'Stream' and 'Im Memoriam' with Silesian Philharmonic Choir

Friday, May 15th, 2020 at 7 pm

The Henryk Mikołaj Górecki Silesian Philharmonic
Sokolska 2 St.
40-084 Katowice

We warmly invite you to a concert by the Silesian Philharmonic Choir, where two of my pieces, Stream and In Memoriam, will be performed.

The concert will commemorate the 100th anniversary of Pope John Paul II's birth, featuring music dedicated to him, as well as music written to his words. "It will be a spiritual feast, speaking to music lovers with the metaphysical language of music that will make you think."

According to the Silesian Philharmonic, “Stream by Piotr Ślęczek is, in turn, a work of special significance for the Silesian Philharmonic. The Silesian Philharmonic Choir premiered this work for the first time during a concert over 10 years ago - in October 2009, on the occasion of the Papal Day. Written to the text of the Roman Triptych, the work will be the next point of the concert. Ślęczek drew his words from the same source in his work In Memoriam, which was awarded at the 1st H.M. Górecki International Composers' Competition in 2012 and received the first place.”

At the concert, you will also have the chance to hear compositions by the most renowned composers of our time, including Krzysztof Penderecki and Henryk Mikołaj Górecki.

For more details and to purchase tickets, please click here.

Performers:
Robert Kabara – conductor
Jarosław Wolanin – conductor
Silesian Philharmonic Choir
The Silesian Chamber Orchestra

Program:
Henryk Mikołaj Górecki – Totus Tuus
Piotr Ślęczek – Źródło
Piotr Ślęczek – In memoriam
Sławomir Czarnecki – Hymnus in honorem Sancti Johannis Pauli Papae II
Juliusz Łuciuk – O ziemio polska
Krzysztof Penderecki – Chaccone del Giovanni Paulo II
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Litania Loretańska

The premiere of "Freedom" preformed by Silesian Philharmonic Choir

Please join me at the premiere of my choral work “Freedom” written in 2015. The piece was written to the poem by Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński, a Polish poet and Home Army soldier, one of the most well known of the “Generation of Columbus's,” the young generation of Polish poets, of whom several perished in the Warsaw Uprising and during the German occupation of Poland.

The piece will be performed by the Silesian Philharmonic Choir and will take place in the Silesian Philharmonic concert hall, conducted by the artistic director and conductor of the Silesian Philharmonic Choir, Jaroslaw Wolanin. Please find more details here.

TUESDAY April, 16 2019 at 5pm

The Henryk Mikołaj Górecki Silesian Philharmonic
Sokolska 2 St.
40-084 Katowice

Polish Radio Choir Performs "Unica Mea est Salomea"

I am honored to have one of my choral pieces "Unica Mea Est Salomea" performed by THE POLISH RADIO CHOIR and conducted by Maria Piotrowska-Bogalecka at the "MUZYKA POLSKA ZA MAŁO ZNANA" Festival organized by the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra on February 16, 2018. “Unica Mea” was commissioned by the Franciscan Church for the 800th anniversary of Salomea's birth and premiered with Jeremy Jackman, formerly of the renowned King Singers.

The Polish Radio Choir was founded by Jerzy Gert in October 1948. The choir prides itself on world premières of works by the most outstanding Polish contemporary composers, including Witold Lutosławski, Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, Krzysztof Penderecki and Wojciech Kilar. The choir has participated in numerous national and international festivals. The Polish Radio Choir has been permanently co-operating with the Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra and the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra. The management board of Polskie Radio S.A. provided the Polish Radio Choir with the long-term support for the attainment of the radio’s public mission of cultivating and popularising the musical culture of Poland as part of the world’s cultural heritage.

February 16, 2018

CONDUCTOR: Maria Piotrowska-Bogalecka

PROGRAMME
Andrzej Koszewski - Miserere
Piotr Sleczek - Unica mea est salomea
Edward Domański - Ave maria
Andrzej Dziadek - Salve regina
Andrzej Koszewski - Tryptyk wielkopolski
Bolesław Wallek-Walewski - Suita pieśni góralskich
Roman Maciejewski - Pieśni kurpiowskie  

Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
plac Wojciecha Kilara 1
40-202 Katowice

All the details available here.

