 fot. Andrzej Świetlik |
 |
"Work with no other orchestra has given me as much satisfaction as my work,
as conductor and soloist, with the SINFONIA VARSOVIA. I can say with full conviction that for many of years of working together with this orchestra, the many recordings we have made together, the numerous concerts we have played, spanning a vast repertoire of classical and contemporary music, it has always maintained the highest levels of performance. Musicians have never started a rehearsal ill-prepared. They have always been full of enthusiasm, involved in their work with precision and elegance. Music is their way of life. Such an approach is a real delight for the audience.
I congratulate the musicians and their magnificent manager Mr Franciszek Wybrańczyk for their achievements, unparalleled in the history of music-making as a company."
Yehudi Menuhin
August 29th 1991
„...they are wonderful, they are one of the best orchestras, not only in Poland.
First class.”
Martha Argerich
August 23rd 2009
In April of 1984, the legendary violinist Yehudi Menuhin was invited to Poland to perform as soloist and to conduct the Polish Chamber Orchestra. In order to match the exigencies of the planned repertoire, the orchestra increased the number of its members, inviting Poland’s finest musicians to participate in the venture. The first concerts conducted by Menuhin were enthusiastically received by audiences and appreciated by critics. The delighted lord Menuhin expressed his desire to continue working with the newly-formed ensemble. The idea of establishing a permanent orchestra, made up of stringed instruments and a doubled winds section has become fact. Yehudi Menuhin accepted the proposition of Franciszek Wybrańczyk, the ensemble’s general director and Waldemar Dąbrowski, without hesitation, becoming the chief guest conductor of the orchestra, which was named SINFONIA VARSOVIA.
The ensemble was soon invited to play concerts in the United States and Canada, with more invitations to follow – from Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Finland, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Switzerland and Greece, with more recent proposals from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. SINFONIA VARSOVIA has performed in the world’s most celebrated concert halls, including New York’s Carnegie Hall, Théatre des Champs Elysées in Paris, the Barbican Centre in London, Vienna’s Musikverein, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Suntory Hall in Tokyo and Herkulessaal in Munich. The orchestra played at renowned festivals in Salzburg, Gstaad (the Yehudi Menuhin Festival), Aix-en-Provence, Montreux, La Roque d’Anthéron, Schleswig-Holstein, the Pablo Casals Festival, Würzburg, Alte Oper (Frankfurt am Mein), the Sea Music Festival, the Beethoven Festival in Bonn, and many more. The celebrated “La Folle Journée” music festival organised by the French C.R.E.A. association and its director René Martin holds a special slot in the orchestra’s performing calendar each season. Each year, the festival adopts a different theme and is hosted by a different city around the world, including Nantes, Bilbao, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro. The festival is a unique undertaking on a world-wide scale. In June 2010, together with the C.R.E.A, the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra organised the La Folle Journée / Szalone Dni Muzyki Festival in Warsaw - "Chopin Open". From June 11 to 13, 119 concerts were performed by 450 musicians from 15 countries around the world. From September 29 to October 2 was a second edition of the La Folle Journée - "Les Titans". 85 concerts were performed by 8600 musicians from 13 countries around the world, all attended by an audience of more than 26 000.
The orchestra’s repertoire is exceptionally extensive, ranging from 18th century works to contemporary compositions. The orchestra has played Polish and world premieres of works by John Adams, Witold Lutosławski, Paweł Mykietyn, Onute Narbutaite, Krzysztof Penderecki, Marta Ptaszyńska and Paweł Szymański to name but a few.
SINFONIA VARSOVIA has performed with many distinguished conductors, including Claudio Abbado, Gerd Albrecht, Charles Dutoit, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Valery Gergiev, Hans Graf, Leopold Hager, Jacek Kaspszyk, Kazimierz Kord, Jan Krenz, Emmanuel Krivine, Witold Lutosławski, Paul McCreesh, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Yehudi Menuhin, Marc Minkowski, Grzegorz Nowak, Krzysztof Penderecki, Michel Plasson, Mstislav Rostropovich, Volker Schmidt-Gertenbach, Jerzy Semkow, George Tchitchinadze, Christopher Warren-Green, Antoni Wit and Bruno Weil.
