© Protected - Selected Classical Music in Poland and the Europe of Chopin - Reviewer's Notebook

Somianka Manor Somianka Park The mansion (referred to by the owner Pawel Esse amusingly as 'my little cottage') has an interesting history. It was designed in the first half of the nineteenth century (around 1833) on the foundations of an old convent by the architect Adam Idźkowski. He was the architect of the reconstruction the Cathedral of St. John in Warsaw built in the English Gothic style.  The dwór is situated on a high cliff and surrounded by a picturesque landscaped park laid out in the nineteenth century. Between the wars the property extended over 2000 hectares, including 800 hectares of forest. After the war it performed the functions of a police station, a kindergarten and a school. Somianka is one of the few manors that have not been transformed into a hotel.  Pawel's  superb red 4.2 Series II E-type Jaguar Coupe brought back fond memories of classic car visits to Somianka  in the past. Official Website:  https://somia...

Now 6 Major Ways Poland Has Changed Summary of the blog from The Guardian  12th December 2023  (Lili Bayer) Donald Tusk (Arab News)   A New Government for Poland  Quite a Change ! From The Guardian blog 12th December 2023 - Lili Bayer in Brussels Speaking in the Polish parliament this morning, incoming prime minister Donald Tusk said the October election “will go down in history as the day of peaceful rebellion for freedom and democracy” . In his speech, Tusk spoke out against xenophobia and said “we can protect the Polish and European border and be human at the same time” . The incoming prime minister also said “we will demand full mobilisation of the west to help Ukraine” but noted that “we must remain assertive when it comes to the interests of, among others, Polish farmers”. Tusk presented his ministers, which include the well-known former ombudsman Adam Bodnar as minister of justice. Radosław Sikorski is to return as foreign minister. He also emphasised...

  Benjamin Britten The Sorcerer's Apprentice-Accompanist Graham Johnson I found this wonderful monologue to be a remarkably detailed, engaging, humorous yet profoundly affecting 'tribute composition' to Benjamin Britten by the composer, advisor, accompanist and music copyist Graham Johnson. He worked with Britten and Pears in close collaboration all his life, devoting much of it to the selfless dissemination of the composer's poignant songs, dramatic operas and orchestral music to the wider world.  Strangely in my twenties I had fully embraced the so-called avant garde (how odd this term now) as a writer and attended Stockhausen’s New Music courses as an observer in Darmstadt in the late 1960s. It had as deep a musical effect on me, this close contact with the composer, as upon Johnson who highlighted such importance in his tribute. This intimate and self-effacing address to us is an extraordinarily 'musical' assembly of the personal experience of love an...

Krzysztof Penderecki and the conductor Jacek Kasprzyk Today is a celebration of the birth of the great Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki I can unfortunately only poorly imagine the sublime work he might have dedicated to the horrors perpetrated at present in Ukraine and the Middle East given his profound feelings concerning Hiroshima. Well, his memory and more importantly, his monumental musical legacy, remains with us. As he has now joined the grand pantheon of Chopin, Szymanowski, Paderewski and Lutoslawski.   The present Krzysztof Penderecki Festival will be held on November 22–26, 2023 in Warsaw. During three concerts at the National Philharmonic, you will hear primarily the music of the festival's patron, but also of other outstanding composers: Witold Lutosławski, Wałentyn Sylwestrow, Henryk Mikołaj Górecki. On Thursday, November 23, the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Andrzej Boreyko, will perform together with one of the most outstanding violinists, Anne-Soph...