In 1984, on the invitation of Waldemar Dąbrowski, Director of the Witkiewicz STUDIO Centre for the Arts in Warsaw, and Franciszek Wybrańczyk, Director of the Polish Chamber Orchestra, the legendary violinist Yehudi Menuhin arrived in Poland to perform as soloist and conductor. In order to meet the exigencies of the repertoire, the orchestra invited distinguished musicians from all over Poland to take part. The ensemble’s first concerts, conducted by Menuhin, were received enthusiastically by audiences and critics, and the maestro accepted the invitation to become the first guest conductor of the newly established orchestra – Sinfonia Varsovia.
Sinfonia Varsovia performs in the world’s most prestigious concert halls and important festivals, collaborating with world-renowned conductors and soloists.
Since 2010, together with René Martin, Artistic Director of the Centre for Artistic Research and Creation in Nantes, the orchestra has organised the La Folle Journée Festival in Warsaw. Also of note is the Franciszek Wybrańczyk Sinfonia Varsovia to Its City Festival, which Wybrańczyk founded in 2001.
The orchestra has made many album, radio and television recordings, and boasts a discography of over 270 CDs, many of which have received prestigious prizes. In 1997, Professor Krzysztof Penderecki became the ensemble’s Music Director, and in 2003, its Artistic Director as well.
Sinfonia Varsovia is coordinated by the Capital City of Warsaw. In 2015, in the presence of Warsaw mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, architect Thomas Pucher and the orchestra’s director Janusz Marynowski signed an agreement for a project involving the preparation of a design documentation for a new concert hall for Sinfonia Varsovia, and a development plan for the plot at 272 Grochowska Street. The first concert in the new hall is planned for October 2021.
fot. Miroslaw Pietruszynski