The concert takes place as part of the 24th International Festival "Nova Muzyka and Architecture" - Toruń / Kuyavian-Pomeranian 2020.

Artists:

• Monika Skruszewicz – violin
• Rafał Kleszcz – clarinet
• Toruń Symphony Orchestra
• Wojciech Pławner – conductor
• Małgorzata Lisecka - introduction

Programme:

• A. Vivaldi – The Four Seasons
• W. A. Mozart – Clarinet Concerto in A major KV 622
• Wojciech Kilar - Waltz from The Promised Land
• Wojciech Kilar - Waltz from Trędowata

The concert co-organised and co-financed under the Institute of Music and Dance 'Conductor – resident' programme

Every now and again the history of music presents us with works of idiomatic nature - such emblematic pieces as Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons - a series of illustrative programme concertos. Sound painting - imitazione della natura - gained in popularity considerably in the 17th and 18th centuries. The idea of music expressing some extra-musical meaning was known as early as in the Middle Ages, when various stories were told with the use of sounds and natural phenomena. The Four Seasons implement this aesthetic trend characteristic of the Baroque era in an unobvious way. In his concerts Vivaldi paints natural landscapes on two levels. Within each individual section, the composer creates a certain mood and entrusts this task to the whole ensemble, while the illustration of specific events can be found in the sounds of the solo parts. The programme of each concert was formulated as sonetto dimonstrativo, the individual verses of which are inscribed in appropriate places of the score. It is assumed that the sonnet was written by Vivaldi.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completed his Clarinet Concerto in A major KV 622 a few weeks before his death in 1791, creating a work that was individualistic and independent of the trends of the era. The piece was written for the composer’s friend, an outstanding clarinettist, Anton Stadler. Mozart’s earlier concertos are characterised by virtuosity, yet the concerto in question remains free of any showiness. The essence of the piece is the dialogue between the soloist and the orchestra, which is not intended to dazzle the listener. The enchantment is achieved by completely different means.

Wojciech Kilar’s trademark is film music. The composer’s cooperation with the most eminent directors of Polish and world film industry resulted in the creation of music for over a hundred films. On the list of his greatest hits a special place is occupied by unforgettable waltzes from Andrzej Wajda’s Ziemia Obiecana (The Promised Land) and from Tr?dowata (The Leper) directed by Jerzy Hoffman. The professional paths of Wajda and Kilar crossed for the first time during the work over the film adaptation of a novel by the Polish Nobel Prize winner - W?adys?aw Reymont, and from that time on they would intersect regularly, like for instance during the production of such films as Kronika wypadków mi?osnych (The Chronicle of Amorous Accidents) and Pan Tadeusz (Master Thaddeus). The beautiful and frenetically energetic waltz from the Promised Land is not only a musical symbol of a happy love, but when it appears in disguise, in caricatured instrumentation with dulcimer and snare drum, it heralds an unhappy love, like in Berlioz. The story of an unhappy love of a magnate and impoverished noblewoman is the theme of Helena Mniszkówna’s melodrama Tr?dowata (The Leper) in Hoffman’s film adaptation. And also this time there is something strangely disturbing about the famous waltz, whose modified version resounds in the finale.

Aneta Derkowska, PhD

Wojciech Pławner is a violinist and conductor. He graduated from the Academy of Music in Łódź in the violin class of Professor Iwona Wojciechowska. He also studied at the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg (Austria) and at the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna. In 2016 he graduated from the Department of symphonic & choral conducting of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in the class of Professor Marek Pijarowski and in 2018 he completed a choral conducting course in the class of Professor Bogdan Gola, becoming his assistant in the Department of Choral Conducting, Music Education, Church Music, Rhythmics and Dance in October 2018. He is a laureate of many domestic and international violin competitions. Major achievements include 6th place in the 13th Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Competition in Poznań, 1st place in the Stefanie Holl-Violinwettbewerb Competition in Vienna, Grand Prix and the Apollo’s Chariot award in Olsztyn and 2nd prize in the Louis Spohr International Competition in Weimar (Germany). He has been awarded multiple grants by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage and is a laureate of the Young Poland scholarship programme. As a violinist, Wojciech Pławner had the opportunity to perform in several countries in Europe, as well as in Japan. He refined his skills in conducting courses led by such masters as Jacek Kaspszyk, Robert J. Delekta, Jonathan Brett and Maciej Żółtowski. He received honourable mentions in the 1st A. Kopyciński National Conducting Students’ Competition in Wrocław and in the 6th Witold Lutosławski National Young Conductors’ Competition in Białystok. He has appeared with philharmonic orchestras in Łódź, Katowice, Kielce and Zielona Góra, and with the Chamber Orchestra of the Academy of Music in Łódź. Pławner works together with the “Sinfonietta” Youth Orchestra of the Łódź Region. He was recently appointed as conductor-in-residence of the Toruń Symphony Orchestra for the 2019/2020 season under the Conductor-in-residence programme organised by the Institute of Music and Dance. In 2017 he became a teacher and conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of the Karol Szymanowski State Music School Complex No. 4 in Warsaw.

There is no intermission.
The event will take place in accordance with current recommendations and guidelines.

Please read the rules and comply with the GUIDELINES FOR THE CONCERT PARTICIPANTS.
IN CONNECTION WITH THE ONGOING COVID-19 PANDEMIA and completing the statement to be given to 
you by staff on the day of the concert.