Instrumentalists of the WROCŁAW PHILHARMONIC NATIONAL FORUM OF MUSIC

The Orchestra was founded in 1945 and has since its inception drawn on the rich musical traditions of Wrocław. It performed as the Wrocław Philharmonic (1945–49), Wrocław Symphony Orchestra (1954–58), and State Philharmonic in Wrocław (1958–2014); since 1994 the Orchestra’s patron has been Witold Lutosławski. Since September 2015 the orchestra’s seat is the National Forum of Music, a modern building housing four concert halls with excellent acoustics, located in the very heart of Wrocław. The Forum’s beautiful architecture and its nearly limitless possibilities with regard to artistic projects have become a new impulse for the orchestra’s development under its new name: NFM Wrocław Philharmonic.

In 2006–13 the Orchestra’s artistic director was Jacek Kaspszyk who significantly contributed to the Orchestra’s abilities and position. In 2013 the post of artistic director was taken over by the young American conductor Benjamin Shwartz. The Orchestra has also performed under leading guest conductors including Giovanni Antonini, Andrey Boreyko, Gabriel Chmura, Paul McCreesh, Eiji Oue, Pascal Rophé, and Dima Slobodeniouk.

Among the Orchestra’s numerous recordings for the radio, TV, and record companies, one should mention Witold Lutosławski’s complete works (released since 2007 by CD Accord). The second album in the series, Witold Lutosławski – Opera omnia 02 – Symphonies No. 2 and 4 (under Jacek Kaspszyk) won the 2011 Fryderyk Award for Album of the Year – Symphonies and Concertos. Also under Kaspszyk, the Orchestra recorded the fifth and sixth CDs in the series. In 2013 NFM Wrocław Philharmonic recorded Witold Lutosławski’s Symphony No. 1 and Concerto for Orchestra under legendary conductor Stanisław Skrowaczewski as well as excerpts from a concert with Terje Rypdal, which the Orchestra played during the Jazztopad festival in 2009. This album was the Orchestra’s first release for ECM.

International promotion of Polish music is a key aspect of the Orchestra’s activity. In recent years, the Orchestra has notably presented the works of Karol Szymanowski, Witold Lutosławski, and Krzysztof Penderecki during its European concerts and a greatly acclaimed concert tour of the United States in 2013 (under Jacek Kaspszyk, with pianist Garrick Ohlsson as the soloist). In April 2014, the Orchestra performed works by Henryk Mikołaj Górecki and Witold Lutosławski under Gabriel Chmura in Belgium.

The Orchestra’s forthcoming album under Benjamin Shwartz (due in autumn of 2016) will be dedicated to the music of Paweł Mykietyn.