"A Song of the New Order" premiered by LutosAir Quintet and Piotr Sleczek

At the 5th International Contemporary Music Festival of H.M. Górecki in Kraków the lauded LutosAir Quintet together with Piotr Sleczek premiered his work "A Song of the New Order". The concert took place at the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology on October 24th, 2015. 

A Song of the New Order is an experimental piece for woodwind quintet and tape. It relates to the sonoristic works of the 20th century. The composition explores the illusory nature of the world, which manifests through constant change. The composer points to the changes that have recently happened in the world, and the consequences that will follow as a result. 
The purpose of the composition is to elicit our cultural and social polarization which reflects the tendencies around the world today.

The LutosAir Quintet was born from the association of five musicians brought together by their common love for music and vision of the arts. The ensemble consists of the soloists of the Wrocław Philharmonic Orchestra: Jan Krzeszowiec, Wojciech Merena, Maciej Dobosz, Alicja Kieruzalska and Mateusz Feliński. They have been playing together in various chamber ensembles and orchestras for years. At the invitation of the Polish Institute in Leipzig, LutosAir Quintet played a concert for over a thousand listeners. In 2014 years had the honor to represent Poland in the international project MusMA (The Music Masters on Air) and during the festival Vratislavia Cantans he played polish premiers of 4 woodwind quintets from different countries. LAQ also appeared on the international festival Szalone Dni Muzyki/La Journee Follee in Warsaw, during its American edition.LutosAir Quintet is one of the ensembles of the National Forum of Music.

Premiere of "That is the Question" preformed by Agata Zubel and Maciej Grzybowski

With pleasure, you are invited to the premiere of my newest work "That is the Question" for soprano and piano written to parts of the soliloquy in the "Nunnery Scene" of William Shakespeare's play "Hamlet". It will open the 4th International Contemporary Music Festival of H.M.Górecki in Krakow, Poland and will be performed by renowned duet Agata Zubel and Maciej Grzybowski.

The piece "That is the question" was written to the famous Shakespearean passage taken from "Hamlet". This soliloquy, probably the most famous speech in the English language, is spoken by Hamlet in Act III. His most logical and powerful examination of the theme of the moral legitimacy of suicide in an unbearably painful world, it touches on several other important themes of the play.

Hamlet poses the problem of whether to commit suicide as a logical question: “To be, or not to be,” that is, to live or not to live. He then weighs the moral ramifications of living and dying. Is it nobler to suffer life, “[t]he slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,” passively or to actively seek to end one’s suffering? He compares death to sleep and thinks of the end to suffering, pain, and uncertainty it might bring, “[t]he heartache, and the thousand natural shocks / That flesh is heir to.” Based on this metaphor, he decides that suicide is a desirable course of action, “a consummation / Devoutly to be wished.” But, as the religious word “devoutly” signifies, there is more to the question, namely, what will happen in the afterlife. Hamlet immediately realizes as much, and he reconfigures his metaphor of sleep to include the possibility of dreaming; he says that the dreams that may come in the sleep of death are daunting, that they “must give us pause.”

The concert will take place in the Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art at Sukiennice, the oldest department of the National Museum. It is located in the center of the Main Market Square in Old Town Kraków. The gallery features paintings of artists such as Jan Matejko and Jacek Malczewski.

National Museum of the 19th-Century Polish Art at Sukiennice 

Please come and join me at the concert on Saturday, October 18, 2014 in The Gallery of 19th Century Polish Art in Sukiennice 3 Rynek Główny, Kraków, at 7:30 pm (free entrance). 

PERFORMERS:

Agata Zubel

Agata Zubel was born in Wroclaw. She graduated with a distinction (the medal Music Primus Inter Pares) from the Karol Lipinski Academy of Music  in Wrocław after composition studies with Jan Wichrowski and voice studies with Danuta Paziuk-Zipser. In 2004 she obtained a doctorate and in 2014 post-doctorate in musical arts. She also studied in the Netherlands and took numerous courses. She is currently a lecturer on the faculty of the Academy of Music in Wroclaw. She has received scholarships from the Ministry of Culture, the Rockefeller Foundation, Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung, the Executive Board of the City of Wroclaw, and the International Foundation for Education. The Ministry of Culture honour  her with medal “Deserved for Polish Culture”. She is also a member of the Polish Composers’ Union.

