The Rector invites you to the New Year’s Concert
On Saturday, February 3rd, at 6 p.m., the Rector of the University of Wrocław, prof. dr hab. Robert Olkiewicz, invites you to the Aula Leopoldina of the University of Wrocław (main building) at pl. Uniwersytecki 1 to attend the New Year’s Concert by the Symphony Orchestra of the University Philharmonic, conducted by Bartosz Żurakowski.
Featuring soloists: Justyna Gęsicka – soprano, Krzysztof Lachman – tenor, Viktor Kuznetsov – violin.
Enjoy a programme featuring Vienna’s musical masterpieces.
Admission is free.
Justyna Gęsicka – mezzo-soprano
She graduated with honours from the Faculty of Vocal Music and Drama of the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz (2018), studying solo singing under the guidance of prof. dr hab. Małgorzata Grela.
As a talented student, she made her professional opera stage debut at the Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz in the role of Papagena in W. A. Mozart’s The Magic Flute, directed by Matthias Remus and conducted by Maciej Figas (2017).
Maciej Figas (2017).
In the following year, 2018, also on the stage of the same Opera House, she sang the part of Rosina in G. Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, directed by Sławomir Żerdzicki and conducted by Jerzy Wołosiuk. In the same year, she appeared once again as Rosina on the Chamber stage of the Opera Nova in a production directed by Jitka Stokalska, conducted by Piotr Wajrak.
For her portrayal of Rosina in Jitka Stokalska’s production, she won the 1st prize at the 11th International Opera Youth Forum for the most interesting artistic personality of the Festival.
She collaborates with the I.J. Paderewski Pomeranian Philharmonic in Bydgoszcz, where she has been involved in numerous projects, and this year she began collaboration with the Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz and the Stanisław Moniuszko Koszalin Philharmonic.
She actively engages in concert activities featuring operetta and musical music.
Since 2019, she has been a member of the Association of Polish Stage Artists affiliated with the Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz.
Achievements:
· Winner of the 2nd place at the EuroClassic International Music Competition in Maiori (Italy, 2016),
· Winner of the 3rd prize for the most interesting artistic personality at the 9th International Opera Youth Forum for the role of Cherubino in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro (2016), and 1st prize for the most interesting artistic personality at the 11th International Opera Youth Forum for the role of Rosina in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville (2018),
· Received an honourable mention and a special prize for the performance of a contemporary piece in the 1st International Halina Słonicka Vocal Competition in Suwałki (2019),
· Winner of the special prize for the performance of a musical piece at the 13th Golden Voices International Vocal Competition – Warsaw (2018),
· Received an honourable mention at the 5th National Vocal Competition in Drezdenko (2018),
· Winner of the 2nd place at the Bella Voce International Vocal Competition in Busko-Zdrój (2020),
· Received an honourable mention at the 9th National Zdzisław Skwara Vocal Competition in Mława (2021),
· Received an honourable mention and the Director of the Zabrze Philharmonic Award at the 7th National Krystyna Jamroz Vocal Competition in Kielce/Busko-Zdrój (2022).
She performs both nationally and internationally.
She has collaborated with numerous conductors, including: Maciej Figas, Piotr Wajrak, Jerzy Wołosiuk, Kai Bumman, Rafał Janiak, Przemysław Fiugajski, Marta Kluczyńska, Sławomir Chrzanowski, Bernard Chmielarz, Damian Borowicz, Piotr Deptuch, Wojciech Michniewski, Rudolf Tiersh, Paweł Kapuła, and Bartosz Żurakowski.
