Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia Performing Arts Center will present the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra Nov. 1 at 8 p.m. in Hodgson Concert Hall. Recognized as the National Orchestra of Poland, the Warsaw Philharmonic will be conducted by artistic director Antoni Wit in a program featuring Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, also known as the Pathétique Symphony. Award-winning pianist Yulianna Avdeeva will join the orchestra for a performance of Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto.
The inaugural concert of the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra took place Nov. 5, 1901 in the newly built Philharmonic Hall. In its early years, the Philharmonic quickly achieved a high level of professionalism, attracting outstanding soloists and conductors from around the world. The Warsaw Philharmonic became the main center of musical activity in Poland and one of the major musical institutions in Europe.
During World War II, the orchestra lost more than half of its musicians and its concert hall was destroyed. Since that time, the Philharmonic has returned to prominence as one of the world’s leading orchestras, with more than 130 tours on five continents and numerous recordings for worldwide radio, television and film projects.
Wit has been the managing director and artistic director of the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra since 2002. A native of Kraków, he was a prize winner in the 1971 International Herbert von Karajan Conducting Competition in Berlin, which paved the way for an international career directing major orchestras and opera companies around the globe.
Russian pianist Yulianna Avdeeva won first prize at the International Frédéric Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 2010. Since then, she has given debut performances with the New York Philharmonic and Tokyo’s NHK Symphony Orchestra.
Joanna Smolko will deliver a pre-concert lecture 45 minutes prior to the Warsaw Philharmonic performance in the Hodgson Concert Hall. Smolko received her master’s degree in music composition from UGA and earned a Ph.D. in musicology at the University of Pittsburgh. The pre-concert lecture is free and open to the public.
The concert is one of the events in the Make It an Evening series presented by the Performing Arts Center and the Georgia Museum of Art. Patrons are invited for dessert, coffee and gallery tours of the museum beginning at 6 p.m. until the pre-concert lecture gets underway.
Tickets for the Warsaw Philharmonic concert are $20-$59 with discounts for UGA students and groups of 10 or more. Tickets can be purchased online at pac.uga.edu or by calling the box office at 706/542-4400 or toll free at 888/289-8497.
The underwriter for the performance is ARH Partners of Merrill Lynch.
