Cracow Philharmonic

The music lovers of Cracow were the first in Poland to hear – in January 1950 – the Overture for Strings, written by Lutosławski for Prague Radio. Two other first performances were given with the participation of Cracow musicians, albeit not in Cracow itself. During the Venice Biennale, in the spring of 1961, Jeux vénitiens was played by the Cracow Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra under Andrzej Markowski. So the Cracow musicians were the first to find out what ‘controlled aleatory technique’ involved. Two years later, during the 7th Warsaw Autumn, the Cracow Radio Chorus sang in the Polish premiere of Trois poèmes d’Henri Michaux. The Cracow singers were conducted by the composer, who was making his first public appearance in Poland on the concert platform. Previously, he had only been seen with a baton by the musicians with whom he was recording in radio studios.