Programme:
PARTS PERFORMED WITH ORCHESTRA: OPERA AND OPERETTA PARTS
1. Apollo and Hyacinth – part of Zephyr – W. A. Mozart
2. The Marriage of Figaro – part of Cherubino – W. A. Mozart
3. The Marriage of Figaro – part of Barbarina – W. A. Mozart
4. The Opera Ball – part of Marguérite – R. Heuberger
5. The Magical Flute – part of Papagena – W. A. Mozart
6. The Barber of Seville – part of Rosina – G. Rossini
7. The Troubadour – part of Ines – G. Verdi
8. The Gypsy Princess – part of Sylva – I. Kalman
9. Don Giovanni – part of Zerlina – W. A. Mozart
ORATORIO AND CANTATA PARTS
1. Requiem – alto part – W. A. Mozart
2. Te Deum – alto part – A. Bruckner
3. Stabat Mater – alto part – A. Vivaldi
4. Salve Regina – alto part – A. Vivaldi
5. Requiem – D minor – G. Faure
6. Coronation Mass – alto part – W. A. Mozart
7. Stabat Mater – alto part – G. B. Pergolesi
Krzysztof Lachman – tenor
Tenor from the Kraków area, currently a second-year student of master’s studies at the Grażyna and Kiejstut Bacewicz University of Music in Łódź. His musical journey began at the age of 13 with playing the trombone and piano. Currently, he is training his technique and vocal skills in the class of prof. Krzysztof Bednarek. In September 2020, he made his debut on the stage of the Grand Theatre in Łódź in the role of Mengone in J. Haydn’s opera Lo Speziale. Since November 2022, he has been a participant in the Young Talent Training Programme – Opera Academy at the Grand Theatre, Polish National Opera in Warsaw. In November 2023 ha received a scholarship from the Hansa and Eugeniu Jütting – Stiftung Foundation. He has participated in many masterclasses, including the Exzellenz-Labor Oper in Weikersheim in Germany, Jan Willem de Vriend, Raffaello Cortesi, Olga Pasiecznik, Izabela Kłosińska, Michał Biel, Katelan Tran Terrel, Mariusz Kwiecień, Hedwig Fassbender, René Massis and many others. His recent major achievements include a solo part as Cecco in J. Haydn’s opera Il mondo della luna, which he had the pleasure of presenting at the Rosendal Teater in Trondheim in Norway, as well as at the Concert Hall of the Academy of Music in Łódź.
Bartosz Żurakowski – conductor
Bartosz Żurakowski is a respected conductor, praised by both Polish and foreign critics. The prestigious Herald Scotland, the oldest newspaper in the British Isles, compared Żurakowski to the legendary maestro Neeme Järvi after a concert with the Orchestra of Scottish Opera in Glasgow in 2014.
“…after only a few bars, when it became abundantly clear that this was a man who lived and breathed music, with a very clear beat, but who, rather in the mould of Neeme Järvi, needed constant watching. The Orchestra of Scottish Opera also responded magnificently to the Maestro, and as we reached the closing section of the work, the intensity of the emotion of this wonderful music left me struggling to hold back the tears. I hope it’s not too long till our next concert with Maestro Żurakowski!”
Alan Robertson -“Herald Scotland” (Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem)
He graduated in conducting from the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, and in Music Pedagogy from the Grażyna and Kiejstut Bacewicz University of Music in Łódź, as well as in Management Studies from the University of Warsaw, while at the Rotterdam School of Management Erasmus University and the Gdańsk Foundation for Management Development he obtained the Master of Business Administration degree (MBA) in 2011. Bartosz Żurakowski participated in conducting masterclasses, both nationally and internationally, under Marek Tracz and Kurt Masur. He’s a winner of the International Witold Lutosławski Conducting Competition. Born in Opole, he immersed himself in the world of music from an early age, influenced by the atmosphere of his family home and successive levels of education. In high school he became interested in the art of conducting and the art of management, and these two fields gradually became his passion. Starting in 2001, he was associated with his local philharmonic, first as an assistant conductor and later as the principal conductor of the Opole Philharmonic, as well as its manager. From 2016 to 2022, he served as the principal conductor and artistic director of the Sudecka Philharmonic Orchestra in Wałbrzych. In 2007, he founded the Opole Philharmonic Choir, where he served as the conductor and artistic director until the end of 2015.
Prof. Jerzy Marchwiński, an outstanding pianist and educator, wrote of him, “I divide conductors into those who ‘march’ and those who ‘sing,’ with a clear preference for the latter. In my view, Bartosz Żurakowski belongs to the ‘singing’ category.
