Various Artists - The Stanisław Moniuszko International Competition of Polish Music in Rzeszów 2019, Vol. 1 (2020)

In September 2019, the Stanislaw Moniuszko International Competition of Polish Music took place in Rzeszów, whose main goal was to promote our native compositions and to draw the attention of musicians around the world to them. The auditions were divided into two categories (performances by pianists and chamber ensembles), which meant that, in less than 10 days, the audience had the opportunity to commune with countless extremely rarely performed gems of Polish music. We present you with selected competition interpretations of participants of auditions in both categories. In addition to the Patron’s works, the albums include compositions by may Polish composers. The present album features the work of Fryderyk Chopin, Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki, Joachim Kaczkowski, Wojciech Kilar, and more.

The Stanisław Moniuszko International Competition of Polish Music in Rzeszów is a new cultural initiative whose purpose is to promote Polish music around the world and make the listeners realise the quality and significance of the musical legacy of Stanisław Moniuszko and many other distinguished Polish composers from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The letter of intetnt was signed by Professor Piotr Gliński, Vice-President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Mr Władysław Ortyl, Marshal of Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Ms Marta Wierzbieniec, Director of the Podkarpacka Philharmonic in Rzeszów and Mr Maxymilian Bylicki, Director of the Institute of Music and Dance.

The Competition will be organised on a biennial basis and will be intended for a variety of different sets of performers. The first edition of the Competition will be divided into two distinct categories: one for piano and the other for chamber ensembles. The Competition accepts instrumental musicians applying either as soloists or as chamber ensembles (from duos to as many as sixteen musicians in an ensemble). There are no age or citizenship restrictions for the musicians applying to take part in the Competition.

Paulina Bujok, violin
Cracow Golden Quintet
Cuore Piano Trio
Marta Gidaszewska, violin
Robert Łaguniak, violin
Piotr Ryszard Pawlak, piano
Ivan Shemchuk, piano
Joanna Sochacka, piano
The Symphony Orchestra of the Artur Malawski Podkarpacka Philharmonic
Jerzy Salwarowsky, conductor