A Trip Down Memory Lane

NOTE: The concert takes place at the Witold Lutosławski Polish Radio Concert Studio (ul. Modzelewskiego 59, Warsaw) TICKETS

 

On the first Saturday of the Carnival, join us for an exciting trip down memory line to the times of pre-WWII music cafés, revues, dances, first sound films, and ... the beginings of the Polish Radio. Let the current and former members of the Opera Academy of the Polish National Opera treat you to their renditions of the most beautiful pieces by such treasured Polish songwriters as Jerzy Jurandot, Emanuel Schlechter, Julian Tuwim, and Andrzej Włast, and the music of excellent composers including Artur Gold, Jerzy Petersburski, Władysław Szpilman, Feliks Rybicki, and Henryk Wars.

The programme includes such cherished songs as Tango milonga, Sex appeal, Umówiłem się z nią na dziewiątą, Miłość ci wszystko wybaczy, Ta ostatnia niedziela, and Nikodem in arrangements by Rafał Kłoczko and the original arrangements found in the Polish Radio archives. As 2025 marks 25 years since the passing of Władysław Szpilman, the concert celebrates the memory of this brilliant artist, witness of history, and one of the icons of the Polish Radio with a performance of his Small Overture composed specifically for the Polish Radio, Old-Style Waltz and Small Waltz.

This year sees the jubilee of the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the centenary of the Polish Radio. The broadcaster's archives and sheet music catalogue is a treasure trove of Polish songwriting. Join in the party live at the Polish Radio Concert Studio or by your radio at home.

The concert comes on the heels of other successful collaborations between the Opera Academy and the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Warsaw. In 2017 the two joined forces to deliver a concert of German music, in 2019 – a concert of Mozart arias and ensembles, while in 2020 they treated the audience to a selection of songs and fragments from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. The Opera Academy's emerging singers and pianists were each time accompanied onstage by their accomplished colleagues: Olga Pasichnyk and Tomasz Konieczny.

Programme

Mała uwertura, music: Władysław Szpilman
Powróćmy jak za dawnych lat, music: Henryk Wars, lyrics: Jerzy Jurandot 
Tango milonga, music: Jerzy Petersburski, lyrics: Andrzej Włast
Na pierwszy znak, music: Henryk Wars, lyrics: Julian Tuwim
O'key, music: Henryk Wars, lyrics: Konrad Tom, Emanuel Schlechter
Sex appeal, music: Henryk Wars, lyrics: Emanuel Schlechter
Umówiłem się z nią na dziewiątą, music: Henryk Wars, lyrics: Emanuel Schlechter
Każdemu wolno kochać, music: Szymon Kataszek, Zygmunt Karasiński, lyrics: Emanuel Schlechter
Ja się boję sama spać, music: Jerzy Petersburski, lyrics: Andrzej Włast
Bo ja się boję być we dwoje, music: Tadeusz Müller, lyrics: Jerzy Walden

INTERMISSION

Walc w starym stylu, music: Władysław Szpilman
Jesienne róże, music: Artur Gold, lyrics: Andrzej Włast
Czemuż ja cię kochać muszę, music: Feliks Rybicki
Miłość ci wszystko wybaczy, music: Henryk Wars, lyrics: Julian Tuwim
Rebeka, music: Zygmunt Białostocki, lyrics: Andrzej Włast,
Już nigdy music: Jerzy Petersburski, lyrics: Andrzej Włast
Już taki jestem zimny drań, music: Henryk Wars, lyrics: Jerzy Nel, Ludwik Starski
Ta ostatnia niedziela, music: Jerzy Petersburski, lyrics: Zenon Friedwald
Nikodem, music: Henryk Wars, lyrics: Ludwik Starski
Mały walc, music: Władysław Szpilman 
Na cześć młodości, music: Henryk Wars, słowa: Ludwik Starski

PERFORMERS

Izabella Fabrycka soprano
Justyna Khil soprano
Iryna Melnyk soprano
Emilia Rabczak mezzo-soprano
Nataliia Tepla mezzo-soprano
Adam Dobek baritone
Mateusz Kulczyński baritone
Nazar Mykulyak baritone
Paweł Trojak baritone

Klara Janus piano
Rozalia Kierc piano
Gabriela Lasota-Cierniak piano

Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Warsaw under Michał Klauza