The Ignacy Jan Paderewski Pomeranian Philharmonic () is an orchestra in Bydgoszcz, Poland. It has been at its present site since 16 November 1953. It bears the name of Polish pianist and composer Ignacy Jan Paderewski. The Pomeranian Philharmonic is the musical center of Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and also features an outdoor art gallery. It is registered on the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Heritage List.
Location The seat of the Pomeranian Philharmonic is located in downtown Bydgoszcz, in the center of the "Music District". It is surrounded by Jan Kochanowski Park, music schools, and an outdoor gallery of sculptures of composers and virtuoso musicians.
Characteristics The Pomeranian Philharmonic is a cultural institution which bodies are under the authority of leading Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. Performances include symphonic concerts, chamber music, and recitals by virtuosos from all over the world. On stage Philharmonic concerts are accompanied by Polish or foreign groups, to play at the occasion of jubilees, commemorations and congresses organized by universities and private companies. The repertoire includes music of all periods, from medieval to contemporary works.
The acoustics of the concert hall of the Pomeranian Philharmonic is famous for its quality: concert recordings of classical and contemporary music are often performed there.
In 2010, the Pomeranian Philharmonic has carried out in their hall 360 concerts, gathering an audience of 79200 people.
The first director of the Pomeranian Philharmonic was, from 1953 to 1991, Andrzej Szwalbe, who made the orchestra of Bydgoszcz a recognized scene in Europe. Since 1991, director is Eleonora Harendarska.
History
Municipal Symphony Orchestra The first initiative related to set up a Pomeranian Philharmonic was the creation of a local Symphony Orchestra able to perform at a high artistic level: in 1922, one the section of Bydgoszcz's Music Society had an orchestra section under the direction of Zygmunt Urbanyi. However, despite strenuous efforts, no symphony ensemble has been created in the 1920s. In 1924, the Pomeranian Philharmonic Society was an entity consisting of bands from Bydgoszcz, Grudziądz and Toruń. In 1925, an initiative to establish an Orchestra of the Pomeranian Philharmonic Society, composed of professional musicians, failed for public foundings reasons. In this situation, the Bydgoszcz Music Society, until 1930, was the only body organizing regular performances: outstanding Polish and foreign artists, local military bands, Bydgoszcz Conservatoire of Music, conducted by Wilhelm von Winterfeld, bands from other cities, such as the orchestra of the Grand Theatre of Poznań.
In January 1936, on the initiative of voluntary musicians, the Bydgoszcz symphony orchestra has been created, soon directed by Wilhelm von Winterfeld. The inaugural concert of the Municipal Symphony Orchestra has been held on May 8, 1936 "Strzelnicy Hall" in Toruńska street. The following year, the orchestra was led by Alfons Rezler, a professor of the Municipal Conservatoire of Music, providing the basis for its organization. In 1938, the Bydgoszcz's Music Society took over the patronage of the orchestra, and the Municipality provided a considerable assistance to the team. World War II and the years of occupation have destroyed these achievements: Alfons Rezler died during the invasion of Poland, many musicians were killed or fled abroad.
Pomeranian Symphony Orchestra In 1946, to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the foundation of Bydgoszcz, a new formation, close to the pre-war Symphony Orchestra of the Music Society of Bydgoszcz was created by Arnold Rezler, Jerzy Jasieński, Felicja Krysiewicz and chaired by Witold Miller. It gave its first concert on May 12, 1946, in the hall of the Pomorski House of Arts in Gdańska Street. From 1946 to 1949, the Music society of Bydgoszcz set up the foundations of the organisation and the material, with few interference of the city. During this period the orchestra was called Pomeranian Symphony Orchestra of the Bydgoszcz Music Society.
Public concerts were held four times a month, with additional ones in schools of Bydgoszcz and of the Voivodeship. Already at that time, initiatives to invite eminent conductors (Witold Rowicki and Bohdan Wodiczko and soloists started (Stanisław Szpinalski, Zbigniew Drzewiecki, Regina Smendzianka, Kazimierz Wiłkomirski, Wanda Wiłkomirska). Conducting Orchestra, among others, .
In 1949, Mieczyslaw Tomaszewski was nominated as new director: he organized three series of concerts related to Frédéric Chopin (for the centenary of the composer's death), and presented a series of concerts "Music for All" in 26 cities of the Voivodeship. The orchestra was nationalized in November 1950. On September 1, 1951, Andrzej Szwalbe became director of the Pomeranian Philharmonic Orchestra. He soon championed the project of the construction of a specific building for the Philharmonic, to move out of the Pomorski House of Arts in Gdańska Street. Main conductors at this time were, among others Edward Bury, Tadeusz Wilczak or Robert Satanowski. The inaugural concert of the new symphony orchestra of the State Pomeranian Philharmonic took place on January 9, 1953, in the hall of the Polish Theatre.
In September 1955, the orchestra of the National Pomeranian Philharmonic, numbering 65 musicians, was augmented by disbanded musicians from the Bydgoszcz Polish Radio Orchestra. In the same year the name of the institution was changed to Ignacy Jan Paderewski Pomeranian Philharmonic, earning the esteem of more and more talented graduates of music schools. In 1971, the philharmonic counted more than 100 people. Many of the orchestra musicians began working in music schools of Bydgoszcz and Toruń.
On November 15, 1958, the orchestra performed its first concert in the brand new building of the Pomeranian Philharmonic in Bydgoszcz.
