Aniello Desiderio – photo Artist’s archive; Marek Wroniszewski – photo Piotr Banasik

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The Polish jazz scene is alive and well, with significant contributions from both creative members of the young generation, as well as well-established artists creating timeless horizons in trends and styles. The latter group includes guitarist Janusz Strobel, who has been an active performer for 50 years!

Strobel has founded and led many formations, starting with the legendary Alber–Strobel duo. He is also a recognised composer, the author of many well-known songs, film scores and concert pieces. In February 2021, we had the pleasure of performing with him (as part of an online concert) featuring a programme based on the album Ślad (Trace) and now, one year later, we will reunite once again to take part in the premiere (always a source of excitement for us!) of his new work: Concerto for Classical Guitar and Orchestra. In it, the composer tackles an important musical genre and works created by the virtuosos who are well-versed in the deepest secrets of their instruments. They are also no mystery to the famous and inspiring artist who will perform the premiere piece, Italian guitarist Aniello Desiderio, who made his musical debut at the age of 8 and was quickly hailed as “the Orpheus of the Guitar”. It was only the beginning of his illustrious career, which has been marked by competition triumphs, awards, performances on the most important global stages and a wealth of recordings. The artist is also eternally devoted to his beloved Naples, performing traditional and popular music from this fascinating city as a member of the group Passione Napoletana alongside his brothers Gennaro and Gaetano Desiderio as well as other musicians.

Adam Wesołowski is a composer, conductor, pianist, musical theoretician and culture manager, and graduate of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, where he studied composition under Edward Bogusławski and Aleksander Lasoń and piano under Wojciech Świtała, as well as musical theory. He is the Director of the Silesian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, as well as Director of the Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki International Festival. His compositions have been performed in many prestigious concert halls, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the National Forum of Music in Wrocław and the Teatr Wielki Polish National Opera in Warsaw. The composer dedicated the piece Angels and Demons to his children. It features an innovative sound in the form of “angelic singing” that is performed mormorando (in a murmured fashion) by the orchestra musicians. Instead of evoking the outlines of specific images, it presents the emotions that lie within us all; the work is based on a melody that accompanied the author while at play with his children, which later became the inspiration for a spectacular two-part composition. The first part is euphonic, symbolising “angelic bliss”, while the second, very energetic section denotes the mischievous and playful “demons” of childhood imagination rather than those of a more menacing nature.

Following an interruption in his piano studies, the young Dmitri Shostakovich focused on composition (while nonetheless remaining an accomplished concert pianist). In 1925, he finished, among others, his First Symphony, a composition he created intermittently over a rather long period, and returned to the conservatory the following year, using the work as his graduation piece. The recognition of his professors is demonstrated by its inclusion in a public performance on 10 May 1926 as part of a concert by conservatory graduates. Krzysztof Meyer writes of this work: “…it clearly demonstrated the phenomenal talent of the young artist. To this day, Symphony No. 1 fascinates listeners thanks to the richness of invention and unusual mastery, given the author’s youth, of the compositional technique. Shostakovich not only created a great symphonic form with the ease of an experienced master, but first and foremost revealed his own, very individual and highly distinctive style. […] Shostakovich’s strongly defined individuality manifests primarily in the melody, the deformations of tonal-modal harmonics, as well as the wide range of expression: from the specific, grotesque humour of the Scherzo, to the flowing lyricism of the slow movement”. The work was very positively received with many imminent performances abroad as yet another measurement of its appeal. The 19-year-old musician launched his brilliant career as a leading symphonist of the 20th century with this composition.

During the event the rules determined in the Ordinance of the Council of Ministers related to the establishment of the certain limitations, injunctions and bans due to the conditions of epidemic will be in force as well as their update: Current rules and restrictions.

Media patronage: TVP Kultura, Presto, polmic.pl
Partners: Polskie Radio RDC, ZAiKS

Organiser: Jerzy Semkow Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra
The organiser reserves the right to change the programme or the performers of the concert

Tickets: eBilet, Polskie Radio – bilety24 and in the box office of the Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio of Polish Radio