The programme of the concert includes Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos. 5 and 6, with Marek Janowski on the conductor’s podium.
Born in Warsaw in 1939 into a Polish-German family, Janowski has been described as "one of the great masters of the music of the German tradition."
In an interview with Poland's PAP news agency, Janusz Marynowski, the managing director of the Sinfonia Varsovia, said that the orchestra's beginnings can be traced to the activities of the Polish Chamber Orchestra and an invitation that was extended in April 1984 to Sir Yehudi Menuhin to appear in Poland as a soloist and conductor.
To accommodate the planned repertoire, the orchestra was expanded to 40 musicians by inviting outstanding young talent from across Poland.
Marynowski said that, after the concerts, which were "an overwhelming popular and critical success," Menuhin signed a contract as the principal guest conductor of what was to become the Sinfonia Varsovia.
Marynowski added that the "Sinfonia Varsovia’s roots in chamber music making continue to be part and parcel of its performance style."
He praised members of the orchestra for their “extraordinary ability to establish rapport with various conductors and adjust to their individual styles and artistic visions.”
Plans for the coming months include concerts with violinists Pinchas Zukerman and Daniel Hope, and pianists Ian Hobson, Piotr Anderszewski and Janusz Olejniczak.
On May 13, 2024, the Sinfonia Varsovia, under Hungarian conductor Henrik Nánási, will perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in a gala concert marking the bicentenary of the work’s premiere and the 20th anniversary of Poland’s membership in the European Union.
"The Ode to Joy" during that performance will be sung by an amateur choir made up of Warsaw residents selected through public auditions.
The list of conductors under whom the Sinfonia Varsovia will perform during its anniversary season includes Marc Minkowski, Jacek Kaspszyk and Martijn Dendievel.
In addition to high-calibre festivals in Poland, the Sinfonia Varsovia is set to take part in prestigious events such as the International Piano Festival in La Roque-d’Anthéron in France, La Folle Journée in Nantes, and the Leoš Janáček Festival in Ostrava, the Czech Republic.
(mk/gs)