Awards 

2014 - “Polonica Nova” Prize for the composition Not I; 
2014 - honourable medal “Deserved for Polish Culture”; 
2013 - winner of the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers for the composition Not I;
2010 - “Fryderyk” Award of the Polish music record industry in the category of Contemporary Music for the album Cascando; 
2009 - “Orpheus” Award of the Association of Polish Artists-Musicians; 
2008 - Wroclaw Music Award for the duo ElettroVoce; 
2005 - Wroclaw Music Award;
2005 – “Passport” Award of the “Polityka” weekly for classical music for the year 2004;
2005 - Special Award for the duo ElettroVoce in the International Gaudeamus Interpreters Competition in Amsterdam; 
2003 – 2nd Prize in the International P.J.Jurgenson Competition for Young Composers in Moscow; 
2003 – 3rd Prize in the International Competition for Interpreters of Contemporary Music for Professional Soloists in Nicati, Switzerland;
2003 – Grand Prix of Leopold Kronenberg’s Bank Foundation in the 20th and 21th Century Music Competition for Young Performers;
2002 – 1st Prize in the Krzysztof Penderecki International Competition of Contemporary Chamber Music; 
2002 - Special Award in the 7.Concours Moderne, Chain;
2000 – 1st Prize and a Special Polish Radio Award in the National Adam Didur Competition for Composers; 
2000 - 3rd prize at the Competition for Composers for Classical Guitar;
1999 – 1st Prize and a Special PWM Edition Award in the Andrzej Panufnik Competition for Composers;

Maciej Grzybowski

Warsaw-born Maciej Grzybowski played with Poland's distinguished Sinfonia Varsovia in 1991-92 under such master conductors as Jan Krenz, Witold Lutoslawski, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Grzegorz Nowak. In 1992, he won the Main Prize and the Special Price in the 1st Twentieth-Century Music Competition for Young Performers, organized in Warsaw by the International Society for Contemporary Music, Polish Section. He has recorded music for record companies, radio, and television. He has performed as a soloist and chamber musician with Dorota Anderszewska, Anna Karasinska, Urszula Kryger, Olga Pasichnyk, Jadwiga Rappé, Jerzy Artysz, Andrzej Bauer, Krzysztof Bakowski, Jonathan Del Mar, Jacek Kaspszyk, Adam Klocek, Adam Kruszewski, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Wojciech Michniewski, Ivan Monighetti, Marek Mos, Janusz Olejniczak, Pawel Mykietyn, Wojciech Rajski, Håkan Rosengren, Tomasz Strahl and others, as well as the Camerata Quartet, Silesian Quartet, AUKSO Orchestra, Leopoldinum Orchestra, Polish Radio National Symphony Orchecow Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Polish Radio Orchestra.

In 1996-2000 (together with Justyna Reksc-Raubo) he was artistic director of the concert cycle 'NONSTROM presents', held in Warsaw. Chosen as the Individuality of the Year 1997, he played a special concert on Polish Television Program I. A member of the NONSTROM ensemble since 1992, in 1998, together with this ensemble he won the Special Award in the 4th International Music Competition in Düsseldorf. He was nominated three times for the "Passport" Award of the "Polityka" Weekly (individually in 1999 and 2003, and with the NONSTROM ensemble in 1998).

In 2004, Grzybowski released the first CD album dedicated to his performances, with works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Alban Berg, Pawel Mykietyn, Arnold Schönberg and Pawel Szymanski, under the label of Universal Music Polska. In 2005 this CD was nominated for the Fryderyk Award of the Polish music record industry. In March 2005, Grzybowski played a recital of works by Fryderyk Chopin, Andrzej Czajkowski, Pawel Mykietyn and his own composition in Bologne's Mozart Hall - a concert hailed as one of the greatest artistic events there in recent years.