His narration, phrasing, and timing provide pleasure and joy in listening to music, which is, after all, what the listener comes to the concert for…”.
Prof. Jerzy Marchwiński (Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 3)
He is the founder and president of an artistic foundation supporting young artists, organizing major musical events, as well as the originator and artistic director of the BelleVoci International Music Festival, which takes place annually in Lower Silesia. He is also the artistic director of the “Masters of Prayer through Music” International Festival of Sacred Music in Katowice and the International Festival of Viennese Music in Wrocław. The year 2012 was a breakthrough in his conducting career, thanks to favourable reviews in the foreign press of the album released by Divine Art Records, featuring violin concerts by Maltese composer Karl Fiorini. This resulted in numerous invitations to world concert halls, including in May 2014 when the artist was invited to the Scottish Opera in Glasgow with the City Glasgow Chorus, who performed Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem conducted by him.
“… The performance was a complete triumph for Bartosz Żurakowski, who conducted the orchestra that evening; an outstanding conductor with a very personal style. He accompanied the soloist excellently, with sensitivity and inspiration, all of which took place in the background, or rather in the sounds of the orchestra, over which Bartosz Żurakowski had a hypnotic influence.”
Kazimierz Rozbicki “Music 21” (Benjamin Britten’s Violin Concerto)
In 2015, Bartosz Żurakowski once again performed with artists from Glasgow, this time presenting Ludwig van Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis. In December 2015, at the Kraków Opera, he conducted the premiere performance of Stanisław Moniuszko’s The Haunted Manor as a part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Public Theatre in Poland.
Żurakowski performed at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York (USA), Teatro Degollado in Gualadajara (Mexico), Glenn Gould Theatre in Toronto (Canada), Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City (Mexico), Gran Teatro National in Lima (Peru), Sala Sao Paolo in Sao Paolo (Brazil), Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow (Scotland), and the Opera in Lviv (Ukraine). He regularly gives concerts in 40 countries across Europe, Asia, and both Americas. The artist has recorded albums, including: in 2021 and 2023, two albums with the Sudecka Philharmonic Orchestra featuring symphonic works by the outstanding Polish composer Jan Adam Maklakiewicz.
“… Maestro Bartosz Żurakowski is one of those conductors whom I greatly appreciate for their commitment to working with the orchestra. Hi is an incredibly precise conductor, simultaneously fully aware of his role when performing such challenging works. This could be seen on Friday evening. During the concert, the Maestro conducts practically with his whole being, aiming to assist the orchestra at every moment of the piece. His collaboration with the orchestra has yielded splendid results for several years. The sound of the Sudecka Philharmonic Orchestra is very saturated, full of timbre, dynamic, and exceptionally rich”
Adrian Nowak – “Presto” Magazine (Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 7)
He has also collaborated with outstanding soloists and personages: Kaja Danczowska, Neal Larrabee (USA), Ingolf Wunder (Austria), Alexi Volodin (Russia), Evgeni Mikhailov (Russia), Eugene Indjić (USA), Alena Baeva (Russia), Piotr Paleczny, Simonem Trpceskim (Macedonia), Shlomo Mintz (Israel), Jeremy Findley (Canada), Piotr Pławner, Martin Kasik (Czech Republic), Massimo Mercelli (Italy), Kazimierz Olechowski (France), Agnieszka Rehlis, Wojciech Kilar, Krzysztof Penderecki, Gwendolyn Bradley (USA), Urszula Kryger, Małgorzata Walewska, Ewa Podleś, Lorenzo Di Bella (Italy). In 2019, he was awarded the “Personality of the Year” in the Gazeta Wrocławska plebiscite in the field of culture. For his overall artistic activity in 2021, Żurakowski was honoured by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage with the Decoration of Honour Meritorious for Polish Culture. In 2023, he became scholarship holder of the Marshal of the Opole Voivodeship programme – “Marshal’s Talents”. He serves on the jury of the International Nino Rota Piano Competition in Italy and the International Bolko von Hochberg Song Competition.
Translated by Julia Kowalczyk (student of English Studies at the University of Wrocław) as part of the translation practice.
