where he conducted the final concert performed by the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra from Moscow. As a composer he has created music for solo instruments, chamber ensembles and for symphonic orchestra. In 2012 he was awarded the medal Gloria Artis for his artistic achievements by the Polish Minister of Culture.
Wojciech Czepiel has been working with artists from South East Asia for many years. In 2017, apart from performing with the Hanoi Philharmonic Orchestra, he also conducted the Orchestra for Myanmar and Choir in Rangoon. In addition to the concert on 6th April 2018, in the autumn of 2018 the artist will also conduct concerts on the occasion of centenary of Poland regaining independence at the invitation of the Hanoi Academy of Music.
Edited by KT, 3 Apr 2018, translated by AW, 6 Apr 2018