What's new at the Philharmonic?

This 79th season offers an abundance of music by Ludwig van Beethoven in a series of concerts dubbed Beethoven, Our Contemporary 2025. The title alludes to a 1979 festival focused on the timeless resonance of works by this third of the Viennese classics. The first Poznań concert is scheduled for 27 September, even before the official opening of the season, and will be held as part of the closing of the Three Cultures Festival. The series promises all of Beethoven's symphonies alongside works by other composers, with the noteworthy specially-commissioned Leonore Overture No. 4 by Joanna Wnuk-Nazarowa. Inspired by Beethoven's three overtures, this new composition will premiere on 24 October at Adam Mickiewicz University Hall. The series will culminate on 19 December with performances of Gloria and Sanctus from the Mass in C major Op. 86, the concert aria Ah, perfido Op. 65, the Choral Fantasy Op. 80, and Ninth Symphony in D minor Op. 125 with Schiller's Ode to Joy. The lineup includes Michał Francuz (piano), Magdalena Stefaniak and Katarzyna Guran (sopranos), Zuzanna Nalewajek (mezzo-soprano), Piotr Maciejowski and Michał Jan Barański (tenors), Tomasz Kumięga (baritone), and, the visiting Karol Szymanowski Philharmonic Choir from Kraków. The concert will be conducted by Maestro Borowicz.

The season will officially kick off on 10 October with Stars of the World's Opera Stages. The programme features Petr Nekoranec (tenor) and Monika Jägerová (alto), accompanied by Tomasz Sośniak (piano) and a female choir. They are set to perform Leoš Janáček's song cycle The Diary of One Who Disappeared, which tells the story of a young man who runs away from home to be with the girl he loves. The Philharmonic's orchestra will also deliver Beethoven's Seventh Symphony in A major Op. 92, described by Richard Wagner as "the apotheosis of dance", along with Karol Szymanowski's expressive Concert Overture in E major Op. 12, one of his earliest orchestral compositions, strongly influenced by late German Romanticism.

Piano lovers are in for a special treat this season. A major highlight is the 27 October concert featuring the winner of the 19th Chopin Competition, whose name will only be announced a few days earlier. At that time, we'll also most likely learn which of Chopin's two piano concertos will be performed: No. 1 in E minor (which is definitely more frequently selected by competition finalists), or perhaps No. 2 in F minor. While both works are well known to audiences, hearing them interpreted by the new Warsaw competition laureate is always a unique experience. For fans eager to explore less familiar repertoire, 13 March offers just such an opportunity. German pianist Severin von Eckardstein will play Nikolai Medtner's Piano Concerto No. 3 in E minor  (subtitled Ballade) and Piano Concerto No. 3 in C-sharp minor by Franz Xaver Scharwenka, a Szamotuły-born composer whose music, though still little known to wider audiences, is passionately endorsed by the Poznań Philharmonic. Fans of Rafał Blechacz will not be disappointed: on 20 November, he will appear in the AMU Hall alongside violinist Bomsori Kim, performing violin sonatas by Mozart, Beethoven and César Franck. On 17 April, Blechacz returns to present Saint-Saëns' Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor conducted by Tomáš Netopil. Finally, for the concert closing the 79th artistic season, he will perform Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major alongside Richard Strauss's Sinfonia Domestica.

The above is merely a glimpse at what the Poznań Philharmonic has in store for the coming season. Featured additionally are works by Mahler, Bruckner, Bartók, Dvořák, Elgar, Maksymiuk and many others, brought to life by both local Poznań's musicians and guest performers. Make sure to explore the season's offering and pick out the concerts that best suit your taste.

Kamil Zofiński

translation: Krzysztof Kotkowski

© Wydawnictwo Miejskie Posnania 2025