The Silesian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra

Honor Conductor – Mirosław Jacek Błaszczyk

1st Guest Conductor – Daniel Oren

The Silesian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra has been working continuously since 1945. The philharmonic played its first concert on May 26 this year. Under the baton of Jan Niwiński and Faustin Kulczycki, they performed works by Polish composers – Fryderyk Chopin, Stanisław Moniuszko, Mieczysław Karłowicz, Zygmunt Noskowski, Ludomir Różycki and Faustin Kulczycki. The orchestra was accompanied by soprano Irena Lewińska during the concert.

In the following years, the positions of artistic directors of the Silesian Philharmonic and conductors of the Symphony Orchestra were held by, among others: Witold Krzemieński, Stanisław Skrowaczewski, Karol Stryja, Krzysztof Missona, Zdzisław Szostak, Czesław Płaczek, Jerzy Salwarowski and Mirosław Jacek Błaszczyk. Currently, Yaroslav Shemet is the artistic director and conductor of the Symphony Orchestra.

Guests on the conducting podium in Katowice were such masters as: Leopold Stokowski, Carlo Zecchi, Herman Abendroth, Eugene Ormandy, George Szell, Zubin Mehta, Herbert Blomstedt, Helmut Koch, Kurt Masur, and Genadij Rozhdestvenskij, and from the Poles – Witold Rowicki, Stanisław Wisłocki, Bohdan Wodiczko, Jan Krenz, Kazimierz Kord, Antoni Wit, Jacek Kaspszyk, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Tadeusz Strugała and Antoni Wit.

World-famous soloists played with the Orchestra. Foreign guests include: Victoria de los Angeles, Isaac Stern, Emil Gilels, Svyatoslav Richter, Dawid and Igor Oistrakh, Ruggiero Ricci, Magda Tagliaferro, Ida Haendel, Louis Kentner, Fou Ts’ong, Daniel Szafran, Maurizio Pollini, Bella Dawidowicz, Emanuel Ax, Garrick Ohlsson, Nikita Magaloff, Eugene Indjić, Tibor Varga, Elena Obraztsowa, Montserrat Caballé, Gwyneth Jones, Agnes Baltsa, Jose Carreras and Giuseppe di Stefano.

Among the Polish musicians we hosted on the stage of the Silesian Philharmonic were: Raul Koczalski, Witold Małcużyński, Halina Czerny-Stefańska, Regina Smendzianka, Józef Stompel, Andrzej Jasiński, Władysław Kędra, Adam Harasiewicz, Piotr Paleczny, Henryk Szeryng, Elżbieta Chojnacka, Wanda Wiłkomirska, Konstanty Andrzej Kulka, Kaja Danczowska, Roman Lasocki, Piotr Pławner, Stefania Woytowicz, Krystyna Szostek-Radkowa, Barbara Zagórzanka, Stefania Toczyska, Ewa Podleś, Urszula Kryger, Teresa Żylis-Gara, Bogdan Paprocki, Zdzisława Donat, Andrzej Hiolski, Wiesław Ochman, Ryszard Karczykowski, Wojciech Drabowicz, Romuald Tesarowicz, and Tadeusz Żmudziński and Krystian Zimerman.

Festivals

From the very beginning of its activity, the Silesian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra has participated in many Polish and foreign music festivals. It is constantly present, among others: to the International Festival of Contemporary Music “Warsaw Autumn”, the International Festival of Oratorio and Cantata Music “Wratislavia Cantans”, the Festival “Music in Old Krakow”. Among foreign festivals she hosted, among others in: La Chaise Dieu, Sion-Valais, Prague, Ruse, Lucca, Halle, Kiel, Ostrava, Vienna, Linz, Berlin, Lisbon, Marianske Lazne, Brno, Varna, Athens, Taipei and Barcelona.

Premieres

The Silesian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra gave world premieres of over 80 works. They included works by such composers as: Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, Krzysztof Penderecki, Wojciech Kilar, Tadeusz Baird, Andrzej Dobrowolski, Aleksander Glinkowski, Jan Wincenty Hawel, Eugeniusz Knapik, Aleksander Lasoń, Aleksander Nowak, Józef Świder.

Foreign tour

The orchestra went on its first foreign tour in May 1958, giving two concerts in what was then Czechoslovakia (Ostrava and Karvina). Since then, the band has gone on over 200 foreign tours, giving concerts throughout Europe, as well as in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.

Recordings

The Symphony Orchestra’s record output includes over 40 recordings for Polish and global labels. A huge phonographic achievement of the Silesian Philharmonic and Karol Stryja was the recording for the “Marco Polo – NAXOS” company of all symphonic, vocal-orchestral and cantata-oratorio works by Karol Szymanowski, including Stabat Mater and the opera “King Roger”. The album with works by George Gershwin conducted by Jerzy Salwarowski received the “golden” status. In recent years, the Symphony Orchestra has recorded, among others: “Silesian Rhapsody” by Jan A. P. Kaczmarek and works by Henryk Mikołaj Górecki: “Sanctus Adalbertus” op. 71 (CD nominated for Fryderyk), “Beatus Vir” op. 38, “Concerto-Cantata” op. 65 and “Canticum Graduum” op. 27.

SILESIAN PHILHARMONIC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA