BY LEAH BLANKENDAAL
PolArt Gala Music Concert
13th National Polish Arts Festival
Zelman Symphony Orchestra
Melbourne Arts Centre Hamer Hall, 3 January
One of the things I love most about living in Australia is the diversity of cultural celebration. As an ethnically rich nation, we have the privilege of being surrounded by many different communities. PolArt’s 13th National Polish Arts Festival is a fine example of this. The festival celebrates Polish dance, theatre, cinema and, in the case of its Gala Concert held last Sunday, Polish classical and jazz music.
The Gala Concert was split into two halves: one classical and one jazz. As might be expected, the first half delved into Polish romanticism and folk tradition. This half was led chiefly by the Zelman Symphony Orchestra, with interspersed solos from West Australian soprano Claudia Sosin and a poetry reading by actor Marta Kaczmarek.
Zelman Symphony’s program featured three works, beginning with the folk song ‘Ej, Przeleciał Ptaszek‘. Young soprano Amelia Wawrzon will be one to watch in the future: her performance of this work was particularly endearing. Following this concertmaster Adam Piechocinski performed Wieniawski’s ‘Legend’ Op. 17. The Wieniawski served as a gentle lead up to the main course; Chopin’s blazing Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor Op. 11 with Marian Sobula at the piano.
Sobula’s performance was undoubtedly the highlight of the first half and Zelman Symphony performed with him to an admirable standard. As a community ensemble they achieved high results with challenging repertoire. Both the Wieniawski and Chopin suffered a little from balance issues – at times it seemed the orchestra struggled to match Sobula’s colour and dynamic intensity – however conductor Mark Shiell made a valiant effort to maintain the energy in the orchestra.
For the second half, we were assured ‘something completely different’. The Andrzej Jagodziński Trio, featuring Andrzej Jagodziński on piano, Adam Cegieslki on double bass and Czesław Bartkowski on drums, performed a set of five works, including a bossa nova take on Chopin’s Prelude in E minor Op. 28. Following this, Polish jazz vocalist Anna Maria Jopek performed a set of folk-infused love songs with her band Krzysztof Herdzin, piano, Robert Kubiszyn, bass and Paweł Dobrowolski, drums.
The proficiency of both Jagodziński and Jopek made it a shame that, by the middle of the second half, many of the audience seats were left empty. Given the amount of content – three-and-a-half hours’ worth – it might even be worth PolArts considering two concerts in future years, to give all of their artists opportunity to create a full program to a complete audience.
Zelman Symphony played well, Marian Sobula was a dazzling soloist and the Andrzej Jagodziński Trio’s take on Chopin was both musically rich and entertaining. However, equally importantly, the mix of professional musicians, young artists and very competent amateur players gave the concert a warm community spirit. Concerts such as the PolArt Gala give Australia its rich musical tapestry. Long may they continue.
Image supplied.
