Toruń events
18 February 2023, NCU Aula
Toruń Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Dainius Pavilionis - UNIVERSITY CONCERT
In the programme:
R. Strauss - Tako rzecze Zarathustra Op. 30, Part I - Sunrise
L. van Beethoven, arr. J. Kowalewski - Moonlight Sonata
A. Wesołowski - composition for the 550th anniversary of the birth of Nicolaus Copernicus (premiere)
G. Holst, arr. P. Pietruszewski - Planets op. 32
Among the works presented will be "Planets" - a symphonic suite composed by the English composer Gustav Holst.
The suite consists of seven movements named after one of the planets of the solar system as an astrological symbol: 1. Mars - harbinger of war, 2. Venus - harbinger of peace, 3) Mercury - the winged messenger, 4) Jupiter - the harbinger of joy, 5) Saturn - the harbinger of old age, 6) Uranus - the magician and 7) Neptune - the mystic.
Already at its premiere, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra in 1920, The Planets was received with great enthusiasm and became hugely popular, making Gustav Holst one of the leading English composers.
18 February 2023, District Museum in Toruń
On the occasion of the Year of Nicolaus Copernicus, which marks the 550th anniversary of the astronomer's birth, institutions in Toruń, i.e. the University Library in Toruń, the Kopernik Regional Public Library, the District Museum in Toruń and the State Archives in Toruń, have prepared an anniversary exhibition entitled Of all books the most worthy of reading... Around Nicolaus Copernicus' De revolutionibus. The theme oscillates around the reading of an outstanding, well-known, but also difficult to understand work, especially for the European society of the time, accustomed to a classical, Christian vision of the world. The exhibition draws on the astronomical tradition from before the Copernican Revolution and is devoted to De revolutionibus and its later reception, including modern translations. The literary relics are accompanied by a presentation of Copernican graphics from the 16th to the 20th century, as well as a board exhibition placed in the courtyard of the Old Town Hall in Toruń, which artistically visualises 14 copies of the first edition of De revolutionibus (1543) currently in the collections of Polish institutions.
The jubilee exhibition will open on the eve of the Astronomer's birthday, 18 February 2023, in the Royal Hall of the Old Town Hall in Toruń (District Museum in Toruń) and will be open to the public for the next few months. The board exhibition, which is one of the elements of the whole exposition, will also be presented in various Polish cities according to the schedule: Toruń (February-May 2023) - Kraków (May-June 2023) - Olsztyn (June 2023) - Toruń (September 2023) - Wrocław (October-December 2023) - Poznań (December 2023-January 2024) - Warsaw (June 2024).
11-15 September 2023
During the World Copernican Congress, in September 11-15, 2023, the 41. Polish Astronomical Society Meeting (PTA, https://www.pta.edu.pl/english) will also take place. In 2023, PTA celebrates its 100th anniversary.
12 September 2023, CKK Jordanki (The Cultural and Congress Centre Jordanki)
Ars Cantus, artistic director Tomasz Dobrzański - early music concert
On the programme: renaissance music by Piotr of Grudziądz.
Ars Cantus performs early music from the Middle Ages to the early Baroque. The ensemble has given concerts at many early music festivals in Poland and Europe (Germany, France, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria and Italy). Ars Cantus features vocalists and instrumentalists playing instruments typical of past eras such as the positra, flutes, shawms, theorbo, viola da gamba, lute and theorbo. Tomasz Dobrzański - the ensemble's artistic director - also collaborates with other ensembles and runs courses in early music interpretation. He is the artistic director of Wrocław's Forum Musicum festival. He is also involved in copying and reconstructing early musical instruments.
14 September 2023, NCU Auditorium
Mateusz Krzyżowski - piano recital
Mateusz Krzyżowski - student at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw in the class of Professor Joanna Ławrynowicz-Just. Winner of many prestigious awards, including first prize in the 12th International Competition for Young Pianists "Arthur Rubinstein in memoriam", a special prize for the best performance of a work by Karol Szymanowski, the Chopin Prize and a prize for the best performance of a concerto with an orchestra. The pianist has already given concerts at the National Philharmonic, Silesian Philharmonic, Rzeszów Philharmonic, Kaunas Philharmonic, Łódź Philharmonic, Świętokrzyska Philharmonic, Lublin Philharmonic and with the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice. Mateusz Krzyżowski is the winner of the main prize of the XII I. J. Paderewski Piano Competition in Bydgoszcz. He also received a special award of the Rector of the Nicolaus Copernicus University, and with it the opportunity to present himself in a recital during the Copernicus World Congress.
15 September 2023, CKK Jordanki (The Cultural and Congress Centre Jordanki)
Anna Maria Jopek & Kroke
Anna Maria Jopek - vocalist, improviser, visionary, passionate. Record and performs all over the world with the most important music figures of our times (among others:. Pat Metheny, Youssu'n Dour, Bobby McFerrin, Ivan Linz, Branford Marsalis, Nigel Kennedy, Richard Bona, Oscar Castro-Neves, Makoto Ozone). She has sung a duet with Sting and has appeared on some of the world's most prestigious stages including Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, the Royal Festival Hall, the Tokyo and Tel Aviv Opera, Blue Note Tokyo, Santori Hall and Deakin Edge in Melbourne. She has recorded at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios, Abbey Road in London and Power Station in New York. Since 2000, her music has been released all over the world. In Poland alone, her albums have sold million in circulation in Poland alone, but as she herself admits, she values chamber music the most and a stage close to the people.
Originally associated only with klezmer music, Kroke is a band that draws on ethnic music influences and original improvisations in its current work, creating its own style that floats̨ across boundaries, forms and time, which has not only been noticed by audienceś but also appreciated by artists around the world. Steven Spielberg invited the group to Jerusalem to perform at the Survivors Reunion. Thanks to Peter Gabriel, the group made it to the UK for the WOMAD Festival. The song The Secrets of The LifeTree performed by KROKE was featured on the soundtrack of David Lynch's film Inland Empire. KROKE's reunion with Nigel Kennedy culminated in their joint work, the album East Meets East. In recent years, the band has collaborated with artists from all over the globe and appeared̨ at the most prestigious music festivals around the world.
The magic of Anna Maria Jopek and Kroke's fusion lies in the meeting of two extraordinary worlds of sensitivity and sound. The artists' original music evokes influences from many cultures, using innovative means in shaping form and colour. The style, which balances on the borderline between ethno, jazz, classical, klezmer and even electronic music, is difficult to assess stylistically. While listening to his music, the listener is plunged into an unknown wide space shimmering with a thousand colours. The musicians themselves like to think of themselves as improvisers - travellers in time and space. The project brings together two extraordinary voices of our time - male and female, which further adds to the universality of the musical message of this art.
Composition: Anna Maria Jopek - voice; Jerzy Bawoł - accordion; Tomasz Kukurba - viola; Tomasz Lato - double bass; Dominik Klimczak - percussion.