AMADEUS
Polish Radio Chamber Orchestra
Agnieszka Duczmal – conductor
Saturday August 30, 7:00 PM
Oblackie Centrum Edukacji i Kultury
ul. Elżbietańska 9/10 Gdańsk
Multipurpose Hall
Polish Radio Chamber Orchestra
Agnieszka Duczmal – conductor
I Violin
Jarosław Żołnierczyk – concertmaster, Bogdan Kapała – concertmaster,
Mateusz Gidaszewski, Dominik Żmijewski, Andrzej Hop, Leszek Wojtowicz,
Dorian Pawełczak
II Violin
Mirosław Bocek – concertmaster, Arkadiusz Astriab – orchestra inspector, orkiestry, Marek Ważbiński, Jan Bałaban, Waldemar Abucewicz,
Janusz Dąbrowski
Viola
Lech Bałaban – concertmaster,
Michał Kot, Beata Żołnierczyk, Anna Kubiak
Cello
Eugeniusz Zboralski – concertmaster, Maria Bielewicz-Pietraszek,
Maciej Mazurek, Anna Papierz
Doublebass
Damian Sobkowiak
Guest artists
Andrzej Krzyżanowski – flute
Arkadiusz Krupa – oboe
Jakub Jackowski – English horn
Piotr Kamiński – bassoon
Program
Johann Sebastian Bach - Aria mit 30 Veränderungen BWV 988
Goldberg Variations BWV 988 arr. for the orchestra by Józef Koffler
Orkiestra Kameralna Polskiego Radia Amadeus
There is no doubt about it: the Polish Radio Chamber Orchestra is one of the crack ensembles of our time.
”The Gazette”, Montreal
Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio was founded by Agnieszka Duczmal in Poznań in 1968. Initially supported by the Polish section of the Jeunesses Musicales movement, and later by the Poznań Music Society, following the silver Herbert von Karajan Medal awarded at the International Young Orchestra Meeting in West Berlin in 1977, the ensemble conducted by its founder was transformed first into Polish Radio and Television Orchestra, and later into Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio. From 2014 the Orchestra is co-led by the Marshal’s Office of the Wielkopolska Region in Poznań as a Cultural Institution together with Polish Radio in Warsaw. In 2018 the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage in Poland was joined as a co-host.
In 2009, Anna Duczmal-Mróz became the ensemble’s second conductor. The female conductor duo makes the orchestra an enterprise truly unique in the world.
By decision of the Management Board of the Wielkopolska Region, on September 1, 2024, Anna Duczmal-Mróz took up the position of Music Director – CEO of the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio.
In April 2023, the album Music for Chamber Orchestra vol.III with works by Grażyna Bacewicz performed by the Orchestra, conducted by Maestra Agnieszka Duczmal, was chosen as the best world orchestral recording according to the BBC Music Magazine Awards.
The ensemble’s artistic achievements include many first performances, such as the first world recording of Josef Koffler’s transcription of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations for chamber orchestra. Covering repertoire from the Baroque to contemporary music, Amadeus’ regular recordings for Polish Radio have produced more than ten thousand minutes of music, as well as hundreds of concert broadcasts. The ensemble has collaborated with foreign radio stations, including the German NDR, WDR, and SFB, the BBC in London, the CBC in Montreal, and the Mexican Radio (for which the orchestra recorded mainly Polish repertoire).
The ensemble’s television recordings include over a hundred concerts and programmes for the Polish Television, five hours of music for Télévision Française 1, as well as onehour programme of Polish music for the Japanese NHK TV station.
With over fifty records to its credit, the Orchestra has given concerts in most European countries, the USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Kuwait, Taiwan, and Japan, as well as collaborated with such world-class soloists, as Maurice André, Martha Argerich, Avi Avital, Patric Gallois, Charles Richard-Hamelin, Steven Isserlis, Gary Karr, Kevin Kenner, Konstanty Andrzej Kulka, Mischa Maisky, Wynton Marsalis, Jeremy Menuhin, Igor Oistrakh, Piotr Paleczny, Michala Petri, Ivo Pogorelić, Alexandre Rabinovitch, Vadim Repin, Grigory Sokolov, Guy Touvron, Henryk Szeryng, Maxim Vengerov, Ingolf Wunder, Gheorghe Zamfir, and leading Polish soloists.
