Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra

At its inaugural concert on 10 November 1947 the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra performed under its first conductor, Stanisław Wisłocki. Since then the ensemble has been led successively by Stanisław Wisłocki, Jerzy Katlewicz, Robert Satanowski, Witold Krzemieński, Zdzisław Szostak, Renard Czajkowski, Wojciech Rajski, Wojciech Michniewski, Andrzej Boreyko, Mirosław Jacek Błaszczyk, José Maria Florêncio, Grzegorz Nowak and Marek Pijarowski (2007–2021). Since the 2021/2022 season, Łukasz Borowicz has been Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Orchestra has taken part in many important festivals abroad, including Romaeuropa – Villa Medici, Kissinger Sommer, Ankara Sanat Festivali, Festwochen in Herrenhausen, Bregenzer Frühling, Dresdner Musikfestspiele and Choriner Musiksommer, as well as the Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival, the Janáčkův máj International Music Festival and the Smetanova Litomyšl International Opera Festival.

The Orchestra accompanied the competitors of the first post-war Chopin Competition in Warsaw, and since 1952 it has accompanied the finalists of the International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition in Poznań. It is the principal symphony orchestra of the Poznańska Wiosna Muzyczna (Poznań Musical Spring) festival and also appears at Warszawska Jesień (Warsaw Autumn) and Wratislavia Cantans. It frequently takes part in first performances of works by contemporary Polish and foreign composers. Among the notable events in the ensemble’s history is a performance before Pope John Paul II at the Vatican.

World-renowned conductors who have appeared with the ensemble include Reinhard Goebel, Christopher Hogwood, Jan Krenz, Zdeněk Mácal, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Sir Neville Marriner and Antoni Wit, and its soloists have included Piotr Anderszewski, Martha Argerich, Piotr Beczała, Rafał Blechacz, Sarah Chang, Ida Haendel, Philippe Jaroussky, Sumi Jo, Konstanty Andrzej Kulka, Aleksandra Kurzak, Albrecht Mayer, Francesco Meli, Midori, Garrick Ohlsson, David and Igor Oistrakh, Mstislav Rostropovich, Arthur Rubinstein, Gil Shaham, Göran Söllscher, Akiko Suwanai, Maxim Vengerov, Wanda Wiłkomirska, Krystian Zimerman and Nikolaj Znaider.

The Orchestra’s recordings have been released by labels including Sony Classical, cpo, Polmusic, Polskie Nagrania, Muza, Largo Records, DUX, CD Accord and Naxos. In 2015 the album Gwiazdy Światowych Scen Operowych: Ewa Podleś z Orkiestrą Filharmonii Poznańskiej – live (Stars of the World’s Opera Stages: Ewa Podleś with the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra – live), conducted by Łukasz Borowicz, was distinguished by the French Académie du Disque Lyrique with the L’Orphée d’Or (Golden Orpheus) award.

In 2016 the Orchestra, together with the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic Choir and soloists, made the world premiere recording of Feliks Nowowiejski’s Quo vadis. The two-disc album, released in 2017 by the German label cpo, won one of the world’s most prestigious recording prizes in 2018 – the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA 2018).

The year 2019 saw the release of the two-disc album Stanisław Moniuszko, Cantatas Milda / Nijoła, a world premiere recording. The Poznań Philharmonic musicians recorded it under Łukasz Borowicz together with the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic Choir and the soloists Wioletta Chodowicz (soprano), Maria Jaskulska-Chrenowicz (soprano), Ewa Wolak (mezzo-soprano), Sylwester Smulczyński (tenor), Robert Gierlach (baritone) and Szymon Kobyliński (bass). In May 2020 the album was included in the Editor’s Choice list of the best recordings selected by Gramophone, the prestigious British classical music monthly.

The album Urlicht. Songs of Death and Resurrection, released in 2024 by harmonia mundi, received the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA 2025) in two categories: Vocal Music and Recording of the Year.