“We declare the music conservatory officially open. At 10am, members of the board of the Music Association, led by the Mayor of Kraków Dr. Szlachtowski, gathered at the Church of St Anne. (…) Also in attendance were the conservatory’s director Władysław Żeleński, lecturers at the brand new institution, fans of music (…), and students at the conservatory,” announced the daily “Czas” on 2 February 1888 in its article describing the opening of Kraków’s first music college.
The institution continues as the Academy of Music in Kraków, celebrating its 130th anniversary this year. During the anniversary concert (25 February, Kraków Philharmonic) we will hear Magnificat by Mikołaj Zieleński (his Renaissance and Baroque works can be found in music libraries in Kraków), and the overture In the Tatras by the conservatory’s founder and first director Władysław Żeleński. The evening closes with Polymorphia for 48 string instruments, penned by Krzysztof Penderecki – graduate from the academy and its rector between 1972 and 1987. We will hear the Choir and Symphonic Orchestra of the Academy of Music, the choir Psalmodia and the Wawel Cathedral choir under the baton of Stanisław Krawczyński, the academy’s current director. We wish the academy many happy returns, talented students and plenty more opportunities for celebration! (Barbara Skowrońska)
M. Zieleński Magnificat
W. Żeleński In the Tatras Op. 70
K. Penderecki Polymorphia for 48 string instruments
Choir and Symphony Orchestra of the Academy of Music in Kraków
Psalmodia Choir of the John Paul II Papal University in Kraków
Wawel Cathedral Mixed Choir
Stanisław Krawczyński – conductor
