Founded in 1984 with Yehudi Menuhin as its first visiting conductor, Sinfonia Varsovia has given concerts in the United States and Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Finland, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Switzerland, Greece, Brazil, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Sinfonia Varsovia performed in the most prestigious concert halls of the world – New York’s Carnegie Hall, Theatre de Champs Elysées in Paris, Barbican Centre in London, Viennese Musikverein, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Suntory Hall in Tokyo or Herkulessaal in Munich; it participated in renowned festivals, among others in Salzburg, Gstaad (Yehudi Menuhin Festival), Aix-en-Provence, Montreaux, La Roque d’Antheron, Schleswig-Holstein, Pablo Casals Festival, Würzburg, Alte Oper (Frankfurt am Main), Festival “Music on the Sea” and many others.
Sinfonia Varsovia’s repertoire is virtually unlimited and includes works ranging from the 18th Century to the present day. The Orchestra has made world-wide and Polish première performances of works by Penderecki, Lutosławski, Ptaszyńska, Szymański, Mykietyn, Narbutaite, Dębski and John Adams, among other leading composers.
The orchestra has performed with world-famous conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Gerd Albrecht, Charles Dutoit, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Hans Graf, Leopold Hager, Jacek Kaspszyk, Kazimierz Kord, Jan Krenz, Emmanuel Krivine, Witold Lutosławski, Kevin Mallon, Paul McCreesh, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Yehudi Menuhin, Marc Minkowski, Grzegorz Nowak, Krzysztof Penderecki, Michel Plasson, Mścisław Rostropowicz, Volker Schmidt-Gertenbach, Jerzy Semkow, Antoni Wit and Bruno Weil. The roster of legendary soloists with whom Sinfonia Varsovia has worked is equally impressive: Salvatore Accardo, Piotr Anderszewski, Maurice André, Martha Argerich, Yuri Bashmet, Teresa Berganza, Rafał Blechacz, Alfred Brendel, Jose Carreras, Sarah Chang, Kyung-Wha Chung, Jose Cura, Placido Domingo, Augustin Dumay, Nelson Freire, James Galway, Fou Ts’ong, Sharon Kam, Kiri Te Kanawa, Nigel Kennedy, Gidon Kremer, Alicia de Larrocha, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Christa Ludwig, Radu Lupu, Albrecht Mayer, Mischa Maisky, Yehudi Menuhin, Shlomo Mintz, Olli Mustonen, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Olga Pasiecznik, Murray Perahia, Maria Joao Pires, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Vadim Repin, Katia Ricciarelli, Mścisław Rostropowicz, Heinrich Schiff, Henryk Szeryng, Maxim Vengerov, Andreas Vollenweider, Christian Zacharias, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Tabea Zimmermann and Grigorij Żyslin.
Promotion of the most talented Polish musicians of the youngest generation is also an important part of the orchestra’s activities—it has performed with such conductors as,Iwona Sowińska, Wojciech Rodek, Krzysztof Urbański; violinists including Agata Szymczewska, Kuba Jakowicz, Mariusz Patyra, Aleksandra Bucholc, Anna Gutowska; singers Iwona Sobotka and Aleksandra Kurzak; and pianist Beata Bilińska.
Sinfonia Varsovia has made a number of recordings and been broadcast on radio and television. It regularly takes part in the most important musical events in Poland and is a regular guest at festivals. During the 2007/2008 season, the ensemble performs in Germany, France, Monaco, Nantes, Bilbao, Tokio and Rio de Janeiro, La Roque d’Antheron, the Cracow Sacrum Profanum Festival, the 10th Music Festival of the Polish Radio, Festival of Polish Music in Cracow, Wratislavia Cantans Festival, Warsaw Autumn, “Chopin and his Europe” and also Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival.
Since June 2008, the world-famous French conductor Marc Minkowski has been the orchestra’s Music Director.
For further information, please visit www.sinfoniavarsovia.org
