Artistic director / Conductor / Soloist – Piotr Pławner
Honorary Director of the Silesian Chamber Orchestra – Jan Wincenty Hawel
It is the youngest of the three artistic ensembles of the Silesian Philharmonic. It was established in 1981 by Professor Jan Wincenty Hawel, composer and conductor, who was its artistic manager for many years. In 2006 an Italian conductor, Massimiliano Caldi, the winner of the 1st prize at the Grzegorz Fitelberg International Competition for Conductors, was appointed its artistic manager for the next four years. At present the orchestra operates under the leadership of Piotr Pławner, one of the most outstanding and most creative violinist in his generation who performs also as a soloist.
The broad repertoire of the ensemble is originally diversified: besides the great classics of chamber music, it comprises music that is not played so often /G. Holst, A. Piazzolla, O. Respighi/, as well as string arrangements of virtuoso chamber music oeuvres by F. Schubert, F. Mendelssohn, P. Tchaikovsky, D. Shostakovich.
The essence of the activities of the orchestra falls within the range whose one side is determined by an enthusiastic statement of a reviewer: “(…) the awareness that we have a very good chamber ensemble in Silesia is truly reassuring .” /A. Nowok, 2013/ – and the other by the album “Górecki” /DUX/, nominated to the Fryderyk 2013 award, on which the orchestra presents the musical portrait of Henryk Mikołaj Górecki’s family under the baton of Professor Mirosław Jacek Błaszczyk, promoting the achievements of these distinguished figures from Silesia.
At the same time, the Silesian Chamber Orchestra has established itself on the international arena and has been invited to numerous festivals and periodical music events, such as: Festival Murten Classics, Le Festival des Voutes – Sud-Vendée, “Schubertiade” – Schloss Eyb, International Music Festival in Rialp, International Music Festival in w Český Krumlov, Festival in Łańcut, Chamber Music Festival “Silesian Quartet and its Guests”, or Festival”Music in Old Krakow”. It has also performed in the most prestigious concert halls of Europe – Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, “Sala Verdi” in the Milan Conservator, as well as “Konzerthaus” in Berlin.
The orchestra has had the honour to cooperate with the whole pantheon of excellent soloists, among whom there have been: Ivan Monighetti, Kevin Kenner, Garrick Ohlsson, Eugen Indjić, Bruno Canino, Marianna Vasilieva, Wolfgang Güttler and Konstanty Andrzej Kulka, Krzysztof Jakowicz, Kaja Danczowska, Agata Szymczewska, Leszek Możdżer, Andrzej Jagodziński. It has also been conducted by distinguished conductors: Paul Esswood, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Mirosław J. Błaszczyk, Tadeusz Wojciechowski, as well as Marek Moś.
The orchestra has made numerous recordings, which have been appreciated by music fans as well as the critics. Several albums of the Silesian Chamber Orchestra were nominated to the Fryderyk award during the last few years – in 2006 an album with a cello concerto by Stanisław Moryto with the participation of Tomasz Strahl conducted by Mirosław J. Błaszczyk, in 2013 an album with the music by Henryk Mikołaj Górecki and Mikołaj Górecki with the participation of Kaja Danczowska, also conducted by Mirosław J. Błaszczyk, and in 2014 “Missa de Maria a Magdala” by Paweł Łukaszewski.
1st violin
Michał Kowalczyk
Dariusz Zboch
Jakub Kołodziejczyk
Agnieszka Sawicka
Karol Tobor
2nd violin
Jakub Łysik – inspektor
Monika Krzysztofik – librarian
Marta Grzebielucha
Izabela Kozak
Viola
Szymon Stochniol
Katarzyna Baczewska
Tomasz Iwanowicz
Cello
Paulina Grondys
Katarzyna Biedrowska
Marek Szymaszek
Double bass
Dawid Lewandowski
