At 41, the youngest conductor at the helm of one of Poland’s leading musical institutions in its post-war history, Urbański takes over from Andrzej Boreyko, who has ended his five-year tenure in the post.
Urbański told the media that it was a privilege and a source of joy for him to work with the Warsaw Philharmonic, where he served as assistant conductor after graduating from the Warsaw Music Academy in 2007.
He said he wanted to attract audiences with a diverse repertoire spanning music from the Classical period to the present. The great symphonic repertoire in the 2024/25 season comprises works by Beethoven, including The Ninth, Sibelius, Mendelssohn, Berlioz and Bruckner
A total 70 symphonic and choral concerts, 12 chamber concerts as well as a wide range of recitals are planned. Featured soloists include top calibre pianists such as Piotr Anderszewski, Evgeny Kissin, Seong-Jin Cho, Grigory Sokolov, Emanuel Ax, Andras Schiff and Angela Hewitt. Polish tenor Piotr Beczała is to give a recital in March 2025.
Polish music is also strongly represented, with works by Karol Szymanowski, Grażyna Bacewicz and Wojciech Kilar, whose Missa pro pace, conducted by the Warsaw Philharmonic’s former music director Antoni Wit, is to inaugurate the new season.
Urbański previously served as music director of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and worked closely with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester. He is to combine his duties in Warsaw with those of the principal conductor of the Berner Symphonieorchester.
It was announced at the press conference on Friday that Christoph Koenig, who works with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Radio Televisión Española (RTVE) in Madrid, will be the Warsaw Philharmonic’s principal guest conductor for the next three seasons.
(mk/tf)