Sinfonia Varsovia turns 35

A gala concert at Warsaw’s National Opera on Saturday has a diverse programme including works by Rossini, Bernstein and Polish composers Wojciech Kilar and Krzysztof Penderecki, performed under the baton of French, American and Polish conductors – Herve Niquet, Roderick Cox and Marzena Diakun.

The beginnings of Sinfonia Varsovia can be traced to the activity of the Polish Chamber Orchestra, which, in April 1984, invited Sir Yehudi Menuhin to appear in Poland both as soloist and conductor. To accommodate the planned repertoire the orchestra was expanded to forty musicians. The concerts were such an overwhelming success that Sir Yehudi signed a contract as the principal guest conductor of what was to become Sinfonia Varsovia and served in the post for 15 years.

Over the past 35 years Sinfonia Varsovia has given almost 4, 000 concerts across the world, including at such prestigious venues as New York’s Carnegie Hall, Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, and London’s Barbican Centre, as well as at major festivals (Salzburg, Aix-en-Provence, Schleswig-Holstein, La Folle Journée, Wratislavia Cantans, Warsaw Autumn).

Its discography includes over 300 CDs for Polish and foreign labels, many of which have received prestigious awards.

In 2010, Sinfonia Varsovia received a new home on the right bank of the Vistula River. A modern concert hall is to be built there by 2024. (mk)

Source: IAR