Registration and Other Terms: Before you register, please refer to our in-person program procedural documentation to learn about our current terms and conditions. CDC and Smithsonian COVID-19 guidelines in effect at the time of the program will be followed.
Presented in cooperation with the Andrzej Markowski Foundation.
This gala concert is under the patronage of His Excellency Ambassador of Poland to the United States, Marek Magierowski, and the honorary patronage of Piotr Glínski, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland and Minister of Culture and National Heritage.
Under the direction of Kenneth Slowik, the Smithsonian Chamber Orchestra performs five iconic works by Polish and American composers. Originally planned as a celebration of the foundation of the Second Polish Republic at the end of the First World War, Foundation President, Ms. Malgorzata Markowska cites the “deepest devotion to the eternal values of the most noble art of music in the context of Polish-American friendship.”
The program begins with the energetic 1948 Concerto for String Orchestra by Grazyna Bacewicz, Poland’s best-known female composer. Samuel Barber’s 1938 Adagio for Strings gained instant fame when Arturo Toscanini led the NBC orchestra in its broadcast premiere. Mikolaj Górecki’s hauntingly beautiful Concerto-Notturno of 2000, features the young American violinist Lily Honigberg to conclude the first half of the concert.
After intermission, another young American, pianist Avery Gagliano (the only American semifinalist at the 18th International Chopin Competition in 2021), plays Ignacy Jan Paderewski’s 1889 Romanza. The concert concludes with the Suite from Aaron Copland’s 1944, Appalachian Spring.
Additional Smithsonian Chamber Music Society Performances
General Information
- Registration for this performance will end by 2 p.m. ET on Friday, October 14, 2022.
- No series tickets are available.
