The concert celebrating the 120th anniversary of the National Philharmonic, whose activity was inaugurated on November 5, 1901, conducted by Emil Młynarski with Ignacy Jan Paderewski as a soloist, will be filled entirely with Polish music. It will be performed under the baton of three splendid conductors who have successively managed the institution for the last two decades.
Although included in the symphony cycle as the Third , there is Song of the NightKarol Szymanowski is a phenomenon far removed from all conventions – both of its genre and of the forms and sound design of many contemporary works. It is the result of intensive search for a new style, new means of expression, which the composer devoted himself to during the First World War, when he could not continue his fascinating and inspiring journeys. A freely constructed cantata following the poem by Jalal ad-Din ar-Rumi, a Sufi mystic from the 13th century (paraphrased by Tadeusz Miciński based on the German version), is a musical reflection of the fascination with the "imagined Orient", understood as "a land of souvenirs, impressive ruins , lost secrets, hidden meanings” (Sławomira Żerańska-Kominek). Also musical stylization only in a rather superficial layer - but how seductive! – refers to the vision of the East with its splendour, predilection for ornament, arabesques, richness of shapes, colors and fragrances. One of its author's most original works, it is also one of the greatest achievements of Polish music of its time.
Witold Lutosławski's Concerto for Orchestra, with its name, somehow "polemicizes" with the assumptions of the genre, suggesting a confrontation between the soloist and the orchestra. It is rather a reference to the old form of an "ensemble concert", in which all the musicians of the orchestra showed off the same quasi-solo virtuosity. Commissioned by Witold Rowicki in 1950, it was completed four years later. The composer was tormented by doubts and dilemmas – a piece based on folk motifs was supposed to fit in with the folkloric trend preferred in the gloomy times of socialist realism, but the triviality and political context of this trend were extremely foreign to Lutosławski. So he created a work independent of these postulates, developing rather the best ideas of artistic sublimation of folklore. Lively, colourful, and perfect in its construction, the work has gained lasting recognition from music lovers and conductors.
The concert audience will witness the premiere of a new work composed especially for the jubilee by Jan AP Kaczmarek, the author of music for over 70 films and numerous theatrical performances, Oscar winner (2005) for the music to the film The Dreamer . He is also the creator of many concert works, including oratorios, commemorating the most important events of modern history - such as Cantata on Freedom dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the Solidarity movement, Oratorio 1956 dedicated to the memory of Poznań June on the 50th anniversary or Universa - Open Opera , a work written on the occasion of the 650th anniversary -th anniversary of the Jagiellonian University.
