Sinfonia Varsovia was founded in April 1984 as an augmentation of the Polish Chamber Orchestra (PCO) following the arrival of Yehudi Menuhin at the invitation of Waldemar Dąbrowski and Franciszek Wybrańczyk, then director of the PCO. The collaboration quickly won the appreciation of audiences in Poland and abroad, and Menuhin subsequently became the orchestra’s first guest conductor.

Over the years Sinfonia Varsovia has performed in the world’s most prestigious concert halls under the baton of conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Witold Lutosławski, Lorin Maazel, Emmanuel Krivine and Jerzy Maksymiuk, as well as with soloists including Mstislav Rostropovich, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Alfred Brendel, Martha Argerich and Piotr Anderszewski. Sinfonia Varsovia has given over 4,000 concerts all over the world, and recorded over 300 albums.

Krzysztof Penderecki served as musical director from 1997, and artistic director from 2003 to 2020. From 2008 to 2012 Marc Minkowski was musical director, and in 2004 Franciszek Wybrańczyk transferred the duties of director to the ensemble’s long-time musician Janusz Marynowski, who still holds this position. In September 2022 Aleksandar Marković was appointed principal guest conductor.

www.sinfoniavarsovia.org

Photo: Bartek Barczyk duże