ORKIESTRA SYMFONICZNA FILHARMONII NARODOWEJ (WARSAW PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA – THE NATIONAL ORCHESTRA OF POLAND)
The history of the Warsaw Philharmonic goes back to 5 November 1901 when the newly organised orchestra gave its inaugural concert in an imposing new hall seating over 2000, built with funds raised by a group of Polish aristocrats, finance and industry moguls as well as famous musicians, including Ignacy Jan Paderewski. On that occasion the orchestra was conducted by its co-founder and artistic director Emil Młynarski, with Paderewski as soloist. Within a short time, the Warsaw Philharmonic became the leading Polish centre of musical culture. Its reputation was enhanced by guest performances of the greatest musicians of the early 20th century: Eugen d’Albert, Ferruccio Busoni, Pablo Sarasate, Sergei Rachmaninov, Eugène Ysaÿe, Artur Nikisch and the Czech Quartet, to name but a few. The Warsaw Philharmonic also hosted composers such as Richard Strauss, Edvard Grieg, Karol Szymanowski, Arthur Honegger, Sergei Prokofiev, Maurice Ravel, and Igor Stravinsky. The orchestra’s other directors in its early seasons include Emil von Řezníček, Grzegorz Fitelberg and Zdzisław Birnbaum.
Until World War II the Warsaw Philharmonic Hall served as the venue for three Chopin International Piano Competitions (1927, 1932, 1937), the 1st Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Competition (1935) and the 1st Festival of Polish Art. In the first days of September 1939 the Warsaw Philharmonic was heavily bombed and later completely destroyed. From 71 orchestra members, as many as 39 lost their lives during the war.
Among the conductors who led the Warsaw Philharmonic in the first post-war years were Olgierd Straszyński and Andrzej Panufnik. In January 1950 the post of director and principal conductor was taken by Witold Rowicki, who in difficult conditions (the orchestra had no own hall) reorganised the ensemble and played a key role in raising its artistic level. On 21 February 1955 the Philharmonic was renamed the National Philharmonic and a new building at Sienkiewicza St was opened in Warsaw, with only a fragment of the former facade and few preserved sculptures.
In 1955–58 the orchestra was directed by Bohdan Wodiczko, a visionary, outstanding musician and promoter of contemporary music. Arnold Rezler and Stanisław Skrowaczewski were among his assistants. The late 1950s were a very propitious period in the history of the orchestra, which was considerably expanded. Several 20th-century compositions were premiered to great acclaim. After Wodiczko, Witold Rowicki resumed work with the orchestra, and remained its artistic director until the end of the 1976/77 season. The permanent conductors at the time included Stanisław Wisłocki and Andrzej Markowski. In July 1977 the post of artistic director was taken over by Kazimierz Kord. He expanded the orchestra’s repertoire by introducing a selection of oratorios, cantatas and operas in concert performance. In 1979–90 Tadeusz Strugała held the post of principal conductor. In January 2002, the post of Managing and Artistic Director was assumed by Antoni Wit.
The Warsaw Philharmonic has made over 100 tours on five continents. It has participated in prestigious international festivals, including those in Athens, Bergen, Berlin, Bordeaux, Brussels, Florence, Lucerne, Montreux, Moscow, Prague and Vienna. It regularly takes part in the Chopin International Piano Competition and the Warsaw Autumn festival.
The Warsaw Philharmonic has an extensive catalogue of recordings for Polish Radio and TV, various Polish and foreign labels, as well as for film. Many of its recordings have won prestigious awards including the Fryderyk Award for best interpretation of Polish music in 2002 (works by Lutosławski, Meyer and Penderecki). In 2004 the recording of Penderecki’s St Luke Passionunder Antoni Wit (made two years earlier for Naxos) received the Classical Internet Award and a Grammy nomination. The recording of Penderecki’s Polish Requiem, also released on Naxos, received a Grammy nomination (2005) and the Japanese Record Academy Award from the “Record Geijutsu“ magazine. Three more Fryderyk Awards were granted to the orchestra for recordings of the 15th Chopin Competition released by Dux and the works of Witold Lutosławski (2005).
Under the baton of Antoni Wit, the National Philharmonic Orchestra is currently preparing a complete set of recordings of the orchestral works and oratorios of Karol Szymanowski, for the Naxos label. The two first CDs from this series: Violin Concertos (with Ilya Kaler as soloist) and the Nocturne and Tarantella and Symphony No. 2 and 3 have been awarded with “Gramophone’s Editor ’s“ Choice in July 2007 and May 2008. Two subsequent CDs, featuring the Stabat Mater, Veni Creator, Litany to the Virgin Mary, Demeter, Penthesilea as well as Harnasie, Mandragoraand Prince Potemkin, were „BBC Music Magazine’s Editor ’s“ Choice in October 2008 and April 2009.
The music website Classics Today similarly endorsed the two last recordings of the series: Harnasie in April 2009 and Symphony No. 1 and 4 in May 2009. The Stabat Mater CD received a Grammy nomination in 2008, and the CDs with Symphony No. 1 and 4 and with Penderecki’s Utrenya in 2009.
Apart from outstanding Polish artists, the Warsaw Philharmonic has hosted many eminent artists from all over the world.
