The Beethoven Academy Orchestra will inaugurate the 7th edition of the “Poland’s Music Still…” series with a joint performance featuring the eminent violinist Kaja Danczowska. The concert will take place on February 23rd in the hall of the Kraków Philharmonic.
The presentation of the most valuable, though often forgotten, works of Polish symphonic music, juxtaposed with masterpieces of European music – these are the main ideas behind the “Poland’s Music Still…” program, the aim of which is to preserve Polish cultural heritage as a determinant of national identity formation. This is precisely why the concerts, featuring outstanding soloists and conductors, take place throughout Poland, including locations where access to the highest level of classical music presentation is difficult and insufficient.
The “Poland’s Music Still…” series is an original project launched seven years ago by the Beethoven Academy Orchestra – one of the leading Polish symphonic ensembles of the young generation. It is composed of the most eminent students and graduates of European music universities. The ensemble began its activity in 2003, following successes at the 53rd Jünger Künstler Festival in Bayreuth. In 2005, thanks to Elżbieta Penderecka, the Beethoven Academy Orchestra debuted at the 9th Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival in Warsaw, garnering excellent reviews and receiving many invitations to participate in prestigious festivals both at home and abroad.
To date, the orchestra has recorded seventeen albums, including for labels such as DUX Poland, Centaur Records USA, Le Foxx Music, and Universal Music. It also signed a contract with the renowned publishing house EMI London KPM, for which it regularly records classical music. With great success, it also reaches for hits from popular and film music. Its credits include soundtrack recordings for giants such as Warner Bros and Monolith, collaborations with composers Hans Zimmer, Elliot Goldenthal, Michał Lorenc, and Jan A. P. Kaczmarek, as well as the recording of the incredibly popular album “Seven Songs of Mary” (Universal Music Polska), which rapidly gained platinum status, selling over 300,000 copies.
From the very beginning, Marcin Klejdysz, a graduate of the Academy of Music in Kraków, has provided artistic and organizational oversight of the ensemble. Since November 2013, at the invitation of the BAO artists, maestro Jacek Kaspszyk has held the position of Principal Conductor.
The orchestra’s high class is confirmed by its cooperation with the greatest authorities in conducting, composition, and solo performance, including: Krzysztof Penderecki, Gabriel Chmura, Michał Dworzyński, Wolfgang Seeliger, Łukasz Borowicz, Cristiano Vasquez, Michał Klauza, Piotr Sułkowski, Paweł Przytocki, Steven Isserlis, Krzysztof Jabłoński, Aleksandra Kurzak, Łukasz Długosz, Małgorzata Walewska, Aleksander Kobrin, Wibi Soerjadi, Thomas Quasthoff, Konstantin Scherbakov, Ingolf Wunder, Christian Lindberg, Oystein Baadsvik, Kevin Kenner, Bartosz Koziak, So-Ock Kim, Iwona Sobotka, and Rafał Bartmiński.
The ensemble has performed at the Young Euro Classic Festival in Berlin, as well as in prestigious German and Austrian concert halls: Alte Oper Frankfurt, Konzerthaus Dortmund, Gasteig Munich, and the legendary Golden Hall of the Musikverein. In 2015, it performed once again at the Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival, the Polish Music Festival in Moscow, Last Night of the Proms in Cracow, and the Krakow Film Music Festival. A year earlier, as part of the FMF, it also took part in the spectacular International Gala celebrating the 100th anniversary of the ASCAP association.
