Warsaw Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra
The Warsaw Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra continues the long and rich tradition of chamber music performed by artists associated with the Warsaw Philharmonic. The first chamber ensembles were founded in the Philharmonic early in the twentieth century. In the 1960s and 70s, the Warsaw Philharmonic Chamber Musicians’ Ensemble under Karol Teutsch scored numerous successes on the world’s concert stages. In the 1990s, a string orchestra gave concerts with eminent soloists (Konstanty Andrzej Kulka, Nigel Kennedy) as well as recording for record companies and television.
The Warsaw Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra was reactivated for the Philharmonic’s centenary celebrations and gave its first concert on 10 February 2002. It was formed by leading Warsaw Philharmonic instrumentalists, including former members of Karol Teutsch’s ensemble.
The Warsaw Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra has performed with such outstanding artists as Salvatore Accardo, Hrachya Avanesyan, Jean-Louis Capezzali, Marek Drewnowski, Urszula Dudziak, Chiara Enderle, Lorenzo Gatto, Eva Gevorgyan, Philippe Giusiano, Evelyn Glennie, Ilya Gringolts, Krzysztof Herdzin, Ian Hobson, Yossif Ivanov, Andrzej Jagodziński, Jakub Jakowicz, Krzysztof Jakowicz, Isabelle van Keulen, Jacek Kortus, Rafał Kwiatkowski, Roby Lakatos, Mischa Maisky, Adam Makowicz, Waldemar Malicki, Shlomo Mintz, Grzegorz Nowak, Artur Pachlewski, Mariusz Patyra, Piotr Pławner, Baiba Skride, Agata Szymczewska, Mikhail Voskresensky and Edward Zienkowski.
In February 2009, the Orchestra celebrated the centenary of Grażyna Bacewicz’s birth with a programme composed entirely of that eminent composer’s works, including the premieres of two recently discovered pieces: the Symphoniette of 1929 and Symphony of 1946. That Symphony and Simfonietta (from 1935) were released on a CD devoted to Bacewicz’s music for string orchestra which the Orchestra recorded for Sony Music. The Orchestra’s tenth anniversary in December 2011 was celebrated with a concert, released on CD by Warsaw Philharmonic / CD Accord (a Fryderyk Award nomination in 2013). The Orchestra under Antoni Wit also recorded Krzysztof Penderecki’s Fonogrammi for a Grammy-winning CD of Penderecki’s works, released by Naxos (2013).
In the 2021/2022 artistic season, the ensemble celebrated its twentieth anniversary. The Warsaw Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra’s latest album (2023) of music by Mikołaj Piotr Górecki has been nominated for the Fryderyk Award.
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