During its numerous concerts, the orchestra has accompanied such renowned soloists as Salvatore Accardo, Piotr Anderszewski, Maurice André, Martha Argerich, Yuri Bashmet, Boris Berezovsky, Teresa Berganza, Rafał Blechacz, Alfred Brendel, José Carreras, Sarah Chang, Kyung-Wha Chung, José Cura, Placido Domingo, Augustin Dumay, Nelson Freire, James Galway, Sophie Graf, Fou Ts’ong, Sharon Kam, Kiri Te Kanawa, Nigel Kennedy, Gidon Kremer, Alicia de Larrocha, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Christa Ludwig, Radu Lupu, Albrecht Mayer, Mischa Maisky, Yehudi Menuhin, Shlomo Mintz, Olli Mustonen, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Piotr Paleczny, Olga Pasiecznik, Murray Perahia, Maria João Pires, Ivo Pogorelić, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Vadim Repin, Katia Ricciarelli, Mstislav Rostropovich, Heinrich Schiff, Howard Shelley, Henryk Szeryng, Maxim Vengerov, Andreas Vollenweider, Christian Zacharias, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Tabea Zimmermann and Grigori Zhyslin.
The orchestra devotes a significant share of its activities to promote Poland’s most talented young musicians. SINFONIA VARSOVIA has played with the conductors Iwona Sowińska, Wojciech Rodek and Krzysztof Urbański, violinists Agata Szymczewska, Jakub Jakowicz, Mariusz Patyra, Aleksandra Bucholc and Anna Gutowska, singers Iwona Sobotka and Aleksandra Kurzak, and the pianist Beata Bilińska and Jan Lisiecki.
SINFONIA VARSOVIA has made numerous recordings on compact disc and for radio and television. The orchestra boasts a discography of more than 200 albums, recorded for famous international labels: Decca, Denon Nippon Columbia, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI, Naxos, Sony, Virgin Classics, and, as well as for Polish labels, including BeArTon, CD Accord, DUX, Polskie Nagrania, and Polskie Radio. Many of these recordings received prestigious music awards, including the Diapason d’Or, Grand Prix du Disque, and, on more than one occasion, the Polish “Fryderyk” award. The orchestra’s most celebrated recordings include “Polish Symphonic Music of the 19th Century” (CD ACCORD/ POLSKIE RADIO), “Martha Argerich – Live in Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera” (CD ACCORD), Henryk Mikołaj Górecki’s Symphony no. 3 (NAIVE), Mozart’s Piano Concertos with Piotr Anderszewski as soloist (VIRGIN), a CD of works by Karol Szymanowski conducted by Jerzy Maksymiuk (BEARTON) and “The Romantic Clarinet” with the famous clarinettist Sharon Kam (EDEL CLASSICS). Two albums with works by Bach and Haendel recorded for DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON with the virtuoso German oboist Albrecht Mayer were an artistic and commercial success, topping charts for a long time. The “Polish Spirit” CD ranks as one of the group’s most successful albums to promote Polish music. Conducted by Nigel Kennedy and performed by the Polish Chamber Orchestra, the album features violin concertos by Mieczysław Karłowicz and Emil Młynarski (EMI). The orchestra’s discography also features many recordings made with lord Yehudi Menuhin as conductor, including the complete symphonies of Beethoven and Schubert, recorded in 1996 for IMG Records to celebrate the artist’s 80th birthday anniversary.
In June 2008, three albums recorded by Sinfonia Varsovia and the Polish Chamber Orchestra received the prestigious German ECHO Klassik 2008 music award. These were: WERKE FUR TROMPETE with Gábor Boldoczki (Sony/BMG Sony Classical), NEW SEASONS with Albrecht Mayer (Universal / Deutsche Grammophon) and POLISH SPIRIT with Nigel Kennedy (EMI Classics). The POLISH SPIRIT album, containing violin concertos by Karłowicz and Młynarski, was awarded the Polish “Fryderyk 2008” award in the Album of the Year – Symphonic and Concert Music category. Album with the music of Mieczysław Karłowicz and featuring Jerzy Maksymiuk as the conductor and Agata Szymczewska as violinist received two “Fryderyk 2009” awards: in the Album of the Year – Symphonic and Concert Music category and in the Outstanding Recording of Polish Music category. In 2010 CD with Fryderyk Chopin piano concertos performed by Jan Lisiecki (piano), Howard Shelley (direction) and Sinfonia Varsovia orchestra received a prestigious” Diapason Découverte” award.
In 2010 the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra devoted most of its regular activity to the celebration of the 200th birthday anniversary of Fryderyk Chopin, by preparing and performing 361 Chopin-related projects in Poland and around the world, for an audience of more than 140 000. Except for the Fryderyk Chopin Institute itself, the Orchestra had the greatest share of all Polish institutions in the celebration of the International Chopin Year.
KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI became the orchestra’s musical director in 1997 and its artistic director in July 2003, a position he still holds, often also working together with the ensemble as its conductor. The orchestra performs in Poland and abroad, playing many works by the composer, including the Sinfonietta per Archi, Sinfonietta No. 2, the Flute Concerto, the Viola Concerto (also its versions for cello and clarinet), Stabat Mater, De Profundis, as well as Credo and The Seven Gates of Jerusalem. In January 2011 the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra played the world premiere performance of Krzysztof Penderecki’s Powiało na mnie morze snów…[Songs of Reverie and Nostalgia], commissioned by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute to commemmorate the Chopin Year. Krzysztof Penderecki has recorded a number of records with the Orchestra, including an album consisting solely of his own works.Krzysztof Penderecki recorded a number of albums with the orchestra, some of them with his own works.
In June 2008 the post of the orchestra’s musical director was given to the world-famous French conductor MARC MINKOWSKI.
SINFONIA VARSOVIA frequently plays at major musical events in Poland. It is a regular guest at the Chopin and his Europe Festival, the Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival, Wratislavia Cantans, Warsaw Autumn, and the Polish Radio Music Festival. In the 2009/2010 season,
the orchestra performed in 16 countries like Germany, France, at the 18 festivals: La Folle Journée festival in Nantes, Bilbao and Tokyo, in La Roque d’Anthéron, at the Polish Radio Music Festival, at the Baltic Sea Festival in Stockholm and at the Chopin and his Europe and the Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festivals, Witold Lutosławski Festival "Chain".
Of special note is the SINFONIA VARSOVIA TO ITS CITY festival. This unique project was initiated in 2001 by Franciszek Wybrańczyk, the founder and long-time director of the orchestra. The festival is a recurring event of top artistic significance. Accessible to the public at large, the festival has become a landmark on the cultural landscape of Warsaw and is a favourite among music-lovers of the capital of Poland. The festival aims to showcase the greatest works of music literature as performed by the Sinfonia Varsovia with famous soloists and conductors. Each year, as the summer draws to a close, the orchestra performs free concerts in a plethora of venues in the capital normally not associated with mainstream cultural events. These include community centres, churches and open air concerts. The concerts are conducted by outstanding Polish conductors, including Jerzy Maksymiuk, Jacek Kaspszyk, Jan Krenz, Krzysztof Penderecki, but also by a younger generation of artists, like Wojciech Rodek, Łukasz Borowicz and Michał Dworzyński. The festival is held under the honorary auspices of the Mayor of the City of Warsaw and is organised by the Sinfonia Varsovia Foundation and by the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra.
FRANCISZEK WYBRAŃCZYK – the founder of the Sinfonia Varsovia orchestra and a major contributor to its international success, founder of the SINFONIA VARSOVIA TO ITS CITY festival, passed away on 31 May 2006. In 2007, to commemorate this remarkable man – musician, talented organiser of the Polish and European music scene, enthusiast and thoroughly charming personality – the event was renamed to the Franciszek Wybrańczyk SINFONIA VARSOVIA TO ITS CITY festival.
THE SINFONIA VARSOVIA FOUNDATION was established in the year 2000 by Franciszek Wybrańczyk. The foundation initiates and supports the orchestra’s artistic endeavours. It promotes in particular Polish composers and young talents and organises the annual SINFONIA VARSOVIA TO ITS CITY festival. The activities of the Sinfonia Varsovia Foundation are supported by the POLSERVICE Patent and Trademark Attorneys’ Office and by BANK BPH.
In 2004, Franciszek Wybrańczyk handed over the duties of the director of SINFONIA VARSOVIA to JANUSZ MARYNOWSKI – his assistant and long-time musician in the orchestra.
Until 31 December 2007, the orchestra operated from the St. I. Witkiewicz STUDIO Art Centre in Warsaw. On 1 January 2008, the SINFONIA VARSOVIA ORCHESTRA became a council cultural institution. The Orchestra’s coordinator is the CAPITAL CITY OF WARSAW.
