IDA HAENDEL HAS PASSED AWAY
On the 30th of June 2020 in Miami Ida Haendel – the great woman violinist – has died aged 91. Or maybe aged 92, 96 or 97? Rumour has it that she had several birth certificates with different dates.
She herself says that the confusion with dates originated in 1937 in London, when she was to perform as a child prodigy in Covent Garden. However, at the last moment it was decided that children under 14 years old can’t take part in the concert. Then Ida’s agent and her father convinced the organizers that that’s exactly her age…
For sure she was born in Chełm, in a Jewish family. She began playing the violin at the age of 3. She had the best teachers: Carl Flesch and George Enescu. She quickly started her triumphal march through the most renowned concert halls in the world and played with the most eminent orchestras.
She was twice (in 1986 and 2006) a juror at the Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Competition in Poznan, and long before – its laureate. She won the 7th place (the best one in the Polish team) in the 1st edition of the contest held in 1935 in Warsaw.
‘I was 8 years old at that time – I can’t lie and say it was the most important competition in my life. I don’t really remember it. They told me to play the best I could, so I did it’, she recounted with disarming honesty in 2006.
She performed with Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra in AMU Concert Hall on the 3rd of November 2006. She took over the audience the moment she entered the stage, gallantly accompanied by Łukasz Borowicz who made his debut with Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra then. He conducted the Violin Concerto in D minor by Jean Sibelius. No wonder she selected this piece – throughout her life she’s been considered an unmatched interpreter of that composer.
‘Unfortunately, I’ve never met Sibelius personally, though many people seem to think that’, she said. ‘However, he wrote me an unusual letter. It was after my concert in Helsinki which he listened via radio in his house in Järvenpää. I congratulate you, he wrote, a magnificent performance of my concert, but I congratulate myself even more that my concert found a violinist who can play it so well…
’ In her artistic life Ida Handel was always faithful to the principle that a violinist shouldn’t create anything new, but stay loyal to the composer, and have – just like her – a great respect for the score. ‘A composer is the most important. We are only impersonators whose job is to convey what he created in the most accurate possible way. My father always said that the score is a book that you have to be able to read. That’s why I do everything I can to please the composer, though I’m never sure if I succeed. I simply can’t check with Wieniawski or Bach if I play well. Maybe someday, up there, I will…’
Maybe she will ask them now…?
* Ida Haendel’s statements come from Anna Plenzler’s article entitled “Lady With the Violin” (Kaleidoscope, January 2007).
Next Tuesday, on the 16th of June at 7 p.m., Polish Radio Program II invites you to a meeting with Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra! On the radio programme “Philharmonic of Polish Radio Program II” you can listen to a concert recorded at the 57th Bydgoszcz Music Festival “Contrasts, or Songs from Different Places”.
Program:
- Stanisław Moniuszko – Lithuanian Mythological Cantata “Nijola” for Solo Voices, Mixed Choir and Orchestra inspired by “Witolorauda” written by Józef Ignacy Kraszewski
- Stanisław Moniuszko – Lithuanian Mythological Cantata “Milda” for Solo Voices, Choir and Orchestra
Performers:
Wioletta Chodowicz – soprano
Maria Jaskulska-Chrenowicz – soprano
Ewa Wolak – alto
Sylwester Smulczyński – tenor
Robert Gierlach – bass
Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic
Violetta Bielecka – choir preparation
Łukasz Borowicz – conductor
We would like to remind that the double album of the cantatas “Milda” and “Nijola” by Stanisław Moniuszko, which is a world phonographic premiere, appeared on the May list of best CD albums selected by the prestigious British magazine devoted to classical music – Gramophone.
The album was released in October 2019 by DUX label.
We warmly invite you to listen!
Next Friday, on the 12th of June at 7 p.m. we invite you to another Internet Concert of Poznan Philharmonic. This time the musicians of Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra would like to invite the auditors for an unusual journey through different cultures – from Soviet Russia to Brazil, from the echos of music resounding in the synagogues to ancient Egypt in the French version.
1st PART OF THE CONCERT
Performers:
Marcin HERMAN – violin
Olga WINKOWSKA – violin
Tomasz SOŚNIAK – piano
Program:
- Dmitri Shostakovich – 5 Pieces arranged for Two Violins and Piano (arr. Levon Atovmyan)
– Prelude from the soundtrack to “The Gadfly”, Op. 97
– Gavotte from Ballet Suite No. 3 (from “The Human Comedy”, Op. 37)
– Elegy from Ballet Suite No. 3 (from “The Human Comedy”, Op. 37)
– Valse from the soundtrack to “The Tale of the Priest and of His Workman Balda”, Op. 36
– Polka from Ballet Suite No. 1 (from the ballet “The Limpid Stream”, Op. 39)
2nd PART OF THE CONCERT
Performers:
Maria LISZKOWSKA-SIKORSKA – cello
Paulina MACIASZCZYK – harp
Program:
- Heitor Villa Lobos – “O Canto do Cisne Negro” (Song of the Black Swan)
- Max Bruch – Kol Nidrei, Op. 47
- Jules Massenet – “Meditation” from the opera “Thaïs”
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Co-financed from funds of the National Cultural Centre under the program “Culture on the Net”.
The box office of Poznan Philharmonic (Wieniawskiego street 1) will be open from 2nd of June till 25th of June 2020 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 10 am to 2 pm.
Between the dates of 26th of June and 31st August 2020 the ticket office is closed.
