Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra

Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra gave its first concert on 5 November 1901 in the Philharmonic’s newly built concert hall. The Orchestra was conducted by Emil Młynarski – co-founder, first music director and resident conductor of the Philharmonic, while the solo part was played by
Ignacy Jan Paderewski.

Already before World War I and between the world wars, the Philharmonic became a key center of musical life in Poland and one of Europe’s major musical institutions.

In the early years after World War II, the orchestra’s concerts were held in theatres and sport halls. On 21 February 1955, the Philharmonic moved to a new seat (which replaced the one destroyed by German air raids) and was granted the status of the National Philharmonic. Under its
new director Witold Rowicki, it regained the reputation of Poland’s leading symphony orchestra. In 1955-1958 the position of Artistic Director was held by Bohdan Wodiczko, then again by Rowicki, and from 1977 – by Kazimierz Kord. Between January 2002 and August 2013, Antoni Wit was both the Philharmonic’s Managing and Artistic Director. Since 2013/2014 season the position of Artistic Director of the Warsaw Philharmonic was held by Jacek Kaspszyk. In the
2019/2020 season, the post of Artistic Director has been taken up by Andrey Boreyko.

Today Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra enjoys worldwide popularity and acclaim. It has made over 140 concert tours on five continents, appearing in all of the world’s major concert halls. It also regularly performs during the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competitions in Warsaw
and the Warsaw Autumn International Festival of Contemporary Music, records for the Polish Radio and state television (TVP) as well as Polish and foreign record labels and film companies.

The Orchestra has frequently been awarded prestigious record prizes, including the Grammy in 2013 (and six Grammy nominations) for their recordings of Penderecki’s and Karol Szymanowski’s large-scale vocal-instrumental works, Diapason d’Or, ICMA, Gramophone Award, Record Geijutsu, Classical Internet Award, Cannes Classical Award, and the Fryderyk Award of the Polish Phonographic Academy. In 2016, the Orchestra also launched regular on-line streaming of selected concerts.

Andrzej Boreyko

The 2021-2022 season marks Andrzej Boreyko’s third season as Music and Artistic Director of Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. Now in his seventh season as Music Director of Artis—Naples, Boreyko’s inspiring leadership has raised the artistic standard and brought a new intensity to the Naples Philharmonic. The driving force behind the continued creative growth of this multidisciplinary organization, Boreyko continues to explore connections between art forms through interdisciplinary thematic programming.