On the 25th anniversary of its work, the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra was honoured with the title of “Zasłużony dla Warszawy” [Distinguished in Service for the City of Warsaw]. In 2010 the Ensemble has finally received a new home – the former Institute of Veterinary Science at 272 Grochowska Street in Warsaw’s Praga District. By a decision of the Council of Warsaw and Mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, an open, two-stage international competition was held for the design of a new concert hall seating 1 800 and architectural development of the property located at Grochowska Street. The Grand Prix was awarded to ATELIER THOMAS PUCHER of Graz (Austria) and its project called “The Secret Garden of Music”. The design is unusual not only in the very characteristic frame surrounding the whole property, but also in the exceptional design of the concert hall itself, combining shoebox concert hall acoustics with a vineyard seating arrangement. According to the designers, the combination will provide an unsurpassed, unique listening experience. It is the Warsaw authorities’ intention for the first performance of the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra at the new venue to take place in 2016.
The ensemble was soon invited to play concerts in the United States and Canada, with more invitations to follow – from Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Finland, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Switzerland and Greece, with more recent proposals from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. SINFONIA VARSOVIA has performed in the world’s most celebrated concert halls, including New York’s Carnegie Hall, Théatre des Champs Elysées in Paris, the Barbican Centre in London, Vienna’s Musikverein, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Suntory Hall in Tokyo and Herkulessaal in Munich. The orchestra played at renowned festivals in Salzburg, Gstaad (the Yehudi Menuhin Festival), Aix-en-Provence, Montreux, La Roque d’Anthéron, Schleswig-Holstein, the Pablo Casals Festival, Würzburg, Alte Oper (Frankfurt am Mein), the Sea Music Festival, the Beethoven Festival in Bonn, and many more. The celebrated “La Folle Journée” music festival organised by the French C.R.E.A. association and its director René Martin holds a special slot in the orchestra’s performing calendar each season. Each year, the festival adopts a different theme and is hosted by a different city around the world, including Nantes, Bilbao, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro. The festival is a unique undertaking on a world-wide scale. In June 2010, together with the C.R.E.A, the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra organised the La Folle Journée / Szalone Dni Muzyki Festival in Warsaw - "Chopin Open". From June 11 to 13, 119 concerts were performed by 450 musicians from 15 countries around the world. From September 29 to October 2 was a second edition of the La Folle Journée - "Les Titans". 85 concerts were performed by 8600 musicians from 13 countries around the world, all attended by an audience of more than 26 000.
The orchestra’s repertoire is exceptionally extensive, ranging from 18th century works to contemporary compositions. The orchestra has played Polish and world premieres of works by John Adams, Witold Lutosławski, Paweł Mykietyn, Onute Narbutaite, Krzysztof Penderecki, Marta Ptaszyńska and Paweł Szymański to name but a few.
SINFONIA VARSOVIA has performed with many distinguished conductors, including Claudio Abbado, Gerd Albrecht, Charles Dutoit, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Valery Gergiev, Hans Graf, Leopold Hager, Jacek Kaspszyk, Kazimierz Kord, Jan Krenz, Emmanuel Krivine, Witold Lutosławski, Paul McCreesh, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Yehudi Menuhin, Marc Minkowski, Grzegorz Nowak, Krzysztof Penderecki, Michel Plasson, Mstislav Rostropovich, Volker Schmidt-Gertenbach, Jerzy Semkow, George Tchitchinadze, Christopher Warren-Green, Antoni Wit and Bruno Weil.
During its numerous concerts, the orchestra has accompanied such renowned soloists as Salvatore Accardo, Piotr Anderszewski, Maurice André, Martha Argerich, Yuri Bashmet, Boris Berezovsky, Teresa Berganza, Rafał Blechacz, Alfred Brendel, José Carreras, Sarah Chang, Kyung-Wha Chung, José Cura, Placido Domingo, Augustin Dumay, Nelson Freire, James Galway, Sophie Graf, Fou Ts’ong, Sharon Kam, Kiri Te Kanawa, Nigel Kennedy, Gidon Kremer, Alicia de Larrocha, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Christa Ludwig, Radu Lupu, Albrecht Mayer, Mischa Maisky, Yehudi Menuhin, Shlomo Mintz, Olli Mustonen, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Piotr Paleczny, Olga Pasiecznik, Murray Perahia, Maria João Pires, Ivo Pogorelić, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Vadim Repin, Katia Ricciarelli, Mstislav Rostropovich, Heinrich Schiff, Howard Shelley, Henryk Szeryng, Maxim Vengerov, Andreas Vollenweider, Christian Zacharias, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Tabea Zimmermann and Grigori Zhyslin.
