Philharmonic of Poland

The history of the Opole, Philharmonic of Poland can be traced back to the years immediately following World War II. One of Poland’s leading orchestras, the Philharmonic of Poland was founded in 1947 and became the resident orchestra of Opole. In 1952, a major performing arts center was built in the city of Opole as a permanent home for the orchestra. In June of 1969, the orchestra was awarded the State Award for Arts Excellence by the Ministry of Culture of Poland in honor of the great Polish Composer Jósef Elsner.

Their program for us is drawn from the heart of the romantic orchestral repertoire. My favorite Brahms symphony, the third, has the lovely horn solo in the slow movement, one that I have played many times. I still get sweaty palms when that passage begins. It is still a Liszt year. The E-flat Concerto is one of his most often performed works. For those of you who are not familiar with the piece, it is often called “The Triangle Concerto” for reasons that will become obvious. Richard Strauss’ Don Juan closes the concert, another barn burner for the horn section.