Melodies of Three Generations – 5th edition
This time, three generations of performers will sing for the flood victims.
On October 7th (Monday) at 4:00 PM, Student Scientific Association of Russian Studies WroSlawianie from the Institute of Slavic Studies, along with co-organizers – Culture and Art Centre, International Office of the University of Wrocław, and Centre for Student and Doctoral Activities – invite you to the 5th edition of the Melodies of Three Generations concert.
Although this concert is inseparably linked to the May editions of the Not Only Slavic Song Contest, it is addressed to a wider audience. In May, students dominate both on stage and in the audience. In October, there are always three generations singing for a multigenerational audience. They mostly perform their parents’ and grandparents’ favourite songs, as well as covers of their own favourite artists.
We will hear the laureates of the 21st Not Only Slavic Song Contest and our most appreciated lecturers and graduates, as well as performers without whom the Wrocław audience could not imagine this autumn concert.
The concert will open with a performance of ZGRAYA – a very energetic band of Germanists and their lecturer dr Julianna Redlich. They will put the audience in a great mood by performing “Raccoon Man” combined with a fragment of “Granda” by Monika Brodka.
Lea Wiegart will be representing the Institute of Romance Studies with the song “Moje jedyne marzenie” by Anna Jantar. In May, Lea was awarded the Dean’s First Prize of the Faculty of Letters for her touching performance of the piece “Ave Maria” in Spanish.
At the request of the organizers, Natalia Medyńska and Danuta Korkus from the Institute of Romance Studies will perform “Soneto de la dulce queja” in Spanish. For their performance of the song, the singers won the First Prize and the Audience Award during the 7th edition of Panorama of Romance Songs contest. One of the lecturers, dr Justyna Salamon, will honour us with a moving performance of “Lavava no rio lavava”. During the charity concert “We play for Sebastian”, she captivated the audience with her delightful fado sung in Portuguese.
Agnieszka Granosik, a graduate of Biotechnology and a second-year student of the Bachelor of Business and Administration programme at the University of Wrocław, who is also a laureate of this year’s edition of the Not Only Slavic Song Contest, will remind the older audience of the song “Czas nas uczy pogody” from Grażyna Łobaszewska’s repertoire.
Zosia Popławska, a student at the Institute of Journalism and Social Communication and a multiple laureate of the Slavic Song Contests, is well-known for her beautiful, lyrical pieces performed in Polish, English, and Ukrainian. This time, she has chosen a popular and beautiful song from Edyta Geppert’s repertoire titled “Kocham Cię życie.”
The graduates will be primarily represented by former students of Czech, Russian, and Ukrainian studies from the Institute of Slavic Studies. Marlena Tomczyk will perform the song “Szukaj mnie,” also from Edyta Geppert’s repertoire. She sang this piece in the Botanical Garden during the traditional after-party following this year’s contest, captivating the audience, which is why she received the opportunity to perform it again.
Lyubov Moc, a Ukrainianist, and Kamila Ogrodnik, a Russianist and Czechist, from the Institute of Slavic Studies are very well-known among the fans of Slavic songs. They have appeared on the stages of Aula Leopoldina and Oratorium Marianum multiple times in solo and duet performances during their studies and outside of the competition, during jury sessions. This time, they will present the great hit by Maryla Rodowicz, “Wsiąść do pociągu byle jakiego.” This piece was sung in Russian at informal gatherings in the Botanical Garden by the remarkable Siberian singer Artiom Kollegoy and his wife Aleksandra Guzeeva.
The favourite duet of the Wrocław audience, namely the graduate of the Institute of Slavic Studies, Martyna Dubińska, and her former lecturer, dr Jakub Walczak, impressed everyone with their phenomenal rendition of “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Their performance was viewed nearly 100 000 times and received amazing reviews. Now, they have prepared a beautiful, lyrical piece titled “Down by the Salley Gardens”. We may expect another breath-taking performance!
A duet consisting of a Germanist and a Russianist, dr Julianna Redlich and Ajda Wyglądacz, will perform a 20-year-old great hit “Sutra” by a Polish music group Sistars. Dr Julianna Redlich has been participating in our contests and concerts for a while, both solo and with ZGRAYA. Each of their performances is a true masterpiece. Ajda – Klaudia Wyglądacz has been performing in contests organized by the Institute of Slavic Studies since her first year of studies, earning awards. Later, immersed in her artistic work with groups like Chwilantropia and Francis Tuan, as well as her professional duties at the School of Polish Language and Culture for Foreigners, she performed on our stages rather sporadically. Undoubtedly, this will be a beautiful and original rendition of “Sutra”.
Our next pair is well-known and admired by everyone. Igor Jelinek, a lecturer and a talented singer from the University of Ostrava, and Stanisław Marinczenko, a brilliant multi-instrumentalist, perform not only in the Czech Republic and Poland but also throughout Europe. For us, they have chosen a song titled “Коллаж” by a Russian singer Aleksandr Rozenbaum. Even though we value and appreciate their Czech songs, we are glad that the performance will be in Russian, as the organizers of the concert are Russianists. It would be a pity not to hear any Russian songs during a concert they organized. A performance by Mikołaj Klyta was planned, who was to sing the biggest hit by Wioletta Villas in Russian, titled “Очи чёрные,” accompanied by the former rector of the University of Wrocław, professor Adam Jezierski. However, due to circumstances beyond both performers’ control, this performance has been cancelled.
It is impossible for the loyal audience to imagine the concert without professor Adam Jezierski and professor Jan Miodek. Our former rector professor Adam Jezierski will play his favorite pieces from his rich repertoire on the organ and piano, while professor Jan Miodek will perform two songs – “Powróćmy jak za dawnych lat” and “What A Wonderful World,” the latter in a Polish version, originally by Louis Armstrong.
The official part will conclude with multi-instrumentalist and juror of all editions of the Slavic Song Contest, Andrzej Walus, performing a mix of pieces on the saxophone.
At the end, all the artists will sing the memorable hit by the band HEY from 1997, “Moja i twoja nadzieja.”
Julia Kożuchowska i Julia Skoczylas
Student Scientific Association of Russian Studies WroSlawianie
Translated by Julia Kołakowska (student of English Studies at the University of Wrocław) as part of the translation practice.