The orchestra devotes a significant share of its activities to promote Poland’s most talented young musicians. SINFONIA VARSOVIA has played with the conductors Iwona Sowińska, Wojciech Rodek and Krzysztof Urbański, violinists Agata Szymczewska, Jakub Jakowicz, Mariusz Patyra, Aleksandra Bucholc and Anna Gutowska, singers Iwona Sobotka and Aleksandra Kurzak, and the pianist Beata Bilińska and Jan Lisiecki.
SINFONIA VARSOVIA has made numerous recordings on compact disc and for radio and television. The orchestra boasts a discography of more than 200 albums, recorded for famous international labels: Decca, Denon Nippon Columbia, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI, Naxos, Sony, Virgin Classics, and, as well as for Polish labels, including BeArTon, CD Accord, DUX, Polskie Nagrania, and Polskie Radio. Many of these recordings received prestigious music awards, including the Diapason d’Or, Grand Prix du Disque, and, on more than one occasion, the Polish “Fryderyk” award. The orchestra’s most celebrated recordings include “Polish Symphonic Music of the 19th Century” (CD ACCORD/ POLSKIE RADIO), “Martha Argerich – Live in Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera” (CD ACCORD), Henryk Mikołaj Górecki’s Symphony no. 3 (NAIVE), Mozart’s Piano Concertos with Piotr Anderszewski as soloist (VIRGIN), a CD of works by Karol Szymanowski conducted by Jerzy Maksymiuk (BEARTON) and “The Romantic Clarinet” with the famous clarinettist Sharon Kam (EDEL CLASSICS). Two albums with works by Bach and Haendel recorded for DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON with the virtuoso German oboist Albrecht Mayer were an artistic and commercial success, topping charts for a long time. The “Polish Spirit” CD ranks as one of the group’s most successful albums to promote Polish music. Conducted by Nigel Kennedy and performed by the Polish Chamber Orchestra, the album features violin concertos by Mieczysław Karłowicz and Emil Młynarski (EMI). The orchestra’s discography also features many recordings made with lord Yehudi Menuhin as conductor, including the complete symphonies of Beethoven and Schubert, recorded in 1996 for IMG Records to celebrate the artist’s 80th birthday anniversary.
In June 2008, three albums recorded by Sinfonia Varsovia and the Polish Chamber Orchestra received the prestigious German ECHO Klassik 2008 music award. These were: WERKE FUR TROMPETE with Gábor Boldoczki (Sony/BMG Sony Classical), NEW SEASONS with Albrecht Mayer (Universal / Deutsche Grammophon) and POLISH SPIRIT with Nigel Kennedy (EMI Classics). The POLISH SPIRIT album, containing violin concertos by Karłowicz and Młynarski, was awarded the Polish “Fryderyk 2008” award in the Album of the Year – Symphonic and Concert Music category. Album with the music of Mieczysław Karłowicz and featuring Jerzy Maksymiuk as the conductor and Agata Szymczewska as violinist received two “Fryderyk 2009” awards: in the Album of the Year – Symphonic and Concert Music category and in the Outstanding Recording of Polish Music category. In 2010 CD with Fryderyk Chopin piano concertos performed by Jan Lisiecki (piano), Howard Shelley (direction) and Sinfonia Varsovia orchestra received a prestigious” Diapason Découverte” award.
In 2010 the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra devoted most of its regular activity to the celebration of the 200th birthday anniversary of Fryderyk Chopin, by preparing and performing 361 Chopin-related projects in Poland and around the world, for an audience of more than 140 000. Except for the Fryderyk Chopin Institute itself, the Orchestra had the greatest share of all Polish institutions in the celebration of the International Chopin Year.
KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI became the orchestra’s musical director in 1997 and its artistic director in July 2003, a position he still holds, often also working together with the ensemble as its conductor. The orchestra performs in Poland and abroad, playing many works by the composer, including the Sinfonietta per Archi, Sinfonietta No. 2, the Flute Concerto, the Viola Concerto (also its versions for cello and clarinet), Stabat Mater, De Profundis, as well as Credo and The Seven Gates of Jerusalem. In January 2011 the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra played the world premiere performance of Krzysztof Penderecki’s Powiało na mnie morze snów…[Songs of Reverie and Nostalgia], commissioned by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute to commemmorate the Chopin Year. Krzysztof Penderecki has recorded a number of records with the Orchestra, including an album consisting solely of his own works.Krzysztof Penderecki recorded a number of albums with the orchestra, some of them with his own works.
In June 2008 the post of the orchestra’s musical director was given to the world-famous French conductor MARC MINKOWSKI.