Next Friday, on the 29th of May at 7 p.m. we invite you to another Internet Concert of Poznan Philharmonic. This time the musicians of Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra will present works prepared especially for our auditors in these difficult pandemic times. The evening will be filled with lyrical sound of violin, as well as vibrant jazz and a contemporary perspective on traditional Polish dances. Surely everyone will find something from oneself in it.
1st PART OF THE CONCERT
Performers:
Marcin SUSZYCKI violin
Ewa SUSZYCKA violin
Dominik DĘBSKI viola
Program: Antonín Dvořák – Terzetto in C Major, Op. 74
Introduzione. Allegro ma non troppo
Larghetto
Scherzo. Vivace
Tema con variazioni. Poco adagio
2nd PART OF THE CONCERT
Performers:
Damian KUREK trumpet
Marek GALUBIŃSKI trumpet
Marcin CHRZANOWSKI French horn
Wojciech JELIŃSKI trombone
Mateusz KUREK tuba
Program:
Ewa Fabiańska-Jelińska – Three Polish Dances on 2 trumpets, French horn, trombone and tuba
Mazur
Kujawiak
Oberek
Tuba Tiger Rag (from the repertoire of Canadian Brass)
We invite you to take part in the continuation of the unusual event based on the popular Q&A (questions and answers) formula. This time the responses to your inquiries will be given by Katarzyna Bąk-Beczała and Piotr Beczała.
It was his first gala concert in Poland, held in Poznan Philharmonic. Piotr Beczała sang in AMU Concert Hall on the 14th of April 2007 and he blew away everyone! Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra was then led by Łukasz Borowicz.
For years now Piotr Beczała has been sharing his time between the most famous opera houses in the world – from Metropolitan Opera in New York (where for a couple of years he has been in an elitist group of stars who perform in MET every season), through Covent Garden in London, to La Scala in Milan. He is considered to be the leading tenor in the world. His wife, Katarzyna Bąk-Beczała, also a singer, supports him in the artistic career.
They both come from a Silesian town Czechowice-Dziedzice. They met in high school, in a choir, though she attended school of music and he was a student of a technical college, in the field of Mechanical Engineering. They both graduated from Academies of Music – Katarzyna in Warsaw, Piotr in Katowice. She started her professional singing career during her studies, but shortly before her debut in La Scala…. she resigned from the performance. She chose a life with her husband and, as she emphasizes in interviews, she never regretted it. They have been together for 25 years. Katarzyna attends Piotr’s rehearsals, performances and recording sessions. And it’s her opinion that the artist respects the most.
They were in New York when the pandemic broke – Piotr Beczała was preparing for the premiere of Jules Massenet’s “Werther” staged in Metropolitan Opera, in which he was to sing the title role. They managed to return to Poland, to their home in the Beskid Żywiecki mountains at the beginning of April. Today on the artist’s facebook page you can admire his fascination for nature and cuisine, read the great reviews of his lates album “Vinceró!” which was released in May and discover the tenor’s recommendations of interesting online performances and concerts prepared by artists from the most renowned opera houses in the world.
Thanks to our Q&A cycle it is possible to pose questions to the tenor and his wife oneself. You can ask how they endure the compulsary pandemic break and what are their plans, as well as anything that you would like to find out about this couple.
The questions can be sent by an internet form till the 31st of May: the form
The answers to the most interesting inquiries will appear on our website and Facebook profile on the 6th of June at 6 p.m.
We encourage you to pose questions!
On the 22nd of May falls the 3rd death anniversary of Zbigniew Wodecki. With reference to this date, four young violinists of Poznan Philharmonic prepared a video recorded at their homes featuring one of the first – yet how symbolic – hits of the prematurely deceased “bow friend”. The piece was arranged by Radosław Mateja – husband of one of the performing artistis.
We encourage you to watch the video and listen to the music.
Zbigniew Wodecki – Begin with Bach
Performers:
Anastazja Kołodziejczak – violin
Kosma Müller – violin
Magdalena Mateja – violin
Weronika Stabrawa – violin
Ladies and gentlemen, we would like to inform you that on the 2nd of June we open the box office of Poznan Philharmonic (Wieniawskiego street 1).
The box office will be open from 2nd of June till 25th of June 2020 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 10 am to 2 pm.
Next Friday 22nd of May at 7 p.m. we invite you to another Internet concert of Poznan Philharmonic. This time we will bring back the memories of a concert that we waited so long for; concert which was one of the artistic meetings that you never forget. It was a delight, but also a challenge for Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra to play under the baton of one of the most famous world’s known conductors of the 2nd half of the 20th century. Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra performed, among other works, Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36 by Ludwig van Beethoven. The album with the recording of the live performance was released a few months later by Poznan Philharmonic and DUX label.
Performers:
Sir Neville MARRINER – conductor
Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra
Program:
Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36
Adagio molto – Allegro con brio
Larghetto
Scherzo (Allegro)
Allegro molto
Stefan was his peer, they simply liked each other…
The choir sang, the Pope joined its ranks…
Millions of people… Never before or since I performed before such a huge auditorium…
These are only three quotes from the film prepared by Poznan Nightingales choir for the 100th birthday anniversary of Karol Wojtyła – Pope John Paul II. This unusual documentary was interlaced from memories of choristers and their photos kept at home albums, as well as the archives of Poznan Philharmonic and its Choir.
The emotions that accompanied choir singers performing for John Paul II (and having the opportunity to meet him) have remained written in their hearts for ever. And as the Nightingales sang for the Polish Pope numerous times – in Poland and in Vatican – many images can be brought to mind.
You will not hear these stories anywhere else. We invite you to the websites and Facebook profiles of Poznan Philharmonic and Poznan Nightingales on Monday morning, 18th of May.