The Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra will kick off the summer on the musical map of Warsaw in mid-May. This is the second year when listeners will be able to spend spring and summer weekends in the Orchestra’s home. Apart from the usual symphonic and chamber music concerts, there will be other artistic events on offer, including the 19th Franciszek Wybrańczyk Sinfonia Varsovia to Its City Festival, music matinées for families with children, exhibitions and dance parties. The concerts will be performed by some excellent musicians and ensembles in various formations. Summer with Sinfonia Varsovia will last five months.
From May to September, there will be more than seventy events making up the Summer with Sinfonia Varsovia season. A rich offering prepared by the Orchestra will surely make everyone happy, who drops in to visit us. Like last year, most events will take place in the 400 seat Concert Pavilion. There will be weekend afternoon concerts, as well as the 19th Franciszek Wybrańczyk Sinfonia Varsovia to Its City Festival, Sinfonia Varsovia at Grochowska Street concerts, Night of the Museums and Dance Parties. There will be special events for children, including Children’s Day with many, not just musical attractions, Smykofonia [Toddler Philharmonic] events for our youngest listeners and a new feature in our programme – Morning Concerts for whole families.
Sinfonia Varsovia at Grochowska Street 17.05–06.09
Four concerts of symphonic music starting at 7:30 p.m. The Orchestra’s musicians with renowned soloists will present a wealth of repertoire – from opera arias to works by Polish composers and music from America and Russia. We’ll start things off with a concert of Arias at Dusk (17.05), presenting some of the most beautiful moments from operas by Moniuszko, Tchaikovsky and Puccini in performance by the orchestra with singers Karina Skrzeszewska (soprano) and Rafał Bartmiński (tenor) – under the direction of Gaetano d’Espinosa.
The second concert takes place on World Music Day (a Musical Feast 21.06). We will have an opportunity to hear Stanisław Moniuszko’s “Bajka” [“Fairy Tale”] fantastic overture and works by Russian composers (Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov). The soloist will be the talented pianist Andrei Korobeinikov, with the orchestra conducted by Alexander Vedernikov.
In August the music will become more dance-like. The programme of the Evening’s farniente (30.08) includes works by the legendary Astor Piazzolla and Alexandre Tansman. The soloist accompanying the Orchestra that evening will be guitar virtuoso Krzysztof Meisinger.
The cycle will conclude with a performance by award-winning pianist of the young generation Piotr Orzechowski “Pianohooligan”. The last concert (Urban Sketches – 06.09) features Polish and American music conducted by Mariusz Smolij.
Tickets 25 /15 zł
Summer Concerts at Grochowska Street (18.05–25.08
The cycle of afternoon chamber music concerts returns to the home of Sinfonia Varsovia. Just like last year, each Saturday and Sunday at 4:00 p.m. features performances by well-known artists and rising stars on the classical music scene. There will be 30 concerts arranged by common themes: Not just for Orchestra, Japan, Moniuszko, Relax, Travelling, Improvisation, Old Warsaw. The music will be performed by traditional ensembles and some rare configurations, including a reed trio with saxophone and bass clarinet, a cello octet and a flute quartet. The works performed will feature music of many periods and genres – from the Baroque to opera arias, jazz and contemporary and improvised music.
Tickets 5 zł
Night of the Museums 18.05
A midnight serenade, music of evening shadows and a photographic Retro Atelier – these are just some attractions waiting for visitors in Sinfonia Varsovia’s historical home during the Night of the Museums. Three mini-concerts taking place simultaneously in three different locations (8:00 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.) will feature the Polish Chamber Orchestra, the Sinfonia Varsovia Wind Quintet and the VRC Choir. Starting at 8:00 p.m. we will have an opportunity to see an exhibition of old photography techniques and even make our own prints. The “real” midnight concert begins at 11:00 p.m. Playing the accordion and looper, Paweł Janas will perform his own works. The end of the concert around midnight will conclude the Night of the Museums at Grochowska Street.
Free admission
19th Franciszek Wybrańczyk Sinfonia Varsovia to Its City Festival 31.05–07.06
The 19th Franciszek Wybrańczyk Sinfonia Varsovia to Its City Festival is a musical gift from the Orchestra to the residents of Warsaw. This year’s 19th edition will last from 31 May to 7 June. At the Festival’s opening concert (“A Symphony of Dance” 31.05) Sinfonia Varsovia’s concertmaster Anna Maria Staśkiewicz will appear as soloist with Benjamin Bayl conducting. The repertoire of the Festival covers various facets of the dance. Apart from the Polish grand mazurka, listeners will have an opportunity to hear the polonaise, the English waltz, tango and Norwegian dances.
