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Urlicht – Songs of Death and Resurrection is the latest album recorded by the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra under Łukasz Borowicz with the baritone Samuel Hasselhorn. The recording also features the boys’ voices of The Poznań Nightingales, the Boys and Men’s Choir of the Poznań Philharmonic.
Although the world premiere is scheduled for 14 June 2024, first reviews are already beginning to appear. Below you will find an account published by Tony Way on the Australian Limelight Music, Arts & Culture platform, where the record was made EDITOR’S CHOICE.
Containing songs and arias by Gustav Mahler, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Alexander von Zemlinsky, Hans Pfitzner, Engelbert Humperdinck, Alban Berg and Walter Braunfels, the album is published by the prestigious Harmonia Mundi publishers.
,,A dazzling display of fine, young artistry in captivating repertory. Here is a remarkable disc, whose marriage of artist and repertoire must have been made in some mythical, musical heaven.
As many German baritones have done before him, 33-year-old Samuel Hasselhorn is journeying from the world of the classic Lied exemplified by Schubert and Schumann to the more exotic and variegated pastures of post-Romanticism and early modernism both in song and opera.
This recording catches him doing so when his instrument is still at its freshest, youthful peak, full of subtle timbral variations and sensitive, intelligent delivery of text.
Take for example, the two songs he has chosen from Mahler’s Das Knaben Wunderhorn. Hasselhorn invests that sardonic denunciation of militarism, Revelge with increasing drama, freighting the onomatopoeic refrain with skilful, ironic colour. (The version sung by tenor Gösta Winberg in Riccardo Chailly’s otherwise well-regarded recording of the cycle sounds positively one-dimensional in comparison.)
By contrast, Urlicht (perhaps better known in its revised version for alto incorporated into the Resurrection Symphony) is sung with a disarming, simple honesty that stirs the soul.
That soul-stirring quality is also evident in the two other Mahler songs, this time from the Rückert Lieder. Hasselhorn musters impressive technique to navigate the long phrases and low tessitura of Um Mitternacht, his voice valiantly standing out against the stark majesty of the orchestration for low winds and brass. As the artist tenderly bids farewell to the world in Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen, there is again a profound sincerity devoid of all artifice that cannot fail to move the listener.
Subtitled “Songs of Death and Resurrection” this disc has plenty of tragedy, ranging from an extract from Humperdinck’s Königskinder where the death of royal children is soothed by an ethereal children’s chorus provided by the Nightingales Boys’ Choir of the Poznań Philharmonic. Raw sexual violence is vividly realised in the murderous duo between Marie and Wozzeck in Berg’s opera, with the help of soprano Julia Grüter.
Hans Pfitzner’s Herr Oluf sees one the Lied’s archetypal harbingers of death and destruction, the Erlking, wreak havoc on a wedding day. (No Lorelei in this program.) Walter Braunfel’s Auf ein Soldatengrab contemplates a soldier’s grave in a highly romanticised mode.
Elements of nostalgia and yearning are beautifully brought to life in the famous Pierrot’s Tanzlied from Korngold’s opera Die tote Stadt and in Zemlinsky’s lusciously orchestrated song Die alte Garten.
Apart from Hasselhorn’s superb singing with its prodigious range of light and shade, the other standout of this disc is the exuberant playing of the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra under the empathetic direction of Łukasz Borowicz, well captured in every detail by the Harmonia Mundi engineers.
Returning to Chailly, for those old enough to remember being captivated by the vocal makeweights of his Mahler symphony cycle (such as the Zemlinsky Maeterlink-Lieder sung by Jard van Nes and Diepenbrock’s Im großen Schweigen sung by Håkan Hagegård) this disc is definitely for you. If you’re younger, you too will still be inspired by the multi-faceted mastery of one of today’s most promising singers in this ravishing program where resurrection most certainly outweighs death.”
We inform that the ticket office of Poznań Philharmonic will be closed from the 29th of April till the 5th of May.
We encourage you to purchase the tickets online.
Like every year, in the 2024/25 artistic season Poznań Philharmonic is planning to prepare for you musical evenings within the DE LUXE (DL), STAR ZONE (SG) and POZNAŃ CONCERTS (KP) season tickets.
If you are interested in the purchase of season tickets for these concerts, please fill in the or-der form below and submit it in the ticket office of Poznań Philharmonic until the 14th of June 2024.
