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The Polish Radio Choir in Kraków
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The Polish Radio Choir in Kraków was founded in 1948 by Jerzy Gert. The
first choirmasters of the choir were Alojzy Kluczniok and Tadeusz
Dobrzański.
From its beginnings till 1994 the Choir was an integral part of the
Orchestra and Choir of the Polish Radio and Television in Kraków.The
choir co - operated with numerous outstanding conductors in Poland and
abroad, among others with W. Rowicki, J. Semkow, J. Krenz, A. Wit, B.
Bartoletti, J. Ahronovitch and G. Sinopoli. |
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The Choir often participated in the first performances of Polish
composers` works, namely those of W. Lutosławski, K. Penderecki, H. M.
Górecki and others.
The Choir performed in international festivals: Settimana di Monreale,
Festival Regione Lombardia, Oratorio und Cantata Festival Ratzeburg, Le
Festival de la Musique Contemporaine Centre Pompidou, Rossini Opera
Festival.Besides concerts the Choir made numerous recordings for the
Polish Radio and Televison and foreign broadcast stations and musical
firms. The co - operation with EMI resulted in recording complete works
of Karol Szymanowski and some works of Krzysztof Penderecki. The Choir
received 6 Oscar awards for recording the opera Boris Godunow by M.
Musorgsky. The Academia Charles Cros awarded Grand Prix du Disque for
the record with Krakow Concerto, Katyń by V. van de Vate, Rescued from
Warsaw by A. Schönberg and Dies irae by K. Penderecki.
Since 1995 the Choir has worked as an independent group within the
structures of the Polish Radio. The repertoire of the Choir embraces a
capella music and vocal - instrumental forms with a special emphasis on
Polish music.Since 1995 the Director and Artistic Manager the Choir of
the Polish Radio has been Włodzimierz Siedlik.
At the turn of the millennium the Choir, together with the Israeli
Kibbutz Orchestra, took part on concert tour performing Stabat Mater by
K. Szymanowski, Mass in c minor by W. A. Mozart and Stabat Mater by F.
Schubert, conducted Avi Ostrowski. In November 2001 the Choir
participated in the Europalia 2001 Festival in Brussels, where they
performed Stabat Mater by K. Szymanowski together with the Polish
National Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Antoni Wit.In February
2002 the group went on tour in Switzerland, where together with the
Polish Radio Orchestra conducted by Wojciech Rajski, they performed the
cantata Alexander Newski by S. Prokofiew.
As one of very few group, in his repertoire the Choir has the opera
Moses and Aaron by Arnold Schönberg. In 1998 Staatstheater Darmstadt
invited the Choir to prepare a common staging of the opera. In 2002 the
Choir was a guest at the Massimo Theatre in Palermo and in 2003 the
choir, at the invitation of the theatre in Stuttgart, took part in
performing the opera Moses and Aaron again.
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