Moniuszko: Milda & Nijoła Soloists, Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic Choir, Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra & Łukasz Borowicz

• Stanisław Moniuszko (1819 - 1872): Milda:
• 1Milda: Intrada04:04
• Milda, Pt. 1:
• 2Milda, Pt. 1: No. 1, U brzegu Niemna jest gaj poświęcony03:16
• 3Milda, Pt. 1: No. 2, Już na niebie słonko płonie02:32
• 4Milda, Pt. 1: No. 3, Mildo! Królową Litwa cię zwie03:33
• Milda, Pt. 2:
• 5Milda, Pt. 2: No. 1, Czemuż ten człowiek, gdy noc zejdzie ciemna02:43
• 6Milda, Pt. 2: No. 2, Kiedy noc do snu światy kołysze03:15
• 7Milda, Pt. 2: No. 3, Wtem światło z ołtarza zabłysło02:39
• 8Milda, Pt. 2: No. 4, Mój Romojs!06:32
• Milda, Pt. 3:
• 9Milda, Pt. 3: No. 1, Gdy im w uśmiechach czas leci02:22
• 10Milda, Pt. 3: No. 2, Patrzcie! Ah!03:21
• 11Milda, Pt. 3: No. 3, Zatrząsł się Perkun03:02
• 12Milda, Pt. 3: No. 4, Takżeś to dziecku, mój ojcze!03:20
• 13Milda, Pt. 3: No. 5, A Perkun na to z gniewem zawoła02:29
• 14Milda, Pt. 3: No. 6, Znijdź ku nam Mildo05:03
• Nijoła:
• 15Nijoła: No. 1, O wiosno!07:37
• 16Nijoła: No. 2, Noc taka cienie dziś swe rostoczyła02:21
• 17Nijoła: No. 3, Wkrótce z ziemi będę wzięta04:07
• 18Nijoła: No. 4, Jak tu błogo!01:34
• 19Nijoła: No. 5, Co za głos?05:00
• 20Nijoła: No. 6, Nim powita Saule góra, rosa nim opadnie01:37
• 21Nijoła: No. 7, Po obłokach Menes pływa03:49
• 22Nijoła: No. 8, Zawrzały wody05:07
• Total Runtime01:19:23

Info for Moniuszko: Milda & Nijoła

Milda and Nijola, forgotten works by Stanislaw Moniuszko, whose content is based on Lithuanian mythological motifs, are a unique continuation of the cantata style and form in the Polish music. They are extremely successful pieces, and the shortness of their popularity can be probably explained only with the words of the author of the libretto of Milda, Józef Ignacy Kraszewski. If our critics were able to recognise Mr. Moniuszko’s talent, we would not envy Germans songs by Schubert and Mendelssohn Bartholdy (...), better than Mr. Moniuszko only because they were lucky to be born and gain fame abroad. It seems unbelievable that these cantatas have not yet been available on album. In this context, the double- album of the Poznan Philharmonic is an invaluable contribution to restoring Moniuszko to his rightful place in the forefront of 19th-century European composers, not only operatic.

Wioletta Chodowicz, soprano
Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic Choir
Robert Gierlach, baritone
Maria Jaskulska-Chrenowicz, soprano
Szymon Kobyliński, bass
Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra
Sylwester Smulczyński, tenor
Ewa Wolak, mezzosoprano
Łukasz Borowicz, conductor

Łukasz Borowicz
One of the most versatile conductors of his generation, Łukasz Borowicz regularly leads the major European orchestras in the core Germanic repertoire as well as important Russian, Polish, Czech and Hungarian works. He conducts opera and has received numerous prizes for his over 80 recordings. From 2007 to 2015 he was Chief Conductor of the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Warsaw, and in 2006 he was appointed Chief Guest Conductor of the Poznań Philharmonic, a title he retains.

In the 18/19 season Borowicz makes his debuts with Paris Opera (Les Huguenots), Hungarian National Orchestra and Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, and leads a new production of Halka by Stanisław Moniuszko at Polish National Opera. He performs on tour with the Poznań Philharmonic, and returns to the Warsaw Philharmonic, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, Janáček Philharmonic and Orchestre symphonique et lyrique de Nancy, as well as the orchestras in Katowice, Szczecin, Gdańsk and Łódź. Ongoing recording projects include a multi-disc recording of Anton Bruckner’s sacred music with RIAS Kammerchor and Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin for Accentus, as well as a release of Hugo Alfven’s five symphonies with the Deutsche Symphonieorchester Berlin on CPO. He also records an album of cello concertos by exiled Jewish composers with Raphael Wallfisch and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Łukasz Borowicz has appeared as guest conductor with SWR Sinfonieorchester, Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, Hamburger Symphoniker, MDR Sinfonieorchester, Luzerner Symfonieorchester, Orchestre National de Lille, Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group and a number of other orchestras and ensembles, including all the major Polish symphonies. Last season he made his debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Gürzenich-Orchester Köln and Bamberger Symphoniker. He has led concerts at the Rossini Festival in Pesaro, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and Kissinger Sommer Festival, and has an ongoing relationship with the Beethoven Easter Festival in Warsaw, which has seen eleven rarely played operas recorded and released to date.

Borowicz made his operatic debut at Polish National Opera with Don Giovanni, which has been followed by over 130 performances at the house, including new productions of Orfeo ed Euridice, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, The Rite of Spring and Romeo and Juliet. In the 19/20 season he will direct a new production of Halka at Theater an der Wien. Further operatic credits include premieres of Zauberflöte, Rusalka, Dido and Aeneas, Blubeard’s Castle (Łódź), Don Giovanni, Eugene Onegin, Halka and King Roger (Kraków), Eugene Onegin (Nantes) and King Roger (Bilbao).

A prolific recording artist with over 75 albums to his name, Borowicz’s recordings have been awarded three Diapason d’Or prizes. Symphonic recordings include the complete violin concertos by Grażyna Bacewicz for Chandos, the complete symphonic works by Andrzej Panufnik for CPO, and several titles for Hyperion. The final installment of the Panufnik cycle was selected as an Editor’s Choice by Gramophone magazine, and Borowicz received the ICMA Special Achievement Award in 2015 for his pioneering work on the cycle. In 2018 he received another ICMA award for his recording of Quo Vadis by Feliks Nowowiejski. His collaboration with Piotr Beczała on Deutsche Grammophon’s recording Heart’s delight – Songs of Richard Tauber was met with wide critical and public praise.

Born in Warsaw in 1977, Łukasz Borowicz graduated from the Frederic Chopin Music Academy, where he studied under Bogusław Madey. He received a doctorate in conducting under Antoni Wit. He has received the Polityka Passport Award (2008), Coryphée of Polish Music Award (2011), Norwid Award (2013) and Tansman Prize honouring an outstanding musical personality (2014).

Booklet for Moniuszko: Milda & Nijoła