We are happy to invite you to a concert promoting the latest album of the
West Side Sinfonietta orchestra. The album with works by Moritz Moszkowski had its premiere in July 2020. Although the concert plans have been thwarted by the pandemic, we come back with great compositions, repeating the question once asked by The Musical Courier: "who is not impressed by the charm of these melodies?" The concert as part of the GRANDIOSO series will be available on our
Facebook and
YouTube channels . The premiere will take place this Friday, April 23rd at 7.00pm.
Moritz Moszkowski was a German composer of Polish-Jewish origin. He was an excellent pianist, unfortunately, many hours of practicing playing an instrument had a negative impact on his health. When he turned to composing for good, his works were enthusiastically received throughout Europe. Despite the fact that he was celebrated by Berlin and Paris, Moszkowski died in poverty, having lost his property during the First World War. His biography is full of amazing events, and his memories are a perfect picture of European artistic life in the era of fin de siècle
The idea for the album was to show different sounds. The prelude and the fugueis a chamber orchestra, while the violin concerto is a large symphonic ensemble. By the way, Moszkowski was not a violinist and he wrote his violin concerto in a rather inconvenient way for the soloist (those practicing him wonder if they are unwittingly falling victim to the composer's planned "revenge"). "Spanish Dances", originally written for the piano, have been arranged for twelve different performances, this time they will sound in a surprising and sparing instrumentation.
Nomination to the Fryderyki Award
The band West Side Sinfonietta was nominated for the Fryderyki Music Award in the category: Concert Music Album of the Year. Their debut album "Moritz Moszkowski", released lastyear, was highly appreciated.
Fryderyki are the prizes awarded by the Phonographic Academy, a jury appointed by the Audio Video Producers Association, which consists of over 1.5 thousand people:artists, creators, producers, journalists and representatives of the phonographic industry. Fryderyki nominees are selected by secret ballot of all members of the Academy, which is divided into three sections: popular, classical and jazz music.
The full list of nominees in the classical music categories is available
HERE.
Unique project
West Side Sinfonietta is a unique ensemble that is co-created by musicians from the National Forum of Music in Wrocław named after Witold Lutosławski and the M. Karłowicz Philharmonic in Szczecin. This initiative is unique not only in Poland, but also even in Europe.
Musicians from both excellent institutions from western Poland exchange their various artistic experiences, giving excellent and passionate concerts. The orchestra is mostly from the lectern to the violinist. This role is played by outstanding musicians-two concertmasters Paweł Maślanka and Marcin Danilewski. They form the core of the band together with the excellent double bass player Jacek Sosna. The band will be led by the talented conductor of the young generation, Hanna Hurkot, during the concert on Friday.
The orchestra's repertoire is diverse, including both classical works and salon music. This extraordinary orchestra owes its existence to the favor of the director of the National Forum of Music, Andrzej Kosendiak, and the director of the M.Philharmonic Dorota Serwa.
Program:
Moritz Moszkowski – Prelude and Fugue Op. 85 for string orchestra
Moritz Moszkowski - Violin Concerto in C major, Op. thirty
Moritz Moszkowski – Spanish Dances op. 12
Soloists :
Paweł Maślanka (violin)
Marcin Danilewski (violin)
Feel free to listen to the concert on Friday, April 23rdat7.00 PM on our
Facebook and
YouTube channels.