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.

A versatile pianist, composer and arranger, working in the fields of both classical and popular music. Prize-winner of numerous competitions at home and abroad, he has performed on four continents in such venues as New York’s Carnegie Hall, Chicago Symphony Hall, Washington’s Kennedy Center, Osaka’s Izumi Hall, and the Philharmonie Berlin. He is a member of Lutosławski Piano Duo and Kwadrofonik.

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.

Composer, double-bassist, and music event organiser, Wielecki studied double bass with Alfred Wieczorek and Andrzej Mysiński, composition with Włodzimierz Kotoński at the Warsaw Academy of Music (now the Chopin University of Music). He continued his composition studies with Isang Yun in West Berlin and with Klaus Huber in Freiburg im Breisgau. He took part in summer courses in Wzdów, Kazimierz Dolny, and Darmstadt (to which he returned after two decades as a lecturer).

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.