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The “{oh!} Orkiestra” ensemble was established in 2012 in Silesia, a region in southwestern Poland. The ensemble brings together specialists in the field of historically informed performance and is led by violinist Martyna Pastuszka. In the last decade, the ensemble has established itself as one of the most important orchestras in Europe, exploring a vast repertoire from Baroque music to early 20th century.

The ensemble frequently collaborates with established Polish cultural institutions and festivals, including the Silesian Museum in Katowice, the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (residency since 2015), and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. For the All’Improvviso Festival in Gliwice, “{oh!} Orkiestra” has presented renowned opera performances over time, and since 2018 has been developing a multi-year partnership with the Fr. Chopin Institute, presenting various classical and romantic programs as part of the International Music Festival “Chopin and His Europe”.

Over the years, “{oh!} Orkiestra” has confirmed its first-class international reputation, performing at opera houses, concert halls, and important festivals, including Theater an der Wien, Staatsoper Berlin, Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, Konzerthaus Dortmund, Cologne Philharmonic, Bachfest Leipzig, Handel Festival in Halle, Tage Alter Musik in Herne, and the Bayreuth Baroque Opera Festival. In the previous season, {oh!} Orkiestra performed at Wigmore Hall in London, Barocktage in Berlin, Telemann Festtage in Magdeburg, Actus Humanus in Gdansk, and Misteria Paschalia in Krakow. In September 2022, the ensemble was named orchestra-in-residence for the Bayreuth Baroque Opera Festival, where they performed various repertoires, including a new production of Vinci’s “Alessandro nell’Indie”, staged by Max Emanuel Cencic and conducted by Martyna Pastuszka.

The ensemble’s discography includes numerous recordings, among which stands out Vinci’s opera “Gismondo, re di Polonia” (Parnassus Arts Productions), featuring countertenor Max Emanuel Cencic in the lead role. Unanimously appreciated by the international specialized press, the album was nominated for the 2021 Opus Klassik award in the “Ensemble of the Year” category, as well as for the Koryfeusz Muzyki Polskiej awards and the German Record Critics’ Award. Among the orchestra’s upcoming releases are Karol Lipiński’s Symphonies (NIFCCD) and Telemann’s early Cantatas with Ensemble Polyharmonique (CPO).

19 Sept, 19:00 hr
Brasov Philharmonic
Oriental Tales - Martyna Pastuszka și „{oh!} Orkiestra”

The concert program is one of Eastern stories and encounters as a source of inspiration for Western composers of the 17th and 18th centuries. The program contains works written under the influence of encountered cultures, admiring their specifics, traditions, and mythology.

It is difficult to find sounds of the Orient here, as if the composers did not seek ways to reflect Oriental sonorities, but rather took the opportunity to draw listeners’ attention to stories from the East – to the fabulous Orient.

Concerto Phoenix, Sonata La Sultanne, or Concerto Comique Les Sauvages are attributed to this category of “entertainment music”. Henry Purcell’s Suite, along with Schmelzer’s Sonata, use the presence of stories and other cultures for political purposes. Elkanah Settle’s tragedy Distress’d Innocence, which explores the theme of violence against a woman as a means of degrading her husband’s position, fits into the mainstream literature of the Restoration period in England and attempts to shed light on a widespread problem in European countries. By moving the action thousands of kilometers away, the two authors, Settle and Purcell, make the reflection less intrusive and therefore possible. Schmelzer’s Sonata clearly incites the struggle to maintain European identity. It recalls the moment of victory over the Ottoman army in Vienna in 1683.

 

kyrios

Author kyrios

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