Chór Polskiego Radia

Founded in 1948, the Polish Radio Choir boasts over 70 years of experience in performing both a cappella and vocal-instrumental works. It draws upon the rich history of choral music, but also constantly pursues its own path, referring to traditions of various styles and epochs, and confronting them with its own vision of artistic language in a creative and modern fashion. Consequently, the choir’s repertoire encompasses both performances exploring relationships between sound, body and space (paratheatrical Lemelki with music by Piotr Tabakiernik to Stanisław Lem’s texts) and traditional songs by Moniuszko (The Crimean Sonnets). The world of jazz is also familiar to the ensemble.

The choir focuses in particular on 20th-century Polish music, including world premieres of works by Poland’s most eminent contemporary masters, such as Witold Lutosławski, Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, Krzysztof Penderecki and Wojciech Kilar, and collaboration with the latest generation of Polish composers: Agata Zubel, Aleksander Kościów, Paweł Łukaszewski, Andrzej Kwieciński, Szymon Godziemba-Trytek, Aleksander Nowak and Paweł Mykietyn.

 

The choir has participated in numerous Polish and international festivals, such as the Wratislavia Cantans, the Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival, the Festival of Premieres “Polish Modern Music” in Katowice, the Warsaw Autumn, the Festival of Polish Music in Kraków, Sacrum Profanum, the “Gaude Mater” International Festival of Sacred Music, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Rossini Opera Festival, the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, and the Edinburgh International Festival.

 

The Polish Radio Choir regularly co-operates with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR) in Katowice, the Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, the New Music Orchestra and the Beethoven Academy Orchestra. The artistic director of the Polish Radio Choir is Maria Piotrowska-Bogalecka.