Pomeranian Philharmonic In September 1951, Andrzej Szwalbe was appointed director of the Pomeranian Philharmonic Orchestra, which was nationalized in December 1952. On January 1, 1953, the orchestra was renamed National Pomeranian Philharmonic. By February 1953, there were attempts to have a new philharmonic concert hall constructed. Thanks to the efforts of the Social Committee for the Philharmonic Building, the cornerstone laying ceremony of the edifice at 16 Libelta street took place on June 26, 1954. The concert hall's construction was completed in the autumn of 1958. The new building was spacious, conveniently located, and, most importantly, acoustically sound. On November 16, 1958 a gala concert marking the opening of the new building was held, led by Zbigniew Chwedczuk.
Thanks to Andrzej Szwalbe's work, 1961 witnessed the first musical event on a national scale, the "Ignacy Jan Paderewski International Piano Competition" (). Each year since then, a "Bydgoszcz Music Festival" has been organized.
The exceptional acoustics of the concert hall has drawn some of the best artists from around the world to Bydgoszcz, including Witold Małcużyński (1959), Arthur Rubinstein (1960), David Oistrakh (1961), Benjamin Britten (1961), Sviatoslav Richter (1963), Arthur Moreira Lima (1965), Bernard Ringeissen (1965), Ruggiero Ricci (1969), Garrick Ohlsson (1973), Grigori Zhislin (1977), Eugen Indjic, Vadim Brodsky, Stanislav Bunin (1986), Luciano Pavarotti (1964), Halina Czerny-Stefańska, Maurizio Pollini, Wanda Wiłkomirska, Teresa Żylis-Gara, Krystian Zimerman, Konstanty Andrzej Kulka, George Byrd, Shlomo Mintz, Mischa Maisky, Kevin Kenner, Kurt Masur, Kazimierz Kord, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Antoni Wit.Puto Maciej: Festiwal gwiazd. Kalendarz Bydgoski 2003 Among the conductors, we one can mention: Leopold Stokowski (1960), Aram Khachaturian (1962), Carlo Zecchi (1967), Emil Gilels (1967), Arvīds Jansons. The Symphonic Orchestra toured well-known orchestra halls worldwide, in places like New York City, Beijing, Paris, Berlin and Moscow.
The music ensemble Capella Bydgostiensis was founded at the Philharmonic in 1962. The chamber orchestra is best known for its recordings of Polish classical music. In 1966, Andrej Szwalbe organized, in cooperation with the Bydgoszcz Scientific Society and the Department of Musicology of the University of Warsaw, the first festival of ancient music "Musica Antiqua Europae Orientalis". Recurring every three years, it is now a well-known event in the international musical scene. From 1963 to 1967, the Pomeranian Philharmonic hosted the Festival of Polish Music, later revamped into "Bydgoszcz Music Festival".
As a homage to his major contributions to the development of the Philharmonic and his outstanding cultural role, Andrej Szwalbe was nominated "Honorary Citizen of Bydgoszcz". One of his major contributions is the inception of the "music district", surrounding the building of the Philharmonic Music and comprising the Feliks Nowowiejski Music Academy and the sculpture gallery of composers and virtuosos. In the 1970s, an organ-shaped fountain was constructed in the front square of the Philharmonic.
Inside, the lobby is decorated with a collection of tapestries. Interiors are adorned with a collection of portraits and busts of prominent composers and an exhibition of historic pianos, as well as rich music library.
Philharmonic building
History Pomeranian Philharmonic building has been built in the Polish vogue style in the 1940s and 1950s, which is a mix of functionalism, Neoclassical architecture, Renaissance architecture, Baroque architecture and Rococo. The external architecture reveals itself especially neoclassical, displaying seriousness and moderation to illustrate the social importance of the institutions housed there. The originator and effective executor of the building was director of the Philharmonic Andrzej Szwalbe. On March 24, 1953, the Presidium of the Provincial Council in consultation with the Central Board of Opera, Philharmonic Hall and Musical Institutions in Warsaw adopted a resolution allowing the construction of the building. Initial draft were prepared by a team led by the architect Jan Kossowki, who at the time already worked on several projects in Bydgoszcz (Freedom Monument, buildings in Jagiellońska street and Gdańska Street). Many locations were identified: People Park, Jan Kochanowski park, Copernicus square or Leszek the White square. The selected area was the location of former tennis courts at Słowackiego street. The jury, chaired by professor Piotr Biegański who co-led the reconstruction Old and New Town of Warsaw, elected the team headed by: architect Stefan Klajbor (who realized a building in Jagiellońska street), designer Bogdan Piestrzyński, acoustics designer Witold Straszewicz of Warsaw University of Technology.
Construction began in February 1954, under the supervision of Zbigniew Arciszewski from Gdansk University of Technology. The construction was financed by the "Social Reconstruction Fund of the Capital". The building site was twice inspected by a delegation of Soviet builders from Warsaw's Palace of Culture and Science in September 1954 and January 1955. The building was erected using Polish building materials, with the help of Polish engineering and manpower. The interior decor was designed by a team of artists from Toruń–Stefan Zarębski, Joseph Kozlowski and Jozef Kowalczyk–, wood panelling prepared by Bydgoszcs's Furniture Factory, railings by Blacksmith craftmen from Gdańsk and chandelier by Szklarska Poręba glassworks which provided chandeliers for Warsaw Palace of Culture and Science.