Opole, Philharmonic of Poland, has been the pride of its nation for more than 50 years, and yet American audiences will be hearing the orchestra for the first time during its transcontinental debut tour of the United States. Esteemed conductor maestro Boguslaw Dawidow became the orchestra’s music director in 1999. He conducts orchestras around the globe and has served as the resident conductor of the Polish Chamber Orchestra and the artistic director and principal conductor of the Russian National Academic Symphony Orchestra. Currently he also conducts the Chopin Chamber Orchestra in Krakow, which he founded, and is the principal guest conductor of the Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra. In 2002, the American Biographical Institute presented him with the “Man of the Year” award.
| If you go |
| IOpole, Philharmonic of Poland |
| Where: George Mason University Center for the Arts |
| When: 8 p.m., Saturday |
| Info: $25-$50 at 888-945-2468 or cfa.gmu.edu. |
| Pre-performance discussion by a company member. |
For the Saturday concert at George Mason University, Dawidow will open with the Overture to Mozart’s Die Zauberflote (Magic Flute), followed by Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2. The award-winning pianist Evgeny Mikhailov, who accompanies the orchestra on this tour, will perform the Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1. Mikhailov has performed many times in the United States and is consistently praised for the emotionality and depth of interpretation he brings to each work.
“During the past 12 years, this orchestra has been completely rebuilt and rejuvenated,” Dawidow said. “This gives us the possibility of achieving greatness by combining the youthfulness and freshness of the younger members and the experience of the older members. This enables us to make music with passion. That’s why in recent years the Orchestra performs regularly in Golden Hall of Musikverein in Vienna, the greatest music temple.”
Opole, Philharmonic of Poland, is one of the fastest growing orchestras in Poland and has achieved great success throughout the world. Dawidow attributes his special joy in sharing great works with a variety of audiences to the influence of Leonard Bernstein. He believes that Bernstein encouraged imagination and opened the heart to the freedom of making music.
“We want to share our passion for music with not only European and Asian audiences, but also American audiences,” Dawidow said. “We want to infect others with the joy that music brings and that is why our message is Freshness. Passion. Infinity: Passion for music which is always fresh and dwells forever.”
