Time 19:00
The "Nowa Miodowa” Concert Hall in Warsaw, Rakowiecka 21
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Wojciech Kilar began exploring the possibilities of sonorism in the 1960s, shaping – together with Krzysztof Penderecki and Henryk Mikołaj Górecki – the style of the so-called Polish avant-garde. This stage left a lasting mark on his work, though the famous Orawa from 1986 belongs to a different trend – one inspired by the traditional music of the Podhale region. Captivating in its spontaneity, enchanting in its structure, captivating in its fervor, the composition leaves the listener no moment’s respite from the first note to the final “Hey!”. The expressive character of Polish Highlander folklore is perfectly in line with the motoric pulse, changing harmony, and texture that thickens with the development of the narrative.
Grażyna Bacewicz was not indifferent to the sonoristic technique either. “There’s a lot going on in my music, it’s predatory and, at the same time, lyrical,” wrote Grażyna Bacewicz in a survey for the Polish music periodical “Ruch Muzyczny”. Her Divertimento from 1965, concise in form yet incredibly rich in expression, seems to be a perfect embodiment of this duality. Take, for instance, the tritone interval – how sharp it sounds in the opening section of the work, and how much gentleness it carries in the nostalgic middle part, just to sparkle mischievously in the fiery finale.
The audience will surely appreciate the rarely performed yet highly intriguing in terms of sound, form, and texture Little Suite for orchestra (1986) by Andrzej Nikodemowicz. The piece will be performed in honor of the 100th anniversary of the birth of its composer – a Lviv native who made significant contributions to Polish musical culture. The concert will culminate in the Lithuanian Rhapsody from 1906 by Mieczysław Karłowicz, born in the Vilnius region. Knowing that he would never return to his native Vishnev (currently in Belarus), he tried to encapsulate in this composition – as he wrote in a letter to Adolf Chybiński – “all the sorrow, sadness, and eternal captivity of this people, whose songs resounded in my childhood”. The moving symphonic poem is devoid of a literary program, and yet, the title and the quotes from authentic Belarusian folk melodies inscribed into the brilliant orchestral narrative fully reflect the melancholy of the composition.
PROGRAM
Wojciech Kilar (1932-2013) – Orawa for chamber string orchestra
Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-1969) – Divertimento for string orchestra
Allegro / Adagio / Giocoso
Andrzej Nikodemowicz (1925-2017) – Little Suite for orchestra
Mieczysław Karłowicz (1876-1909) – Lithuanian Rhapsody Op. 11
PERFORMERS
THE ORCHESTRA OF THE POLISH ROYAL OPERA
LILIANNA KRYCH CONDUCTOR
Duration: approx. 1 hour
