SINFONIA VARSOVIA
Founded in 1984 on the basis of an extended complement of Polish Chamber Orchestra members in order to perform in concert with Yehudi Menuhin (its later principal guest conductor). Krzysztof Penderecki collaborated with the orchestra for many years as its music director (from 1997) and artistic head (2003–2020). The post of principal guest conductor was held in 2001–2004 by José Cura, while Marc Minkowski was its music director in 2008–2012.
The Sinfonia Varsovia has performed concerts worldwide in the most prestigious venues and at wellknown festivals including Menuhin Festival Gstaad, Pablo Casals Festival in Prades, Beethovenfest Bonn, and regular appearances at La Folle Journée, whose Polish edition (Szalone Dni Muzyki) it has organised since 2010 in Warsaw. The Orchestra also co-organises the ‘Sinfonia Varsovia to Its City’ festival.
The Orchestra has performed under such eminent conductors as Claudio Abbado, Charles Dutoit, Paul McCreesh, and Lorin Maazel, with soloists including Martha Argerich, Maria João Pires, Gidon Kremer, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Mischa Maisky, and Jean-Pierre Rampal. It has presented Polish and world premieres of compositions by John Adams, Lutosławski, Penderecki, Mykietyn, Ptaszyńska, Szymański, and others. It has recorded more than 300 albums under such labels as Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI, Naïve, Virgin Classics, and others. Many of them have won record prizes and distinctions, including the Diapason d’Or, Diapason Découverte, Grand Prix du Disque, Echo Klassik, and about a dozen Fryderyk Awards.