The estimated date of the collection of the tickets is September 2024. The details will be given later – please track the information on our website www.filharmoniapoznanska.pl.
Print the order form for DL | SG | KP season tickets (season 2024/25)
We inform that the ticket office of Poznan Philharmonic will be closed from the 28th of March till the 1st of April.
We encourage you to purchase the tickets online.
(…) we have, amongst ourselves, an exceptional person of a format that is truly difficult to describe, and, at the same time, somebody who is simply a kind man who has chosen to share his success with people endowed with sensitivity, or with those who are grief-stricken. In Wojciech Pawłowski’s attitude, I perceive several values the society cannot do without, such as capacity for hard work, consistency, selflessness, trust, to name just a few. However, two values appear crucial to me: creativity and empathy. Wojciech Pawłowski admires people who are creative, extraordinary, unusual: artists, writers, visionaries, non-conformists. Rightly so – without them, our lives bog in rote and ignorance. Wojciech Pawłowski sympathises with people wronged by fate. Rightly so – misfortune can affect any of us, no one is immune from the whims of fortune – Jacek Jaśkowiak lauded Wojciech Pawłowski on the occasion of endowing him with the Great Golden Seal of the Town of Poznań.
The ceremony of presenting the Great Golden Seal of the Town of Poznań to Wojciech Pawłowski was held on Friday, 2 February 2024, at the White Hall of the Municipality of Poznań.
The distinction, awarded yearly by the Mayor of the Town of Poznań, was established to mark the 750th anniversary of the location of the town of Poznań. Modelled on the seal press of early-14th century, and, like the original, containing the coat of arms of Poznań and concave Gothic inscription “SIGILLUM CIVITATIS POZNANIE”, it is awarded to persons who embody traditional Poznań virtues, and whose activity commands particular respect and recognition.
Wojciech Pawłowski – businessman, social activist, patron of culture, sponsor of cultural events, philanthropist… The list of terms aiming to chart the vast spectrum of his professional, social, and charitable activity is long. One of the fields of his engagement is the musical life of Poznań, which he has supported for years by providing assistance to the Academy of Music in Poznań, and by being the main patron of the Poznań Philharmonic.
– Thus, the Great Golden Seal of the Town of Poznań finds itself in the hands of a man who has earned it multiple times, and has turned his life into a work of art. It is a work of applied art (business), art of admiration (patronage), and art of sympathy (philanthropy) – said Jacek Jaśkowiak.
While acknowledging the distinction, Wojciech Pawłowski underlined his regard for the Golden Seal’s previous recipients.
– I extend my gratitude to the Mayor of Poznań for taking note of my extra-business activity in the field of promoting culture, or my engagement of charitable character, and added me to this worthy body. I find the Golden Seal not only a symbol of recognition, but also a commitment to support further projects intended to boost development of our town – said the prize holder.
During the ceremony, the chamber ensemble of the Poznań Philharmonic – Marcin Suszycki – violin, Marcin Herman – violin, Karolina Lewińska-Bąk – viola, Maria Liszkowska-Sikorska – cello – performed String Quartet in F major, Op. 96, No. 12 (“American”) by Antonín Dvořák.
Sincere congratulations to Wojciech Pawłowski!
PIZZICATO, the Luxembourg-based prestigious music portal, published a review of the newest release by the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra containing the recording of Symphony in E minor, Op. 16 by Grzegorz Fitelberg. The record, which is the world phonographic premiere of the piece, has been awarded a high grade of five notes!
Full text of review:
https://www.pizzicato.lu/fitelbergs-erste-in-grandioser-ersteinspielung/
We wish to inform that on 22 December 2023 (Friday), the box office of Poznań Philharmonic will be closed. You are welcome to purchase your tickets online, or at the box office as of 27 December 2023 (Wednesday). On 31 December 2023 (New Year’s Eve Concert with surprises), and on 1 January 2024 (New Year’s Concert), the box office will be open one hour prior to the scheduled time of the event.
Symphony in E-minor, Op. 16 by Grzegorz Fitelberg is the latest world phonographic premiere by Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra. Made on 6 October 2023 during a concert at A. Mickiewicz University Auditorium, recording of the piece conducted by Łukasz Borowicz has been released as CD and LP.