SINFONIA VARSOVIA frequently plays at major musical events in Poland. It is a regular guest at the Chopin and his Europe Festival, the Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival, Wratislavia Cantans, Warsaw Autumn, and the Polish Radio Music Festival. In the 2009/2010 season,
the orchestra performed in 16 countries like Germany, France, at the 18 festivals: La Folle Journée festival in Nantes, Bilbao and Tokyo, in La Roque d’Anthéron, at the Polish Radio Music Festival, at the Baltic Sea Festival in Stockholm and at the Chopin and his Europe and the Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festivals, Witold Lutosławski Festival "Chain".
Of special note is the SINFONIA VARSOVIA TO ITS CITY festival. This unique project was initiated in 2001 by Franciszek Wybrańczyk, the founder and long-time director of the orchestra. The festival is a recurring event of top artistic significance. Accessible to the public at large, the festival has become a landmark on the cultural landscape of Warsaw and is a favourite among music-lovers of the capital of Poland. The festival aims to showcase the greatest works of music literature as performed by the Sinfonia Varsovia with famous soloists and conductors. Each year, as the summer draws to a close, the orchestra performs free concerts in a plethora of venues in the capital normally not associated with mainstream cultural events. These include community centres, churches and open air concerts. The concerts are conducted by outstanding Polish conductors, including Jerzy Maksymiuk, Jacek Kaspszyk, Jan Krenz, Krzysztof Penderecki, but also by a younger generation of artists, like Wojciech Rodek, Łukasz Borowicz and Michał Dworzyński. The festival is held under the honorary auspices of the Mayor of the City of Warsaw and is organised by the Sinfonia Varsovia Foundation and by the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra.
FRANCISZEK WYBRAŃCZYK – the founder of the Sinfonia Varsovia orchestra and a major contributor to its international success, founder of the SINFONIA VARSOVIA TO ITS CITY festival, passed away on 31 May 2006. In 2007, to commemorate this remarkable man – musician, talented organiser of the Polish and European music scene, enthusiast and thoroughly charming personality – the event was renamed to the Franciszek Wybrańczyk SINFONIA VARSOVIA TO ITS CITY festival.
THE SINFONIA VARSOVIA FOUNDATION was established in the year 2000 by Franciszek Wybrańczyk. The foundation initiates and supports the orchestra’s artistic endeavours. It promotes in particular Polish composers and young talents and organises the annual SINFONIA VARSOVIA TO ITS CITY festival. The activities of the Sinfonia Varsovia Foundation are supported by the POLSERVICE Patent and Trademark Attorneys’ Office and by BANK BPH.
In 2004, Franciszek Wybrańczyk handed over the duties of the director of SINFONIA VARSOVIA to JANUSZ MARYNOWSKI – his assistant and long-time musician in the orchestra.
Until 31 December 2007, the orchestra operated from the St. I. Witkiewicz STUDIO Art Centre in Warsaw. On 1 January 2008, the SINFONIA VARSOVIA ORCHESTRA became a council cultural institution. The Orchestra’s coordinator is the CAPITAL CITY OF WARSAW.
On the 25th anniversary of its work, the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra was honoured with the title of “Zasłużony dla Warszawy” [Distinguished in Service for the City of Warsaw]. In 2010 the Ensemble has finally received a new home – the former Institute of Veterinary Science at 272 Grochowska Street in Warsaw’s Praga District. By a decision of the Council of Warsaw and Mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, an open, two-stage international competition was held for the design of a new concert hall seating 1 800 and architectural development of the property located at Grochowska Street. The Grand Prix was awarded to ATELIER THOMAS PUCHER of Graz (Austria) and its project called “The Secret Garden of Music”. The design is unusual not only in the very characteristic frame surrounding the whole property, but also in the exceptional design of the concert hall itself, combining shoebox concert hall acoustics with a vineyard seating arrangement. According to the designers, the combination will provide an unsurpassed, unique listening experience. It is the Warsaw authorities’ intention for the first performance of the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra at the new venue to take place in 2016.
Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra
PKiN, Plac Defilad 1, 00-901 Warszawa
Tel./Fax: (+48 22) 6200374, 6566419;
e-mail: sinfoniavarsovia@sinfoniavarsovia.org
imp@sinfoniavarsovia.org
PKiN, Plac Defilad 1, 00-901 Warszawa
Tel./Fax: (+48 22) 6200374, 6566419;
e-mail: sinfoniavarsovia@sinfoniavarsovia.org
imp@sinfoniavarsovia.org