Mr. Sandman at the 33rd Mlodzi i Film - Film Festival

View fullsize

Mr. Sandman, a film produced by MomaFilm Foundation featuring Piotr Sleczek's music, is going to be presented at the 33rd Mlodzi i Film - Film Festival, the oldest Polish film festival promoting debutant film directors.
The film will be screened on June 25, at 5:30 pm in Kryterium Cinema located at 105 Zwyciestwa Street, Koszalin, Poland. The festival itself will take place from June, 23 - 28 in Koszalin presenting some of the best Polish film productions. All the details about the festival can be found at www.mlodziifilm.pl

June 16, 2014 - the Mr. Sandman premiere

I would like to invite everybody to the premiere of Mr. Sandman which features my music. 

The film was produced as part of the “New Urban Legends” project. The idea behind this experimental educational project was to encourage school children to think up, tell, or write new legends about their own neighborhoods. These stories were then made into screenplays and filmed. As a result, amazing tales about eerie places and mysterious events were created. Even though they were dreamed up by children, these legends inspire a wide audience.

premiere:
June 16, 2014
8 pm, 7 Cmentarna street
Zandka - Zabrze, Poland.

directed by: 
M. Poplawska, J. Pawluskiewicz
producer: Moma Film Fundation
running time: 15 min.
music: Piotr Sleczek
percussion: Jan Pilch
Wiktoria Chrobak
Damian Mielec
children's choir: Scherzino Choir

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Join me at SXSW!

Austin's eclectic music scene goes back to early in the city's history (from Mexican, German and colonial origins) and encompasses a wide variety of music including country, folk, jazz, blues and rock. Central Austin boasts more original music nightclubs in a concentrated area than any other city in the world.

The classic problem facing Austin musicians was being isolated from the rest of the world here in the middle of Texas. SXSW was a way to reach out to the rest of the world. To do that successfully, SXSW needed to appeal to people other than local artists whether they were from Austin, Ft. Worth, Chicago, Toronto, Munich or Tokyo.

National interest in SXSW was immediate. For years, music businesses on both coasts had been intrigued by what was going on in Austin. The cosmic cowboy, blues, punk and other scenes had already proven that Austin was a receptive place for bands to be creative. With SXSW, music industry executives gained a good excuse to visit.

International interest in SXSW began the second year due to many Austin and American bands finding their first success in Europe. Conversely, there was a lot of interest from SXSW registrants in the international bands who came to perform. SXSW now has offices in Ireland, Germany, Australia and Japan who help bring SXSW registrants to Austin.

Harp, two horns, and women's choir in the Pszczyna's castle

photo P. Klosek

Silesian Philharmonic Female Choir 
Jaroslaw Wolanin - conductor
Elzbieta Kolorz - soprano
Magdalena Pilarczyk - alto
Agnieszka Kaczmarek-Bialic - harp
Sabina Jaszczyk - piano
Grzegorz Grzegorzek - horn
Leszek Salwa - horn

Please, join me on 07. 12. 2013 (Saturday) - 19:30 at the concert in the post-war Pszczyna castle. The concert will take place in the Mirror Room, and we will listen to works of Johannes Brahms, Benjamin Britten, Richard Strauss and arrangements of Piotr Sleczek played by:

Music concerts in the Mirror Room (Sala Lustrzana) in the post-war Pszczyna Castle have a very rich tradition. The first concert was already held on 3 August 1946. Thanks to cooperation with the Silesian Philharmonics, Estrada Slaska and a State Music School in 1970s monthly concerts were organized called Music Mornings in the Pszczyna Castle, and two concerts in a month called Music at Dusk in the Pszczyna Castle. During the artistic season the Castle Museum is visited by eminent Polish and foreign artists. It is worth pointing out that world famous pianist Sviatoslav Richter gave three concerts in the Mirror Room.

De profundis - premiere in May 12, 2013

Prof. Andreas Herrmann - Munich Pilharmonic Choir

Please join me at the premiere of my new work De profundis for mixed choir and soprano solo. The concert will take place on May 12, 2013 in St. Mary’s Church, Katowice at 7:30 pm (free entrance). We are going to hear the performance of Natalia Lukaszewicz (soprano solo) accompanied with the Silesian Philharmonic Choir directed by a guest conductor Andreas Herrmann (Munich Philharmonic Choir). The choirmaster is Jaroslaw Wolanin (the choir's conductor since 2009). The presenter of the event will be Karina Paszek. I hope you will enjoy it.

www.prof-andreas-herrmann.de
www.philchor.net/extern/chor/chordirektor.html