{"id":5910,"date":"2019-12-17T21:31:02","date_gmt":"2019-12-17T21:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/?p=5910"},"modified":"2020-02-03T22:31:47","modified_gmt":"2020-02-03T22:31:47","slug":"giancarlo-guerrero-brings-the-nfm-wroclaw-philharmonic-to-the-us-january-10-february-1-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/giancarlo-guerrero-brings-the-nfm-wroclaw-philharmonic-to-the-us-january-10-february-1-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Giancarlo Guerrero brings the NFM Wroc\u0142aw Philharmonic to the US January 10-February 1, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

Twelve-City US Tour \u2013 The First for this Polish Orchestra Since 2012 \u2013 Includes Stops in Chicago, Indianapolis, Nashville and Throughout Florida and California<\/strong><\/p>\n

Repertoire by three generations of Polish composers \u2013 Chopin, Szymanowski, and Lutos\u0142awski \u2013 will be performed together with music by Central European composers Bart\u00f3k, Dvo\u0159\u00e1k and Brahms <\/strong><\/p>\n

Polish pianist Piotr Anderszewski, pianist David Fray and violinists Janusz Wawrowski and Bomsori Kim join the NFM Wroc\u0142aw Philharmonic on tour<\/strong><\/p>\n

This winter, the NFM Wroc\u0142aw Philharmonic<\/a> embarks on a twelve-city US tour with conductor Giancarlo Guerrero<\/a>, Music Director of the Polish orchestra since 2017. This tour is the first time the orchestra has toured the United States since 2012. Throughout the tour, the orchestra will perform works of Polish composers from across generations, including Frederic Chopin, Karol Szymanowski and Witold Lutos\u0142awski, an original patron of the National Forum of Music (NFM) in Wroc\u0142aw. Johannes Brahms, a composer with close ties to Wroc\u0142aw will also be represented on tour along with other Central European composers Antonin Dvo\u0159\u00e1k and B\u00e9la Bart\u00f3k.<\/p>\n

The NFM Wroc\u0142aw Philharmonic begins the tour on January 10 in Ft. Myers, FL and goes on to Gainesville (January 11), Daytona Beach (Jan 12) and West Palm Beach, FL (Jan 13-14) performing a Szymanowski Concert Overture or Lutos\u0142awski Symphonic Variations; Dvo\u0159\u00e1k\u2019s \u201cNew World\u201d Symphony or Brahms Symphony No. 1 and Chopin\u2019s Piano Concerto No. 2 with pianist David Fray, described by Die Welt<\/em> as the \u201cperfect example of a thinking musician.\u201d Polish violinist Janusz Wawrowski joins the tour for the Szymanowski Violin Concerto in a second concert in West Palm Beach also including Lutos\u0142awski Symphonic Variations and Brahms Symphony No. 1. The orchestra performs an all- orchestral program of Lutos\u0142awski, Szymanowski and Dvo\u0159\u00e1k in Greenville, SC on January 19.<\/p>\n