The Festival includes two wind ensemble concerts outside of the Orchestra’s home. On Sunday (“Brass on the Grass” 02.06), Sinfonia Varsovia Brass will perform in Prochownia Żoliborz (4:00 p.m.) and the next day (“Sextet in the Prom” 03.06) the Sinfonia Varsovia Wind Quintet will appear in PROM Kultury in Warsaw’s Saska Kępa district (7:00 p.m.).
The festival will close on 7 June (“Friday Night Fever“) in the Orchestra’s own Concert Pavilion to the rhythm of well-known and liked works by Bernstein, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Piazzolla and Kilar. The Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra will be conducted by Adam Sztaba.
Tickets 25 zł / 15 zł (concerts 31.05, 07.06)
Free admission (concerts 02.06, 03.06)
Children’s Day at Grochowska Street 01.06
Children’s Day at Grochowska Street is just an excuse to go on a musical journey across all the continents. Many attractions will await children up to 9 years of age, including concerts, plays, workshops and demonstrations. At 10:00 a.m. an electric train will appear on the Orchestra’s grounds and take our young listeners on a trip. That day, Sinfonia Varsovia’s home will change into distant lands – the Rehearsal Hall will become Africa and Australia, featuring concerts for the youngest listeners at 10:00, 11:30 noon and 1:00 p.m. The Concert Pavilion will represent Japan, with a musical postcard from the Land of the Cherry Blossom delivered by artists from the Princess Musalinde Project (4:00 p.m.) The Palace Building will turn into Asia, with its historical walls resounding with dances from India and workshops (10:00 a.m., 12:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. and performances inspired by Japanese paper play theatre – kamishibai (11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.). The photo booth, café and the face painting stand for children will be open all day.
Free admission
Morning Concerts at Grochowska Street 09.06–15.09
“King Midas in the Hands of the Gods” (09.06), “Once Upon Baroque” (07.07), „Loook, a Zoo!” (04.08) and “Silent Films” (15.09) in the Princess Musalinde cycle are the tiles of four story concerts for whole families. The Morning Concerts cycle is for children aged 5–9 and is a new programme attraction prepared by the Orchestra. Sunday Morning Concerts (11:00 a.m.) will feature music, stories with actors accompanying musicians on stage. During the concerts the listeners will be able to join in the action and the stories will involve young listeners to become more active and aware of the performance. The Matinées will let children find out about musical instruments, learn about history of art and discover what to “look” for when listening to music. Each concert is a stand-alone whole and presents a different musical story.
Tickets 5 zł
Smykofonia at Grochowska Street 15.06–22.09
“It’s never too early for music!” – this is the guiding theme of the Toddler Philharmonic, a special concert season for music-loving toddlers aged 0 to 5. The programme is arranged based on the experience of hosts, teachers, experts and artists and the concerts are tuned to the needs and perceptive abilities of small children. Hosts and musicians carry on a lively discussion with children by means of sounds, dancing and various props. The musical fairy tales created by the performers captivate even the youngest children, opening their sensibility to the colourful world of classical music. Smykofonia is organised by the Music Is for Everyone Foundation.
Tickets 19 zł / 17 zł / 3 zł
smykofonia.pl
Dance Parties at Grochowska Street 05.07-23.08
This is the fourth edition of dance parties with live music in Sinfonia Varsovia’s home, with dances in various styles to music played by some of the best experts in their styles on eight consecutive Fridays. This year, the themes of the Parties are: Music from the Balkans, Swing, Country, Music of Warsaw, Irish Music, Music of Polish Highlanders, Salsa and Music from the Ukraine. Everyone’s invited, regardless of their age or dancing skill and talent. Each party will be preceded by a demonstration and short workshop during which everyone will have an opportunity to learn the basic steps of the individual dances.
Free admission
Exhibitions 07.06-08.09
Summer with Sinfonia Varsovia includes three different exhibitions within the historical Palace. From 7 to 23 June the building will be occupied by Anna Gądek’s project “MomentN”, with the artist presenting her sculptures and installations. Next month it’s “July with Art” – a presentation of student art galleries.
19 August marks the opening of an exhibition of art photography techniques titled “Daguerre and the Invention of Photography – 180 years”. The exhibition will be open until 8 September. There will also be workshops and meetings with artists.
Free admission
