Sinfonia Toronto Concert (Piazzola & Palej: Tears & Tango)

24 January (Friday) 

8:00 pm | Trinity-St. Paul’s United Church & Centre for Faith, Justice and the Arts, 427 Bloor Street West

Single concert tickets ~ Adult $52; Senior (60+) $40; Student $20 

Link to Tickets

Presented by Sinfonia Toronto in association with the University of Toronto New Music Festival

Two exciting soloists: a violin virtuoso in a melodious showpiece, and the Canadian debut of one of the world’s finest accordionist in the premiere of Toronto composer Norbert Palej’s ‘Tears of Things’ plus irresitible Piazzolla tangos

SINFONIA TORONTO

Conductor: Nurhan Arman

Accordion: Maciej Frackiew

Violin: DAVID BAIK David Baik

Program

Divertimento K. 138

 W.A. Mozart

Fantaisie billiante for Violin on Gounod’e Faust

Henryk Wieniawski

String Orchestra version by Nurhan Arman

Lacrymae Rerum – Tears of Things

Norbert Palej

Five Tango Sensations

Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla

Guest Artist Sponsors: Meredith MacFarquhar and Edward Thompson

Biographies

Maciej Frąckiewicz, accordionist – Winner of one of the world’s most prestigious accordion competitions – the Certamen Internacional de Acordeón “Arrasate Hiria” in Spain (2012) – and recipient of the Polityka Passport award “for highly mature and distinctive interpretations of contemporary repertoire. For courage, risk, and consistency. For building a repertoire. For concert artistry, stimulating our imagination, and the power of persuasion” (2013).

The artist has won prizes in numerous international accordion competitions in Poland, Germany, Slovakia, Italy, and Spain, including the Grand Prize and the Audience Prize at the Deutscher Musikwettbewerb (Bonn, 2018), as well as the Folkwang Preis (Essen, 2017), the GWK-Förderpreise für Musik (Münster, 2015), and Second Prize at the International Accordion Competition (Klingenthal, 2008).

He regularly performs as a soloist with symphony orchestras, including the National Philharmonic, NOSPR, Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Mainz, Beethoven Orchester Bonn, Bochumer Symphoniker, and the Beijing Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of conductors such as Jacek Kaspszyk, José Maria Florêncio, Krzysztof Penderecki, Łukasz Borowicz, Rasmus Baumann, Bassem Akiki, among others.

He has performed at festivals in Poland and abroad, including Warsaw Autumn, La Folle Journée, Polish Music Festival (Kraków), Musica Polonica Nova (Wrocław), the Music Festival in Łańcut, Neue Horizonten, Klangbrücke (Hanover), Two Days and Two Nights of New Music (Odessa), Contrasts (Lviv), Farinelli Festival di Musica Classica (Andria), Days of Krzysztof Penderecki (Yerevan), Auksodrone (Tychy), Musique au Léman (Thonon-les-Bains), Latvian New Music Days (Riga), Folefest (Lisbon), Daegu International Contemporary Music Festival (South Korea), Moscow Autumn (Russia), Niedersächsische Musiktage, Bach-Tage in Aschaffenburg, Chapeau Classique in Münster, Ludwigsburg Schlossfestspiele (Germany), and within the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society series (USA). He regularly tours in China, performing in venues such as Tianjin Grand Theatre, Harbin Grand Opera, and the Forbidden City Concert Hall, where he opened a Bach-Birthday concert series with the Goldberg Variations.

Maciej Frąckiewicz has premiered over 100 works, most of which were dedicated to him. In November 2016, he recorded Under the Sign of Scorpio by Sofia Gubaidulina, and in January 2018, he participated in the world premiere of Krzysztof Penderecki’s Accordion Concerto, which he recorded in December 2018 with the Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra under the composer’s baton. The album received the Fryderyk Award. To date, he has released nine solo albums (some nominated for Opus Klassik) and appeared as a guest on over ten CDs. The album featuring Reliefs by Andrzej Krzanowski, for which he served as the initiator, executive producer, and performer, won the 2023 Fryderyk Award.

He studied at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, ESCMUC in Barcelona, Hochschule für Musik Detmold, and Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen. Since 2024, he has been a professor, leading accordion classes at the Hochschule für Musik in Nuremberg and the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold. He is also a visiting professor at Shenzhen University in China and regularly conducts masterclasses across Europe and Asia.

The artist performs on a Pigini Nova instrument.

Published