This is what Łukasz Borowicz writes about Grzegorz Fitelberg and his symphony:
“Grzegorz Fitelberg was a person of many parts: an illustrious conductor, tireless promoter of his contemporaries’ art, and one of the pillars of the Młoda Polska, or Young Poland movement in music. (…) Written in 1904, Symphony in E minor, op. 16 premiered at the Warsaw Philharmonic in 1907. For decades, however, the piece was to languish in obscurity. (…) [its] modern-day record premiere closes an undeniably serious gap in Polish phonography. It is also a reminder that Fitelberg’s piece constitutes a very important link in the process of development of Polish symphonic music; together with early works by Mieczysław Karłowicz and Karol Szymanowski, it provides a meaningful contribution to its overall picture.”
The recording has been published not only as CD, but also as collector’s limited-edition vinyl LP. CDs and LPs will be sold at special promotional prices in University Auditorium hall prior to and during intervals in philharmonic concerts held between 15 December 2023 and 5 January 2024.
CD “Grzegorz Fitelberg, Symphony in E-minor, Op. 16” is also available from Poznań-based Pasja music bookstore.
With financial assistance from Culture Promotion Fund, state earmarked fund of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, under “Musical Trace” programme operated by National Institute for Music and Dance.
– For the first time, you performed at the Poznań Philharmonic in 2021, and instantly won the hearts of Poznań audiences. Now, you are returning as artist-in-residence. What does this residence mean to you?
– It means the absolute joy and privilege of meeting wonderful Poznan Philharmonic musicians and audience more frequently this year. This will allow me to establish meaningful connections and get to know them better. I appreciate the chance given to me by the Poznan Philharmonic, especially in these challenging times.
– During the concert “A Star Before Christmas” you are going to play the Concerto for Cello and Wind Orchestra by Friedrich Gulda. It is also with this concerto that in May next year you and our orchestra are going to the Gdansk Music Festival. Is the piece a favourite of yours?
– It’s not a typical cello concerto, which is what I especially love about it. It challenges me to break free from the classical musician frame and embrace the almost pop-rock style of music.
– You have a rich repertoire; which cello compositions are closest to your heart?
– Those that are moving me, resonating in my soul and imagination. It is only when I feel a personal connection to the piece that it is possible for me to try to light up similar emotions in the audience’s hearts.
– Today’s concert is held at a very special time in Poland–just a week away from Christmas, the most important, family-oriented Polish holiday. Where are you going to spend this year’s Christmas and the New Years’?
– It is such a magical time of the year, filled with a sense of anticipation for the new and unknown, and the hope for something extraordinary to happen. Even as a grown-up, I still hold onto the belief that the New Year will bring positive changes. I will be spending the holidays in Germany, which has been my home for the past 11 years.
– Today, you are a citizen of the world. It is with pleasure that I watch pictures and listen to recordings of rehearsals and concerts on the Instagram and on your webpage. Among all those colourful photographs, however, I have also found a black square annotated: 1 year. Thousands of broken and taken lives… What brought this war apart of horror, death and pain to so many people who pay the bill for the ego games of those who have power? I hope this day, the day of peace for Ukraine and Ukrainians, is coming now. This terror must end.
It takes a lot of moral courage to make such an entry…
– If only I could change this situation…it’s a horrible feeling to be a powerless spectator of this massacre and not be able to be of any help, unless only on a very local, private level. I can only hope that the New Year will bring peace to Ukraine and Ukrainians and, together with it, to all people who are suffering from injustice and violence. Humanity went so far in progressing on all levels except the very basic, fundamental one of treating each other with respect.
Interviewer:
Anna Plenzler
Ludwig van Beethoven Association celebrates its 20th anniversary. To mark the occasion, a gala was held at the Senate Hall of Wawel Royal Castle in Krakow on Monday evening (11 December). Its programme featured a performance by Polish Radio Choir in Lusławice conducted by Maciej Tworek, and a piano recital by Łukasz Krupiński.
During the ceremony, in recognition of the services rendered for the promotion of classical music, by decision of the President of the Republic of Poland, Elżbieta Penderecka, Chair of the Board of Ludwig van Beethoven Association, and General Manager of Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival, was presented with the Commander’s Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta, while Andrzej Giza, Executive Manager of Ludwig van Beethoven Association, received the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
Partners of Ludwig van Beethoven Association were awarded commemorative diplomas. The list of twenty institutions (incl. the National Opera, Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra, Krakow Philharmonic, or Beethoven Academy Orchestra) recognised by the Beethoven Association for particularly effective collaboration, also features the Poznań Philharmonic.
