SYMPHONIC CONCERT

CONCERT HALL OF THE PODKARPACKIE PHILHARMONIC

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA OF THE PODKARPACKIE PHILHARMONIC

KACPER STANIAK — conductor

CARLOS PEÑA MONTOYA — harp

JULIUSZ WESOLOWSKI — harp

In the program:

A. Malawski — Overture for symphony orchestra

P. Moss — Voyage — Concerto for two harps and orchestra

W. Kilar — Orava

Suite from the movie Dracula

The overture for Artur Malawski's symphony orchestra (1904—1957) was composed in 1949, the most important and intense period of his work. Malawski had already studied composition in Warsaw and developed his own original musical language. In it, he departed from the expression of late Romanticism, basing his orchestral style on a radical synthesis of new rhythmic and color techniques. The once unjustly underappreciated work of Artur Malawski, patron of the Podkarpackie Philharmonic, is now enjoying increasing interest, and his music is gradually gaining its rightful place in the concert repertoire.

A real treat for music lovers will be the performance of Voyage — Concerto for two harps and orchestra (2000) by Piotr Moss (born 1949). This one of the most respected contemporary Polish composers is a musical pupil of Grażyna Bacewicz, Piotr Perkowski, Krzysztof Penderecki and Nadia Boulanger. Jonathan Woolf, music reviewer and author of the review of the Voyage recording, characterized the work as follows: “I find this piece quite cinematic. [Moss] has the gift of succinctly conveying the atmosphere of a place. The solo parts of the harp are very demanding, they also emphasize timbre and color. There is also no shortage of dance elements [...]. Moss also likes to use a kind of slapstick-like orchestral exclamation [...]. Peter Moss is an accomplished arranger [...]. He wants to convey mood and emotions, which he succeeds really excellently” (English translation).

Wojciech Kilar (1932—2013) wrote Orava for 15 string instruments in 1986. The piece belongs to the so-called folk trend in the composer's work, which is a testament to his fascination with the Tatras and the music of Podhale. Kilar draws from Podhale folklore, whose extraordinary vibrancy is reflected in the characteristic rhythm and original melody of Orava. A distinctive feature of the piece is also the “agogic build-up” — the composer gradually increases the pace and intensity of the musical narrative, constantly maintaining the tension that leads to a grand climax and spectacular finale.

The Suite from the film “Dracula” by Wojciech Kilar will be the last to sound. In 1992, American director Francis Ford Coppola, delighted with Kilar's music to Andrzej Wajda's Promised Land, invited the composer to collaborate on the film Dracula (notabene, Kilar considered Coppola's Godfather to be the most outstanding film in the history of cinema). The Gothic atmosphere of the Suite reveals another face of Kilar's work and confirms the extraordinary versatility of his compositional language.

KACPER STANIAK graduated from conducting studies with distinction at the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Krakow in the class of Prof. Dr. Paweł Przytocki. He has conducted concerts with the Łódź Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, the Polish Baltic Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, the Lublin Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, the Ukrainian Symphony Orchestra “Nadiia”, the AMKP Symphony Orchestra and other ensembles in the classical, contemporary, film and film repertoire. entertaining. In 2025, as one of fifteen conductors, he participated in the National Conductors' Forum in Bydgoszcz. He perfected the conducting workshop under the supervision of Paavo and Neeme Järvich, Marin Alsop, Marek Pijarowski, Martin Sieghart, Marie Jacquot, Raoul Grüneis, Szymon Bywalec, Michał Klauza, George Tchitchinadze and Johnathan Mann.

CARLOS ROBERTO PEÑA MONTOYA began learning to play the harp at the age of 11 under the direction of the first harpist of the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, Prof. Ruth Garita, and then the first harpist of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Prof. Eileen Mason. In 2011 he graduated with honors from the Mozarteum University in Salzburg in the class of Prof. Helga Storck, where he continued his studies at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, where he graduated with honors in 2014. In the field of music education, he twice received a scholarship from the German foundation “Vössing-Stiftung”, as well as the “Hübel-Stipendium” scholarship for outstanding artistic achievements, funded by the Mozarteum University in Salzburg. As a member of the “Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now” foundation, he participated in numerous charity concerts. In the early years of his artistic activity, he held the position of first harpist in the Symphony Ensemble of the National Institute of Music in Costa Rica and in the National Youth Orchestra of Costa Rica. Since 2007 he has been in Europe, realizing himself as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral musician and pedagogue. He has performed recitals at the Gläseneer Saal in Vienna's Musikverein (2007) and at the Gasteig Small Concert Hall in Munich (2009). He has collaborated with orchestras and symphony ensembles in Germany and Austria, with whom he has toured extensively. In 2011, he participated in the orchestral academy Schleswig Holstein Music Festival, during which he performed under the baton of Ivan Fischer and Christoph Eschenbach. In 2012, he won the 6th edition of the Summa Cum Laude orchestral competition in Vienna, being a member of the Thai Symphony Orchestra, with which he remains in constant artistic contact. Since 2012 he has been the 1st harpist of the F. Chopin Polish Baltic Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra in Gdańsk. He actively participates in the cultural life of the Tri-City as a soloist, chamber musician, as well as educator. He collaborates with leading Polish orchestras under the baton of renowned conductors, and participates in numerous phonographic, radio and television recordings throughout Poland

JULIUSZ WESOŁOWSKI is a graduate of the G. and K. Bacewicz Academy of Music in Łódź. He graduated from the university with honors (2018) in the class of Beata Tarnowicz-Kamińska, MSc. Winner of harp competitions in Stockholm, Prague, Atlanta, Kharkov and winner of competitions in Hong Kong, St. Petersburg, Norrköping, as well as chamber competitions in Cieszyn — Grand Prix, Stockholm, Salzburg, Berlin, Bydgoszcz. Winner of the Scholarship of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage for outstanding artistic achievements, as well as the Young Poland Award for 2018. The harpist is associated with the Koszalin Philharmonic (since 2018) and the Szczecin Philharmonic (since 2024) as a harpist soloist. The repertoire of music includes a wide range of compositions from baroque music to contemporary music. As a soloist and orchestral musician he collaborates with many symphony orchestras in Poland (Lodz Philharmonic, Opole Philharmonic, Sudeck Philharmonic, Polish Baltic Philharmonic in Gdańsk, Polish Philharmonic Sinfonia Baltica in Slupsk, Polish Chamber Philharmonic Sopot, Lublin Philharmonic, Kaliska Philharmonic, Płock Symphony Orchestra, Świętokrzyska Philharmonic, Szczecin Philharmonic), also making recordings for Polish Radio and Television. The artist has performed concerts and recitals in, among others: Kharkiv, Warsaw, Poznan, Krakow, Katowice, Łódź, Opole, Kalisz, Koszalin, Wrocław, Szczecin, Gdańsk, Gdynia.