In Nashville, Chicago and Carmel, IN, outside Indianapolis (Jan 21-25), Polish pianist Piotr Anderszewski joins the Wroc\u0142aw Philharmonic for Bart\u00f3k\u2019s Concerto No. 3 in performances that include Szymanowski\u2019s Concert Overture, Lutos\u0142awski\u2019s Symphonic Variations and Brahms Symphony No. 1. The final leg of the tour will bring the NFM Wroc\u0142aw Philharmonic west to Wickenburg near Phoenix, AZ (Jan 29), Orange (Jan 30), Palo Alto (Jan 31) and Rohnert Park, CA (Feb 1) where they perform the Szymanowski concerto with violinist Bomsori Kim, along with the orchestral works of Lutoslawski, Dvo\u0159\u00e1k and Brahms.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the US, the NFM Wroc\u0142aw Philharmonic will perform repertoire by three generations of Polish composers,\u201d says Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero. \u201cOf course, no tour by a Polish orchestra would be complete without Chopin, who visited Wroc\u0142aw several times over his lifetime. Szymanowski, representing the early 20th century, was inspired by Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler, and you will hear their Romantic influence in the Concert Overture, but with the Violin Concerto of 1916, Szymanowski is coming into his own. Though it is orchestrated for huge forces, including a piano, celesta and harps, the piece is still written in a transparent way where the violin undoubtedly leads the way. This work is really the first great concerto of the 20th century in a modern style. Lutos\u0142awski was the original patron of the NFM Wroc\u0142aw Philharmonic and with his Symphonic Variations from 1938, we highlight the composer\u2019s strong relationship with Wroc\u0142aw and the orchestra, which has now recorded Lutos\u0142awski\u2019s entire orchestral output.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this important tour, NFM Wroc\u0142aw Philharmonic reaches beyond the borders of the city to become a real cultural ambassador for Poland,\u201d Guerrero continues. \u201cI am energized by the vision of what this orchestra is becoming, and I am proud to bring them on tour to the United States to represent this important European cultural center.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Critical Acclaim<\/strong>
\n“In the U.S., Guerrero and the orchestra are traveling with 100 players, and they all appeared to be on stage for Szymanowski\u2019s Concert Overture, the lively curtain-raiser of the tour\u2019s first concert on Jan. 10, at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall in Fort Myers, one of four stops on the Florida swing of the tour. Composed by Szymanowski under the influence of Richard Strauss, and premiered in Warsaw in 1906, the twelve-minute overture is not an especially familiar piece (I had never heard it live), but it proved to be an attractive, opulent affair, all blazing brass and cymbal-heavy percussion at the start, then transitioning into lots of sweeping, Romantic strings, the rich orchestral coloring punctuated from time to time by languid solo harp…From the New World occupied the second act of the program, and the orchestra gave an excellent, more or less conventional account of the ever-popular work. The winds in particular distinguished themselves in Dvo\u0159\u00e1k\u2019s evocative melodies, while Guerrero brought Bernstein-like energy and flamboyance to the podium.”
\nClassical Voice America<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Polish orchestra, conductor magnificent in rich program
\n“Under the direction of its newly appointed music director, Giancarlo Guerrero, the ensemble gave a strong performance that sparkled with myriad orchestral timbres and precise rhythmic drive…Under Guerrero, the Wroc\u0142aw Philharmonic displayed precision and an endless tonal palette.”
\nPalm Beach Daily News<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cPoland\u2019s Wroclaw Philharmonic matched technical prowess with visceral emotion\u2026 the orchestra capitalized on the program\u2019s many dramatic shifts of mood with technical and expressive splendor, each instrumental section showcasing its talents. Crisp, bright percussion and resonant, biting timpani complemented strong, focused brasses. The woodwinds filled their versatile role aptly, at times blending their diverse timbres with ease, other times contributing more soloistic tone colors. In addition to a robust depth of tone, the low strings showed impressive clarity of attack, and the high strings\u2019 performance balanced precision with eloquence. Even the harp, whose delicate tone can be easily lost amid such forces, sounded particularly lush and present during passages of the concert opener\u2026Leading the ensemble was conductor Giancarlo Guerrero, who also serves as music director of the Nashville Symphony and principal guest conductor of Lisbon\u2019s Gulbenkian Orchestra. Atop his stellar command of coordination, Guerrero was a dramatic delight to watch, adding visual weight to the concert\u2019s most climactic moments and enlivening those that were more routine. In passages where he knew his technique was unneeded, Guerrero ceased marking the beat and interacted with the audience in tongue-and-cheek fashion as the ensemble played on in perfect synchronization.\u201d
\nPalm Beach Daily News<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the works of Witold Lutoslawski and Karol Szymanowski may not be widely familiar to American audiences, they are musical mother\u2019s milk to the Polish ensemble which played them with corporate sheen and dedication. Contemporary and unfamiliar scores are also the strong suit of conductor Giancarlo Guerrero, the orchestra\u2019s music director, and the two rarities offered his most fruitful efforts of the evening.\u201d
\nSouth Florida Classical Review<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201ca mature orchestra led by a conductor with unparalleled flair and passion\u2026A generous double encore was quite possibly the most delightful example this reviewer has ever seen of a conductor as one with his orchestra.\u201d
\nSplash Magazine<\/a><\/p>\n

“Maestro Guerrero and the soaring string section wasted no time in bringing the ebullient and celebratory character of the opening passage to the fore. As the opening fireworks gave way to the more romantically charged lyrical second theme, Guerrero allowed the phrasing to slowly build in intensity and the ensemble\u2019s expressive range was put to full effect. Guerrero\u2019s explosive treatment of the final return of the opening flourish (heralded by an intense rising passage in the horns) allowed the audience to rush headlong toward a satisfying ending…One of the most exciting displays of virtuosity began the second movement as the fragile but lightning quick theme was passed around the ensemble with the intensity of a reprimanding church whisper. The clarity and stylistic integrity of the gesture as it was traded back and forth was truly impressive. The genius of this movement\u2019s construction lies with its commitment to containing the most dramatic and exciting musical moments to the pianissimo statements of the frenetic theme that bookend the movement. The ensemble\u2019s performance highlighting this feature of the work made these repetitive statements highly effective.”
\nMusic City Review<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cGuerrero and the large Polish orchestra (he also is music director of the Nashville Symphony) certainly presented a spectacular calling card after taking the stage\u2026it was a pleasure to take in the excellence of the orchestra\u2014the strong profile it presented in brief wind solos, the solidity of the strings, and the particularly zealous playing of the timpanist, who helped put a seal on the powerful conclusion of Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 in C minor\u2026Guerrero, whose career distinctions include six Grammy Awards, is well enough his own man not to need comparisons with Bernstein, of course, whether favorable or not. There are distinct differences just from a visual standpoint: He is less focused on shaping filigree than Bernstein was, and he thrusts his hands high with an often clarifying, less ecstatic angularity. In the Brahms, he eschewed score and baton. He oozes self-confidence and, what is even more valuable in conductors, genuine mastery. That was generally the rule in this splendid concert.\u201d
\nJay Harvey Upstage<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Twelve-City US Tour \u2013 The First for this Polish Orchestra Since 2012 \u2013 Includes Stops in Chicago, Indianapolis, Nashville and Throughout Florida and California Repertoire by three generations of Polish composers \u2013 Chopin, Szymanowski, and Lutos\u0142awski \u2013 will be performed together with music by Central European composers Bart\u00f3k, Dvo\u0159\u00e1k and Brahms Polish pianist Piotr Anderszewski, … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4249,3686,4549,3805,3711,4550],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5910"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5910"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5910\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6071,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5910\/revisions\/6071"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/4240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}