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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 20th 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 the Warsaw Philharmonic also gained international recognition. In the 1990s, the violin ensemble gave concerts with eminent soloists such as Konstanty A. Kulka and Nigel Kennedy, making records and TV programmes.

During the celebration of Warsaw Philharmonic's centenary, the Warsaw Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra was reactivated under the patronage of Director Antoni Wit. The ensemble consists of leading instrumentalists from the 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 many 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 Warsaw Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra has started co-operation with numerous eminent soloists, major music companies, organisers of prestigious festivals and composers of chamber music. In April 2003, the Orchestra recorded A. Vivaldi's The Four Seasons under Antoni Wit, with Jan Lewtak as the soloist.

In the artistic season 2003/04, the ensemble performed among others with Salvatore Accardo and with the violinist Mariusz Patyra, first prize winner of the International Paganini Competition in Genova, with whom the orchestra recorded in the newest Super Audio CD-technology (six-channel).

ORCHESTRA MEMBERS:

Jan Lewtak - violin, artistic director
Anna Bednarczyk - violin
Wojciech Hazuka - violin
Marian Kowalski - violin
Agnieszka Lewandowska - violin
Marcin Mazurek - violin
Grzegorz Osiński - violin
Marek Powideł - violin
Krystyna Wilczyńska - violin
Marek Marczyk - viola
Krzysztof Szczepański - viola
Jacek Toczyski - viola
Piotr Sapilak - cello
Angelica Wais - cello
Andrzej Wiltos - cello
Janusz Długokęcki - bass