The Warsaw Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra

The Warsaw Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra draws upon the rich and old tradition of chamber music making among artists from Warsaw Philharmonic. The first chamber ensembles were formed at the beginning of the 20^th century. In the 1960s and 70s, the National Philharmonic Chamber Musicians ensemble under Karol Teutsch achieved success playing concerts worldwide. Other ensembles made up of musicians from Warsaw Philharmonic also gained international recognition. In the 1990s, the string ensemble gave concerts with eminent soloists (Konstanty A. Kulka and Nigel Kennedy), making records and TV programmes.

On Jan Lewtak’s initiative during the celebration of Warsaw Philharmonic's centenary, the Warsaw Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra was reactivated. The ensemble consists of leading instrumentalists from Warsaw Philharmonic, including former members of Karol Teutsch's ensemble. The artistic director of the orchestra is Jan Lewtak, who graduated from the F. Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw after violin studies under Zenon Brzewski and Mirosław Ławrynowicz. He is the winner of several violin competitions and of the Radio and Television Committee Award, an artist who has already made a significant contribution to chamber music in Poland. The Orchestra works under the patronage of Director Antoni Wit. The first concert took place on 10^th January 2002 in the Concert Hall of National Philharmonic in Warsaw. The Warsaw Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra has performed with such prominent soloists as Salvatore Accardo, Jean-Louis Capezzali, Łukasz Długosz, Marek Drewnowski, Urszula Dudziak, Evelyn Glennie, Ilya Gringolts, Ryszard Groblewski, Krzysztof Herdzin, Andrzej Jagodziński, Jakub Jakowicz, Krzysztof Jakowicz, Yuko Kawai, Jacek Kortus, Jadwiga, Jadwiga Kotnowska, Konstanty Andrzej Kulka,  Rafał Kwiatkowski, Roby Lacatos, Adam Makowicz, Ewa Małas-Godlewska, Artur Pachlewski, Mariusz Patyra, Baiba Skride, Lauma Skride, Anna Maria Staśkiewicz, Agata Szymczewska, Małgorzata Walewska, Edward Wolanin and Edward Zienkowski. In April 2003 the Orchestra recorded Vivaldi's The Four Seasons under Antoni Wit, with Jan Lewtak as soloist. In 2008 they recorded the same work for Lipinski Sound label under Jan Lewtak's musical direction, with Mariusz Patyra as soloist. In the same year under the direction of Antoni Wit the Orchestra recorded Krzysztof Penderecki’s works for string orchestra for NAXOS. In February 2009 the orchestra gave a special concert to mark the centenary of the birth of Grażyna Bacewicz, with an all-Bacewicz programme including first performances of her two recently discovered compositions: Sinfonietta (1929) and Symphony (1946). Later on the Warsaw Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra recorded these pieces for SONY MUSIC. The Orchestra performs regularly and takes part in numerous festivals: Warsaw Musical Encounters organized by Polish Composers’ Association, Chamber Ensembles Festival in Warsaw, Warsaw “Cross Culture” Festival, “In Chopin's Land” Music Festival, “Mozartina” Festival in Gdańsk. The Orchestra also took part in Chamber Music Festival in Leżajsk and in the Castle in Łańcut. In March 2009 they had the honour of inaugurating the festival in Al Ain (United Arab Emirates), participating in this event for the second time.

Jan Lewtak

Jan Lewtak graduated from the F. Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw after violin studies under Zenon Brzewski and Mirosław Ławrynowicz. He took part in many master courses in the field of music interpretation in Poland and abroad and in the festival “Talents’ week”. He is the winner of several music competitions. As a chamber musician he performed in Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain. He recorded many CDs and archive materials. As a soloist he performed in Germany, Spain, United Arab Emirates and USA. In 2000 in Japan he played Vivaldi’s Fours Seasons. He collaborated with music editorial office of Polish Radio and he was awarded for a cycle about Paganini’s caprice for violin solo by the Radio and Television Committee. He is the founder and artistic director of the Warsaw Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. In April 2003 he recorded Vivaldi's The Four Seasons under Antoni Wit. He wrote many essays of works for chamber orchestra. Against the order of PWM Edition (Polish Music Publishing House), on the occasion of Chopin’s Year he elaborated Chopin’s two piano concerts for a piano and string orchestra.