Karol Szymanowski
A concert featuring the music of acclaimed Polish composer Karol Szymanowski took place in Minsk this November with the Belarus State Symphonic Orchestra
The Pro Musica Viva foundation, the concert's organisers, also plans to hold a concert in Kiev.
The concerts feature symphonic orchestras as well as the combined Minsk and Kiev choirs and Polish performers- the conductor Roman Rewakowicz and pianist Jan Krzysztof Broja. The foundation's partners in both Minsk and Kiev include the Minsk Philharmonic and the National Symphonic Orchestra of Ukraine. The Polish Institute in Minsk is a co-supporter of the project.
Programme:
Szymanowski – Concert Overture, Op. 12
Szymanowski – 'Concert' Symphony Nr. 4, Op. 60
Szymanowski – 'Harnasie' Ballet, Op. 55 (concert performance).
Performers:
Belarus State Symphonic Orchestra of Minsk
G. Shirmy Belarus State Choir of Minsk
Jana Krzysztofa Broja – piano
Roman Rewakowicz – conductor
The concert presented both Karol Szymanowski's early and late works, thereby illustrating the spectrum of the composer's musical influences. The Concert Overture, Op. 12 is a work very much influenced by the wave of German expressionism, fashionable at the time and particularly prevalent through the compositions of Richard Strauss. The 'Concert' Symphony Nr. 4 and the "Harnasie" Ballet present the composer's latter mature and unique style, in which folk music and especially highlander ('góralskie') music plays a significant role.
The concert featured as part of the concert season of the Belarus State Philharmonic. It took place in one of Minsk's most prestigious concert halls -the Belarus State Philharmonic Concert Hall- a venue frequently used by the Belarus State Choir as well as symphonic orchestras, chamber music orchestras and groups showcasing contemporary music, such as the soloist group 'Classic Avantgarde'.
For the seasonal programme, see: www.philharmonic.by
For more information, see:
www.bpo.by
www.instpol.by
www.pmv.org.pl
Date: 12th of November, 2011
Venue: the Belarus State Philharmonic Concert Hall, Minsk
Organised by: 'Pro Musica Viva' Foundation, the Belarus State Philharmonic, Polish Institute in Minsk
Project cofinanced by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland.
Source: Adam Mickiewicz Institute