This week Antoni Wit returns to conduct L’Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya at L’Auditori Barcelona in a programme of Dvořák’s 9^th Symphony paired with Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in the 60^th anniversary year of its premiere in Moscow. Maestro Wit joins forces with Denis Kozhukin as soloist, combining youth and experience in a fitting manner for music composed by father for son. Concerts take place on the evenings of October 13^th and 14^th, with a morning performance on October 15^th. Click here for more information.

Antoni Wit returns to the helm of the St Petersburg Philharmonic this weekend to conduct Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 in E major. The concert will also feature Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major, with young Russian prize-winner Alexander Ramm as soloist. This exclusive programme will be performed for one night only on 22 October. More information and tickets are available here.

Antoni Wit has been Artistic and Music Director of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra since 2013 and has met with huge success. His first concert of the season, on September 21st, includes works by Mozart, Beethoven and Pasqual Aldave, a 20th century Spanish composer born in Navarra. The opening work, Aldave’s Nerabe Sorta for string orchestra, was inspired by songs that mothers of the region sang to their children. This is followed by the well-known Toy Symphony by Mozart, then the concluding work: Beethoven’s great 9th Symphony. The first concert will take place at the Palacio de Congresos y Auditorio de Navarra, with two further concerts on September 22nd and 23rd, the last one in Tudela. For further information, please click here.

Antoni Wit returns to Pamplona to conduct three concerts with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra, of which he is Musical Director, on June 8th, 9th and 10th. The two works included in the programme are the cantata for soprano, tenor, chorus and orchestra, Jesucristo en la Cruz by 20th century Navarran composer Fernando Remacha, and Rossini’s Stabat Mater.

He then travels to Porto, where he conducts an all-Polish programme on June 17th. The Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música will perform Górecki’s powerful and moving 3rd Symphony for orchestra and soprano, also known as the Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, which is based on three texts about the separation of mothers and children during wartime. The second work in the programme is Lutosławski’s Concerto for Orchestra, which has its roots in Polish folk music.

Antoni Wit’s interview at his previous visit to Porto is here: https://vimeo.com/127155942

Antoni Wit conducts the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra in a programme of works by Franck, Schubert and Strauss on May 4th, 5th and 6th. Franck’s gripping symphonic poem, Le Chasseur Maudit will be followed by Schubert’s Symphony No. 8, The Unfinished. The scenes of the final work of the evening, Richard Strauss’s Alpine Symphony, will be portrayed not only through dramatic colour of the music, but also through the inspired images of musician and photographer Tobias Melle. The first two concerts will take place in the Palais de la Musique, Strasbourg, followed by a final performance in the KKL concert hall, Lucerne. For further information, please click here.

Antoni Wit conducts the NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover in performances of Penderecki’s St Luke Passion, to mark the 500^th anniversary of the Reformation. This powerful oratorio is scored for large orchestra, narrator, three soloists, mixed choir and boys’ choir. It is full of expression and colour and was very well-received when premiered in 1966, but due to its complexity, is seldom performed. The first performance on April 7^th in the Marktkirche Hannover will be followed by two further performances in St.-Johannis-Kirche, Lüneburg and Martin-Luther-Kirche, Emden.

Antoni Wit travels to Tokyo to make his début with the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, conducting an all-French programme at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre on October 29th. Stepping in at short notice to replace Michel Plasson, Maestro Wit will lead the orchestra in performances of works by Debussy, Satie, Fauré and Ravel.