Paul Goodwin will again be conducting the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. From the 1980s, he triumphed as an oboist, not just specialising in playing on different varieties of the instrument, but also embracing contemporary music. On concluding his solo career, he devoted himself to conducting. A thorough knowledge of the performance practice of different epochs allowed him to work effectively both with symphony orchestras and with early music ensembles. Goodwin’s wide-ranging interests are often reflected in the programmes of his concerts, juxtaposing works written over several epochs. The same is true of today’s concert: we will hear works composed in the seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries! This personal selection will focus on the ubiquitous element of dance. Besides instrumental excerpts from Henry Purcell’s semi-opera King Arthur, other compositions will include harpsichord dances by François Couperin orchestrated by Richard Strauss and Maurice Ravel’s great apotheosis, the famous choreographic poem La valse. The newest work on the programme, Scherzoid by the British composer Mark-Anthony Turnage, represents a subversive dialogue with the traditions of orchestral music, not lacking references to street music and jazz.
Bartłomiej Gembicki
