Performers

Now called the Orchestra of the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera in Warsaw, it traces its origins back to the National Theatre directed by Wojciech Bogusławski. In that period the operatic ensemble was led by two eminent Polish composers-conductors, Józef Elsner and
Karol Kurpiński.

As a professional choir, it began to perform in 1953 under Zbigniew Soja. Its successive directors have been: Roman Kuklewicz (1955–1971), Józef Bok (1971–1974), Antoni Szaliński (1974–1978), Henryk Wojnarowski (1978–2016), and Bartosz Michałowski (since January 2017).

Founded in 1901; its first music director and conductor was Emil Młynarski. Over the years, it has been directed by the best Polish conductors, such as Witold Rowicki, Bohdan Wodiczko, Tadeusz Strugała, and Kazimierz Kord, who all significantly contributed to the Orchestra’s standards and repertoire. Under Antoni Wit (the Orchestra’s director in 2002–2013), the Warsaw Philharmonic ensembles recorded more than fifty frequently awarded albums, including two Grammy-winning CDs.

Born in Rybnik, Poland in 1994; a saxophone player and composer. He initially learned the cello, taking up the sax only after several years. A graduate of Copenhagen’s Rytmisk Musikkonservatorium and Kraków’s Academy of Music, he studied with such teachers as Lee Konitz, Steve Lehman, and David Binney, among others.

The Great Symphony Orchestra of Polish Radio (WOSPR) in Katowice (now as the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, NOSPR) was founded in 1935 in Warsaw by Grzegorz Fitelberg, who directed it until World War II. In 1945 it was reactivated by Witold Rowicki in Katowice.

Born in Dunajowce (now Dunaivtsi in Ukraine), he learned the piano with Aleksander Wielhorski. He studied at universities in Kiev (a doctorate in Slavic philology) and Warsaw (law and mathemat-ics), as well as piano with Aleksander Michałowski and composition with Felicjan Szopski and Witold Maliszewski at the conservatory in Warsaw. He continued his composition studies with Nadia Boulanger in Paris (1929–1932).
In 1927 he received an honourable mention in the 1st International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw.

NFM Orchestra (formerly Wrocław Symphony, and
Wrocław State Philharmonic in 1958–2014) is now
part of the National Forum of Music, established in
2014 on the initiative of Andrzej Kosendiak. Witold
Lutosławski has been the Orchestra’s patron since
1994.