choir
O artyście
ph. Grzesiek Mart
The Warsaw Philharmonic Choir began its professional artistic activity in 1953 under the direction of Zbigniew Soja. The next directors of the Choir were Roman Kuklewicz (1955–1971), Józef Bok (1971–1974), Antoni Szaliński (1974–1978), and Henryk Wojnarowski (1978–2016). Since 2017, the position of the Director of the Choir has been held by Bartosz Michałowski.
The ensemble has given concerts in the most important music venues in Europe, cooperating with outstanding orchestras, including the Berliner Philharmoniker (2013). Some of the highlights of the Choir’s history include participation in opera performances in La Scala (Milan), Teatro La Fenice (Venice) and opera theatres in Pesaro, Palermo and Paris. The Choir took part in gala concerts organised for John Paul II in the Vatican three times.
The ensemble has been conducted by outstanding Polish and foreign maestros, including Gary Bertini, Andrzej Boreyko, Sergiu Comissiona, Henryk Czyż, Jacek Kaspszyk, Kazimierz Kord, Jan Krenz, Lorin Maazel, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Zubin Mehta, Grzegorz Nowak, Seiji Ozawa, Krzysztof Penderecki, Sir Simon Rattle, Witold Rowicki, Jerzy Semkow, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Stanisław Skrowaczewski, Leopold Stokowski, Igor Stravinsky, Stanisław Wisłocki, Antoni Wit, and Bohdan Wodiczko.
The enormous repertoire of the Choir covers several hundred oratorios and a cappella works from different eras—from the Middle Ages to the present day. Polish music, especially the output of Krzysztof Penderecki, is of particular importance: the ensemble performs all his oratorio and a cappella pieces. The 2016 album Penderecki conducts Penderecki (vol. 1) was honoured with the most prestigious award of the world recording industry—a Grammy 2017. The Choir’s albums had previously received six other nominations for that award (five nominations for Penderecki’s works, one for Szymanowski). The recordings of Moniuszko’s complete masses were awarded with a Fryderyk (2009, vol. I) and a Golden Orpheus – Arturo Toscanini Award by the French Académie du Disque Lyrique (2010, vol. II). The ensemble also won a Fryderyk for its recording achievements in 2011, 2018 and 2020.