The Orchestra has performed at such renowned concert venues, as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, philharmonic concert halls in Berlin, Cologne, Munich and St. Petersburg, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, the Musikvereinsaal in Vienna, Pollack Hall in Montreal, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, La Scala in Milan, or Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall. The ensemble regularly appears at numerous European music festivals.
Ensemble which must now rank among the finest of its kind in the world, possessed of a distinctive sound, an enviable legato and an exceptional leader in Duczmal.
“The Independent”, London
AGNIESZKA DUCZMAL
“She is short and lively, and she sways like a flame”
Wells Journal (United Kingdom)
The most famous Polish female conductor was born to a family of musical traditions. In 1971, she graduated with distinction from State Higher School of Music in Poznań, where she studied conducting with Professor Witold Krzemiński, and began work as assistant conductor at State Philharmonic Orchestra in Poznań. Later the same year, she started work as conductor at the Poznań Opera where, among other pieces, she prepared the Polish premiere of Benjamin Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto, and Sergey Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet.
In 1968, while still a student, Agnieszka Duczmal founded a chamber orchestra, which in 1977 became Polish Radio and Television Chamber Orchestra, and later, Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio. From the beginning of the Orchestra’s operation till 31.08.2024 Agnieszka Duczmal has been its managing and artistic director.
Prize-winner at 1st Polish Conducting Competition in Katowice in 1970, in 1975 Agnieszka Duczmal was given honourable mention at 4th Herbert von Karajan International Conducting Competition in West Berlin. With her Orchestra, she won silver Herbert von Karajan Medal at International Young Orchestra Meeting in West Berlin a year later. In 1982, she was awarded the title of “La Donna del Mondo” (Woman of the World) bestowed for outstanding cultural, artistic and social achievements by Saint Vincent International Culture Centre in Rome in association with UNESCO and the President of Italy.
Leading symphony orchestras in Poland and abroad, Agnieszka Duczmal is the first woman conductor to have performed at Milan’s La Scala.
To date, she has released over fifty records with Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio, has recorded countless pieces for the Polish Radio, over one hundred concerts and musical programmes, incl. the series In Stereo and in Colour and Agnieszka Duczmal’s Guests for Polish Television, five hours of music for Télévision Française 1, and one-hour programme of Polish music for Japanese television NHK. She has also made several recordings for German and Belgian radio stations, the BBC in London, the CBC in Montreal, as well as for radio and TV stations in Mexico and Japan.
A number of outstanding composers have dedicated their compositions to her. Agnieszka Duczmal‘s artistic achievements include numerous premiere performances as St Matthew Passion by Krzysztof Knittel or the first recording of J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations in Josef Koffler’s brilliant transcription for chamber orchestra. For her own ensemble, she has
transcribed many musical masterpieces, incl. Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, as well as chamber pieces by J. Brahms, A. Bruckner, C. Debussy, A. Dvořak, E. Elgar, S. Moniuszko, and F. Schubert. The conductor offers audiences interesting concert projects combining music with ballet or painting. Furthermore, for several years, the conductor has promoted young talented Polish musicians in series of concerts.
Agnieszka Duczmal travels extensively with her Orchestra to perform with world class soloists in prestigious concert halls in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia.
Agnieszka Duczmal has sat on the jury of such national and international music competitions, as Eurovision Young Musicians, International Joseph Joachim Violin Competition in Hanover, or Tadeusz Ochlewski Composer Competition in Warsaw.
In recognition of her artistic work and activity Agnieszka Duczmal has been awarded numerous prizes and distinctions, such as recently: Award of the Society of Authors ZAIKS for the Promotion of the Polish Contemporary Music (2016), Award on the occasion of 100 years of ZAIKS (2018) or the prestigious Golden Fryderyk Award of the Polish Phonographic Academy for her achievements in the classical music (2018). In 2021, Maestra received the prestigious Polish Radio award – Diamond Baton for outstanding conducting achievements and making Polish music famous abroad. In April 2023, the album Music for Chamber Orchestra vol.III with works by Grażyna Bacewicz performed by the Orchestra, conducted by Maestra Agnieszka Duczmal, was selected as the best world orchestral recording according to the BBC Music Magazine Awards.
The year 2024 brought the Maestra the Award of Honour – Coryphaeus of Polish Music for her lifetime of artistic activity.
„Agnieszka Duczmal is first-rate in the creation of orchestral colours.”
The Village Times (USA)
