Szczecin Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra
Szczecin Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra is the oldest and largest professional ensemble operating in West Pomerania, having built up its rich traditions over the years. Since its first concert in 1948, the orchestra has steadily developed artistically, inviting many outstanding conductors and soloists from all continents to perform with it. This has been made possible by the long-standing leadership of the ensemble by, among others, Józef Wiłkomirski (1955–1971), Stefan Marczyk (1971– 1990), Jerzy Salwarowski (1996–2003), Zygmunt Rychert (2003–2009) and Mykola Diadiura (2009–2012). Currently, the internationally acclaimed Norwegian conductor Rune Bergmann holds the position of the artistic director and first conductor.
In 2014, the Orchestra moved to a new venue. Two concert halls with excellent acoustics – a symphonic hall and a chamber hall – have become a space for extremely intensified musical events, which has allowed for the enrichment of the symphonic repertoire and the individual development of the Orchestra’s musicians in the chamber repertoire.
Today, the Orchestra’s repertoire is one of the most interesting and diverse in Poland and abroad. The Orchestra’s musicians are distinguished by their extraordinary openness to a wide variety of artistic activities – they successfully perform great symphonic works from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as contemporary and popular music repertoire, e.g. works by Krzysztof Penderecki, Zygmunt Krauze, Krzysztof Meyer, Philip Glass and John Cage. The orchestra has accompanied such legendary classical music artists as Krystian Zimerman, Rafał Blechacz, Emmanuel Ax, Tabea Zimmerman, Christian Tetzlaff, Narek Hakhnazaryan, but also finds itself at ease on stage with musicians moving through a variety of styles, such as Steve Vai, Terence Blanchard, Francesco Tristano, Matthew Herbert, Gregory Porter, Jacob Collier and Jules Buckley.
The Orchestra’s phonographic output includes releases with almost all of Karłowicz’s works – the album with the Violin Concerto performed by Bartłomiej Nizioł and conducted by Łukasz Borowicz, released by the DUX recording company, was nominated for the Fryderyk Award in the category ‘Best Symphonic and Concerto Music Album’.
In 2018, the Orchestra was awarded the Silver Medal Gloria Artis for Merit to Culture by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage for special artistic achievements and cultural activities. In 2023 – on the occasion of its seventy-fifth anniversary, it was honoured with the highest distinction – the Gold Medal Gloria Artis for Merit to Culture.
[2024]