The Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra gave its first concert in the newly erected Philharmonic Hall on 5 November 1901. The Orchestra was conducted by Emil Młynarski, the Philharmonic’s co‑founder, first Music Director and conductor. Its star performer and soloist was the statesman, composer and pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski, who at that time was at the height of his international career and was also one of the Philharmonic’s donors.
He performed his Piano Concerto in A minor, as well as solo works by Chopin. In addition, the concert programme featured works by Moniuszko, Noskowski, Żeleński and Stojowski.
The Warsaw Philharmonic’s rapidly rising performance standards soon attracted outstanding artists from all over the world. Both before the First World War and during the interwar period, it established itself as the main centre of musical life in Poland and one of the most prominent musical institutions in Europe. Nearly all the famous conductors and soloists of the day performed here, including Claudio Arrau, Edvard Grieg, Arthur Honegger, Vladimir Horowitz, Bronisław Huberman, Wilhelm Kempff, Otto Klemperer, Sergei Prokofiev, Sergei Rachmaninov, Maurice Ravel, Artur Rodziński, Arthur Rubinstein, Pablo Sarasate and Richard Strauss.
In the first years after the Second World War, the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra was managed by Olgierd Straszyński and Andrzej Panufnik, among others. In January 1950, the post of Director and Principal Conductor was taken up by Witold Rowicki, who set about establishing a new orchestra. Despite difficult working conditions (due to the lack of a concert hall, performances were given in various sports halls and theatres), Rowicki soon turned the Orchestra into Poland’s leading ensemble.
On 21 February 1955, a new Philharmonic Hall was opened on Jasna Street, erected on the site of its predecessor, which had been destroyed by German air raids. On that day, the Warsaw Philharmonic received the title of a national institution, which highlighted its rank as the most important such establishment in Poland.
In the years 1955–1958, the Orchestra was headed by Bohdan Wodiczko, a distinguished promoter of contemporary music, who collaborated with Arnold Rezler and Stanisław Skrowaczewski, among others. During his tenure, the Orchestra was transformed and enlarged. The enormous popularity of twentieth-century music performances led to the inception of the ‘Warsaw Autumn’ International Festival of Contemporary Music, which in time became one of the most important festivals of its kind in the world.
In 1958, Witold Rowicki was appointed Artistic Director and Principal Conductor once again, remaining in the post until 1977. The Orchestra’s guest conductors of that time were Stanisław Wisłocki and Andrzej Markowski. Under Rowicki’s direction, international concert tours and performances in the world’s most prestigious concert venues became a permanent fixture on the Orchestra’s calendar.
On 1 July 1977, the post of Artistic Director and Principal Conductor was offered to Kazimierz Kord, who remained at the helm until 2001. From 1979 to 1990, the Orchestra’s Deputy Director and Conductor was Tadeusz Strugała. From the very beginning of his work, Kord focused on expanding the Orchestra’s concert repertoire, which in the following seasons resulted in new symphonic works, large oratorio and opera productions and contemporary pieces. Other new initiatives included the ‘Warsaw Philharmonic Presents’ concert series, recorded live and released by Polskie Nagrania, as well as concerts featuring graduates of the Academy of Music in Warsaw. Together with Witold Lutosławski, Kord promoted the idea of short, contemporary music festivals, which would serve as a forum for various artistic disciplines. The first such festival was organised after the composer’s death and was called the ‘Lutosławski Forum’ in his honour. Initially held annually, it later transformed into a biannual event, and continued until the 2013 Lutosławski Year.
From 2002 until 2013, the post of General and Artistic Director of the Warsaw Philharmonic was held by Antoni Wit, who adopted the same philosophy regarding the institution’s repertoire as his predecessor, adding to it even more Polish music, often performed by foreign artists. Under his baton, the Warsaw Philharmonic ensembles recorded over fifty albums, including almost forty on the Naxos label. The albums, featuring mainly Polish music composed by Karłowicz, Szymanowski, Lutosławski, Penderecki, Górecki and Kilar, have been showered with a plethora of awards, including the prestigious Grammy 2013. Antoni Wit concluded his tenure with the Orchestra’s debut at the BBC Proms in London in August 2013.
In the 2013/2014 season, the duties of Artistic Director, responsible for the development of the Philharmonic ensembles, their repertoire and guest artists, were handed over to Jacek Kaspszyk. His historic concert at the 2013 ‘Warsaw Autumn’ Festival, featuring the pianist Krystian Zimerman, proved to be one of the highlights of the Lutosławski Year (the concert programme included Lutosławski’s Piano Concerto and Symphony No. 3) and won a Polish Music Coryphaeus Award in the ‘Event of the Year’ category. He also conducted the first live streamed performances in the history of the Philharmonic. Under his baton, the Orchestra recorded six albums: the works of Weinberg (2014), Brahms and Bach (in Schönberg’s arrangements, 2015), Szymanowski (2017), Wieniawski’s and Shostakovich’s violin concertos with soloist Bomsori Kim, an album of Polish music (Młynarski, Weinberg, Penderecki, 2018) for Warner Classics, and also one featuring the works of Chopin, with Ingolf Wunder as soloist, for Deutsche Grammophon (2015).
In the years 2019–2024, the Warsaw Philharmonic Music and Artistic Director was Andrzej Boreyko. His five-year tenure fell during the pandemic, which was a difficult period for all cultural institutions. Most concerts were cancelled and the repertoire of organised events was modified, due to restrictions limiting the number of musicians on stage. Andrzej Boreyko played a key role in leading the institution through that period, often making complicated decisions and efforts to keep the ensembles active on the Philharmonic stage. The Orchestra under his direction recorded five albums, two of which were phonographic world premieres and were nominated for the Fryderyk Award (2022, 2023). The first album included works by Paul Kletzki, Jan Adam Maklakiewicz and Gesualdo da Venosa, orchestrated by Stanisław Skrowaczewski, while the second included André Tchaikowsky’s Concerto classico and Giya Kancheli’s Libera me.
From the 2024/2025 season, the Music and Artistic Director is Krzysztof Urbański.
The Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra has made over 150 concert tours around five continents, and has appeared in all of the world’s major concert venues, each time receiving high acclaim from audiences and critics alike for its superb and charismatic interpretations. The ensemble has performed at many prestigious international festivals, including in Vienna, Berlin, Prague, Bergen, Lucerne, Montreux, Moscow, Brussels, Florence, Bordeaux, Athens, Nantes (La Folle Journée), Bilbao, Lisbon and Tokyo. The Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra regularly accompanies the finalists of the Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition and takes part in the ‘Warsaw Autumn’ International Festival of Contemporary Music, the ‘Chopin and his Europe’ International Music Festival and the Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival. It has recorded for Polish Radio, Polish and foreign record labels, and film companies. In 2016, the Orchestra also launched regular online streaming of selected concerts.
[2024]
