TICKETS June 1, 2023 at 8pm ET (doors open at 7pm ET)

Le Poisson Rouge
158 Bleecker St
New York, NY 10012

This June, Sinfonietta Cracovia, one of the premiere chamber orchestras of Europe, will present to a New York audience and audiences across the northeast, their flagship project combining film music and concert music of two great composers Wojciech Kilar and Philip Glass, as part of the international tour Kilar 90.

The concerts will feature performances with the young Polish pianist and composer Aleksander Dębicz, and the orchestra’s principal conductor, Katarzyna Tomala-Jedynak.

After the success of the original Kilar | Glass concept at the Krakow Film Music Festival in Poland, the orchestra took the idea on tour to five Belgian cities under the baton of Dirk Brossé – conductor, composer, and musical director of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia – as well as presenting the program at the inaugural concert of the prestigious Tenerife International Film Music Festival (Fimucité). Without exception, this program that combines the music of Kilar and Glass received standing ovations wherever it was presented. 

In a central idea of the program, Sinfonietta Cracovia plays a variety of works Kilar and Glass’s – both concert music and film music – to highlight commonalities between the composers.  The portrait that emerges, that of a composer’s voice as applied to both realms of concert as well as commercial music as well as commercial, reveals how pronounced the musical identity of each composer is. Sinfonietta Cracovia will give three performances across the northeast including (Le) Poisson Rouge in New York City on June 1, 2023, a concert presented by The Glass House in New Canaan Connecticut, as well as in a castle, Hammond Castle, in Gloucester Massachusetts. 

Wojciech Kilar composed a great amount of film music and is known for many masterpieces of Polish cinema. He is perhaps best known abroad as the composer of a number of prominent big budget films such as Jane Campion’s “The Portrait of a Lady” and above all Francis Ford Coppola’s enduring 1992 classic “Dracula.”

The name of the Kilar 90 project comes from the 90th anniversary of Kilar’s birth. Kilar was a composer who combined various worlds: concert and film music, classical concert works, avant-garde works, as well as a substantial body of sacred music. The idea emerge to combine Kilar’s work – and his similar artistic path, with the work of Philip Glass who ultimately managed, like Kilar, to interact in multiple domains of musical creativity.   

Glass, while known initially in the 1960s and 70s for his work in the avant-garde,  was nominated for three Academy Awards for “Notes on a Scandal,” “The Hours,” and “Kundun.” The concert will feature the performances of soloists Aleksander Dębicz (piano) and his original composition, Sideways, a piece for piano and chamber orchestra.  Glass and Kilar both studied with the most famous teacher of the 20th Century, Nadia Boulanger.  They both scored Dracula films, and they both interacted in the realm of so-called high culture and popular culture.

This unprecedented event is the result of institutional support: the tour is co-organized by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute within the “Programme of events accompanying the celebration of Wojciech Kilar’s 90th birthday (2022) and the 10th anniversary of his death (2023),” the Polish Cultural Institute New York, and PWM Edition. This part of Kilar 90 Tour has a special support of the City of Cracow. The promotion of Polish culture and the universal message of joy of art (both film and concert music) will be thus expressed in the musical dialogue: from Kilar to Glass. 

Sinfonietta Cracovia
Presents

GLASS KILAR
Katarzyna Tomala-Jedynak, conductor
Aleksander Dębicz, piano

Program
Philip Glass – Suite from The Hours (2002)
Philip Glass – Suite from Dracula (1931)
Wojeich Kilar – Orawa (1986)
Wojeich Kilar – Certain Light from The Portrait of a Lady (1996)
Wojeich Kilar – The Brides from Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
Aleksander Dębicz – Sideways
Aleksander Dębicz – piano 
Katarzyna Tomala-Jedynak – conductor 
Sinfonietta Cracovia

Aleksander Dębicz is one of the most versatile pianists and composers. A native of Poland, he has toured both at home and abroad in numerous countries and has 4 albums and numerous compositions to his name. Dębicz’s unique style includes improvisations on original music, often combining this with the repertoire of classic masters. His original works are innovative, wide ranging in style and unforgettable. In his work, he has been showing a passion for film art for many years and it is in this direction that he is currently pursuing. He is know for is recordings (especially for “Warner Classics”) and unconventional performances, such as the Gramophone Classical Music Awards Winners’ Lockdown Charity Gala, where they performed their collaboration “Stay at Home” which received an effusive review in The Times.

My first album, “Cinematic Piano”, opened up new artistic paths for me. Some of them fascinated me from the start even though I cannot name them. As an abstract art, music can – and sometimes even should – get off the beaten track, regardless of whether it is rooted in classical genres, jazz, or film. “Sideways” has been an attempt to continue my journey, learn new things and develop. – Aleksander Dębicz

The piece “Sideways” comes from the latest album by Aleksander Dębicz under the same title, which consists his compositions for larger instrumental ensembles, but also interpretations of two classical composers – Bach and Gershwin. For the Kilar|Glass tour in the USA, Aleksander Dębicz also arranged and composed a new material especially dedicated to Sinfonietta Cracovia.

The Orchestra of the Capital Royal City of Krakow Sinfonietta Cracovia is one of the leading chamber orchestras in Poland. It stands out thanks to the performance versatility it offers. Sinfonietta successfully translates the chamber music precision and flexibility of the sound for the symphonic ensemble. This is why it is praised for the performances of contemporary music in its various forms (from avant-garde to film music).

The character of the Orchestra is defined by the performance versatility, precision and flexibility which is successfully transferred to a symphonic ensemble. Sinfonietta Cracovia is praised for its performances of contemporary music in its various forms (from avant-garde to film music). In search for new forms, it becomes involved in numerous projects promoting new music and works of Polish composers. It is famous for its interpretations of the works of Krzysztof Penderecki, the mentor and patron of many of the Orchestra’s projects. 

As a municipal cultural institution, Sinfonietta Cracovia daily participates in creating the cultural offer for Krakow residents and visitors from outside the city. At the same time, it builds its prestige and artistic potential through cooperation with international festivals, and by inviting the stars of the most important musical centres to joint collaborative projects. The Orchestra regularly participates in international concert tours, promoting Polish music abroad (from China, to Europe, to the United States), in phonographic projects and recordings for film and television.

Lead image: Sinfonietta Cracovia, photo by Edyta Dufaj.