Concerto funébre by Karl Amadeus Hartmann, catastrophic, unusually expressive and heavily emotionally loaded was a manifestation of the German composer’s moral and spiritual resistance of to the Nazi tyranny.  The piece was a protest against the political situation and an act of solidarity with the conquered Czech Republic expressed through quoting an ancient Czech melody, known as the Hussite Anthem.  Young German violinist Tanja Becker-Bender joins the Wroclaw Philharmonic to play the concert on 12 and 13 May. The programme also features W. A. Mozart’s Divertimento KV 160 and Sextet No. 1 in B flat major Op. 18 by J. Brahms performed by Wrocław Chamber Orchestra Leopoldinum under the baton of Austrian conductor Günter Pichler.


 

TITLE: Chopin Is Like a Whole Galaxy  
Anna Michalczuk: You have been travelling a lot recently, playing with famous orchestras, e. g. with the New York Philharmonic, and in renowned venues, such as Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. What kind of experience has it been? 
Yulianna Avdeeva: Yes, that’s true. I have been terribly busy throughout the whole year after the Chopin Competition and also this year. I have travelled a lot, visiting places new to me. These were unique experiences: performing with the New York Philharmonic, and the NHK Tokyo under Charles Dutoit.  I played in Prague with the Czech Symphony Orchestra under the Swedish conductor Herbert Blomstedt, and also in Helsinki with the Finnish Radio Orchestra.  Performances in various countries and in different venues are simply wonderful and utterly fascinating experiences. 
Your international tour is the result of your winning the 1st prize at the 16th Chopin International Competition in 2010. Is playing so many concerts not too much of a burden? Or is it rather a reward for you?
How to describe this… Touring is not tiresome to me. To be able to communicate through music with so many different people that is very attractive emotionally. A concert is an exceptional moment to me, something you cannot compare with everyday practicing, everyday life. It is like a gift.

It is our joy to inform you that among the winners of the prestigious BBC Music Magazine Awards 2012 there is Grande Messe des Morts by Hector Berlioz, winner of the Jury Award for Technical Excellence, conducted by Paul McCreesh and featuring: the Choir and Orchestra of Wrocław Philharmonic,  Robert Murray (tenor), Gabrieli Consort and Players and Chetham’s School of Music Brass Ensemble, recorded in St Mary Magdalene Cathedral in Wrocław in 2011 and published by Winged Lion and the National Forum of Music.   
Grande Messe des Morts is the first disc in the new cycle of oratorio recordings of International Festival Wratislavia Cantans and Paul McCreesh.  

 
 

‘For most people, twentieth-century classical music remains a largely untamed art, an unassimilated underground,’writes Alex Ross, whose famous book The Rest Is Noise has been recently translated into Polish by Aleksander Laskowski, a  Music in the City monthly journalist. Is academic music of the last century simply wild noise? Indeed, for the majority of music lovers the history of classical music starts with Bach and ends with Mahler. ‘People are sometimes surprised to learn that composers are still writing at all,’ says Rose.
Yet, music is still being created. Even more, modern music attracts a relatively large (still growing?) group of CD recipients and festival attendants. About one of such festivals — the Musica Polonica Nova festival, whose 28th edition will take place this April in Wroclaw — talks in the current issue of  Music in the City Rafał Augustyn, one of the festival’s creators. In the same issue, Aleksander Laskowski draws a portrait of Wulf Weinmann, the NEOS music label’s founding father who ‘strongly believes that living composers possess extraordinary talents.’ We also strongly believe, and Monika Pasiecznik confirms our assumption, that it is coincidence and a composer’s sense of humour that play key roles in composing. Elsewhere in the magazine, Janusz Jabłoński describes cases of a peculiar collaboration between academic and jazz musicians. That’s nothing new! Take, for example, Krzysztof Penderecki’s musical encounter with Don Cherry in the 1970s . . .
What else can you find in the April issue? There is an interview with Jacek Dehnel, one of the best-selling authors, who talks about his debut in the role of a librettist and about his musical passions. The issue also features: Beata Maciejewska’s essay on Paderewski’s concert in the New Stock Exchange in Wroclaw, Szymon Paczkowski’s article unravelling the mysteries of St. John’s Passion by Bach, and an interview with the violinist and conductor Zbigniew Pilch, who talks about Mozart, the Vienna double bass (violone) and the Czech bass. Enjoy!

Piotr Matwiejczuk
(Polish Radio Channel Two)
Editor-in-chief

The board of Europe Jazz Network has approved Jazztopad’s application for membership and we are now a full member of this prestigious organization as the first Polish jazz festival ever!