Guest conductor Nesterowicz explores the Polish soul

Apr 10, 2009

For Immediate Release

Contact: Annie Matlow 326-3136

SPOKANE—Guest conductor Michal Nesterowicz will lead the Spokane Symphony through an exploration of the Polish soul with two Polish composers, one Polish conductor, and a Polish soloist. The concert will feature works by Lutosławski, Karłowicz, and Tchaikovsky. Concertmaster Mateusz Wolski will join the Spokane Symphony for Karłowicz’s Violin Concerto in A major.

Michal Nesterowicz was born in Poland in 1974 and studied violin and conducting at the Academy of Music in Wroclaw under Marek Pijarwoski, graduating in 1997. That same year, he won second prize at the Polish Young Conductors’ Competition in Bialystok and was rated “Best Conductor of the Competition” by the Bialystok Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 2000 he has worked with many prestigious groups including Sinfonia Varsovia, the Warsaw Philharmonic, National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, Orquesta Sinfonica de Chile, and USC Thornton Symphony Orchestra. In 2006 he was named “Conductor of the Year” in Santiago, Chile. In 2004, Mr. Nesterowicz became the music director of the Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra in Gdansk. Since January 2008, Mr. Nesterowicz has been the artistic director of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Chile.

Mateusz Wolski is the Concertmaster of the Spokane Symphony and currently sits in the Florence Wasmer Chair. Originally from Warsaw, Poland, Wolski studied at the Manhattan School of Music, graduating in 2002 with a degree in Professional Studies of the orchestral violin. This is his second season as Concertmaster, joining the Spokane Symphony in the 2007-2008 season.

Lutosławski’s Venetian Games is a breakthrough piece, establishing him a leader of the Polish avant-garde from which he had once been excluded. Inspired by the music of John Cage and the element of chance that makes every performance different, Lutosławski began to introduce the idea of chance – through freely notated “improvisational” passages – into his developing personal language. Players perform as if off by themselves, yet there is no room for improvisation and no pitch is left to chance. Lutosławski considered Venetian Games a demonstration of his “maturity as a composer.”

Karłowicz was one of the most prolific Polish romantics, and his Violin Concerto in A major is a wonderful, exquisite, virtuoso display of his talent. Described as a “precious musical gem shining like a rainbow,” Karłowicz’s concerto will be performed by Concertmaster Mateusz Wolski. One can only wonder what Karłowicz’s further contributions to music might have been had his life not been cut short by an avalanche at the age of thirty-three.

Tchaikovsky’s dynamic, emotional, and sweeping Symphony No. 5 will conclude the program. Written between May and August of 1888, Tchaikovsky’s second to last symphony begins with a funeral character and progresses to a triumphant march. Like his fourth symphony, Tchaikovsky again turned to the theme of fate. As a motto theme, Tchaikovsky turned to a phrase taken from Glinka’s A Life for the Tsar, which includes the words “turn not into sorrow.” The gentle motto theme recurs throughout the entire piece.

This concert is underwritten by Maxine Kopczynski and Family and the Mary Jewett Gaiser Endowment Fund.

Tickets on Saturday are $22, $32, $40, and $44. Tickets on Sunday are $18, $28, $36, and $41. Tickets are available in advance at the Spokane Symphony Ticket office, 1001 W. Sprague, or by calling 509-624-1200. Tickets are also available at all TicketsWest outlets or by calling 1-800-325-SEAT, or at spokanesymphony.org.

CALENDAR LISTING:

Exploring the Polish Soul Classics Concert; Michal Nesterowicz conducts the Spokane Symphony; Mateusz Wolski; violin; April 18 at 8 pm and April 19 at 3 pm in the Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox. Tickets are $22 to $44 for Saturday performance and $18 to $41 for Sunday; call the Spokane Symphony Ticket Office at (509) 624-1200; tickets are also available at www.spokanesymphony.org and through all TicketsWest outlets or by calling 325-SEAT or 1-800-325-SEAT.