31st Mozart Festival in Warsaw
Royal Castle in Warsaw
AMADEUS Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio conducted by Agnieszka Duczmal
Performers:
AMADEUS Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio conducted by Agnieszka Duczmal
Solo cello: Karolina Jaroszewska-Rajewska
Programme:
Divertimento in D major KV 136 – W. A. Mozart
Cello concerto – M. Magin
Suite “From Holberg’s Time”– E. Grieg
W.A. Mozart composed Divertimento KV 136 while in Salzburg in 1772. This piece is an excellent example of Mozart’s ambitious work in the genre designated as “light” music. Mozart’s Divertimento KV 136 is a delightfully simple, youthful piece, operating at the same time with incredible energy, lyricism and Haydn humour. The piece unfolds harmoniously and unhurriedly, and its finale is definitely in the playful spirit that is the oeuvre’s central point.
Miłosz Magin was a brilliant Polish pianist and composer of the 20th century. He was born on 6 July 1929 in Łódź, studied piano in Warsaw with Margerita Trombini-Kazuro (diploma with honours in 1954) and composition with Jan Maklakiewicz and Kazimierz Sikorski (diploma with honours in 1957). He received an award in the Chopin Competition in Warsaw (1955), and was a laureate of the Piano Competitions in Paris (1955 and 1957) and Lisbon (1957). From 1957 to 1960, he lived in Portugal (Sintra), giving concerts in Lisbon and London, enjoying great success in Europe, the USSR, Africa and South America. He was an outstanding promoter of Polish music all over the world.
Edvard Grieg is the most famous Norwegian composer. Already during his lifetime, he gained international fame and recognition. The Suite in olden style “From Holberg’s Time” was composed in 1884 on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Ludvig Holberg. The suite was initially written for piano and then adapted for string orchestra by the composer himself. In 1884, at the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Holberg, Edvard Grieg personally performed a piano suite he composed. The structure and sound of the piece clearly refer to the baroque era – the era in which Holberg lived. Ludwig Holberg was a writer, essayist, philosopher, political thinker, historian and playwright, highly popular in Scandinavia. As an artist, he had an invaluable influence on the development of art and science in the Scandinavian countries. Edvard Grieg visited Warsaw twice (in 1902 and 1903).
Agnieszka Duczmal leads symphony orchestras in Poland and abroad. She is the first woman conductor to have performed at Milan’s La Scala. Till now, she has released over fifty records with Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio and for the Polish Radio she has recorded over 10.000 minutes of music. For Polish Television she recorded over one hundred concerts and musical programmes, i.a. the series In Stereo and in Colour and Agnieszka Duczmal’s Guests, five hours of music for Télévision Française 1, and one-hour programme of Polish music for Japanese television NHK. She has also made several recordings for German and Belgian radio stations, the BBC in London, the CBC in Montreal, as well as for radio and TV stations in Mexico and Japan. Her artistic output includes many world premieres, incl. the first world recording of J. S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations in the brilliant transcription of Józef Koffler for chamber orchestra or the premiere of St Matthew Passion by Krzysztof Knittel. A number of outstanding composers have dedicated their compositions to her. The conductor offers audiences interesting concert projects combining music with ballet or painting. For several years, she promotes young talented Polish musicians in series of concerts.
Agnieszka Duczmal travels extensively with her Orchestra to perform with world class soloists in prestigious concert halls in Europe, both Americas, Africa and Asia.
Artist has sat on the jury of such national and international music competitions, as Eurovision Young Musicians, International Joseph Joachim Violin Competition in Hanover, or Tadeusz Ochlewski Composer Competition in Warsaw. For her artistic work and activity Agnieszka Duczmal has been awarded numerous prizes and distinctions, such as recently: Award of the Society of Authors (ZAIKS) for the Promotion of the Polish Contemporary Music (2016), Award on the occasion of 100 years of ZAIKS (2018) or the prestigious Golden Fryderyk Award of the Polish Phonographic Academy for her achievements in the classical music (2018). On 14 November 2021, Agnieszka Duczmal received the “Diamond Baton” for outstanding achievements in the field of conducting, exceptional artistic creations, making Polish music famous in the country and abroad and bringing it closer to millions of listeners.
Above all Duczmal has an inquiring mind that never takes the music at face value. She shapes and shades the phrasing of her orchestra with striking originality.
“The Independent”, London (Great Britain)
Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio was founded by Agnieszka Duczmal in Poznań in 1968. Initially supported by the Polish section of the Jeunesses Musicales, and later by the Poznań Music Society. Winning the Silver Herbert von Karajan Medal awarded at the International Young Orchestra Meeting in West Berlin in 1977 resulted in the ensemble’s transformation a year later into a full-time Polish Radio and Television Orchestra, and then into the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of the Polish Radio under the direction of Agnieszka Duczmal. Since 2009, Anna Duczmal-Mróz became the ensemble’s second conductor. The female conductor duo makes the orchestra truly unique in the world. The orchestra regularly records for Polish Radio – so far, hundreds of concerts have been broadcast and over 10.000 minutes of music have been recorded, ranging from baroque to contemporary repertoire. The orchestra worked with foreign radio stations, including: German NDR, WDR, SFB and BBC in London, CBC in Montreal and Mexican Radio, for which orchestra recorded mainly Polish repertoire. The ensemble recorded over 100 concerts and programmes for Polish Television and five hours of music for Télévision Française 1. The Orchestra recorded an one-hour programme of Polish music for Japanese television NHK. The ensemble’s artistic achievements include many first performances, such as the first world recording of Josef Koffler’s transcription of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations for chamber orchestra. The orchestra released over 50 records. The ensemble regularly gives concerts in most European countries and in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Kuwait, Taiwan and Japan, often working with world-famous soloists such as: Maurice André, Martha Argerich, Avi Avital, Patric Gallois, Charles Richard-Hamelin, Steven Isserlis, Gary Karr, Kevin Kenner, Konstanty Andrzej Kulka, Mischa Maisky, Wynton Marsalis, Jeremy Menuhin, Igor Oistrakh, Piotr Paleczny, Michala Petri, Ivo Pogorelić, Alexandre Rabinovitch, Vadim Repin, Grigory Sokolov, Guy Touvron, Henryk Szeryng, Maxim Vengerov, Ingolf Wunder, Gheorghe Zamfir and leading Polish soloists. The Orchestra has performed in the most renowned concert halls including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, philharmonics in Berlin, Cologne, Munich and St. Petersburg, Leipzig’s Gewandhaus, Vienna’s Musikvereinsaal, Pollack Hall in Montreal, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, Milan’s Teatro alla Scala where Agnieszka Duczmal was the first woman to conduct there, and the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall. The orchestra regularly takes part in numerous European music festivals. The orchestra regularly takes part in numerous European music festivals.
Ensemble which must now rank among the finest of its kind in the world, possessed of a distinctive sound, an enviable legato and an exceptional leader in the person of Ms. Duczmal.
(The Independent, London)