Giancarlo Guerrero and the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic in Florida January 10-15

NFM WROCŁAW PHILHARMONIC is one of the leading Polish symphonic orchestras. Founded in 1945, the group regularly collaborates with renowned guest artists such as Piotr Anderszewski, Jonathan Biss, Andrey Boreyko, Paul McCreesh, Paul Jacobs, Elisabeth Leonskaja and Krzysztof Penderecki. In the 2017/2018 season the orchestra appointed the multiple Grammy®-Award winner, Giancarlo Guerrero, as its artistic director. In 1994, it chose Witold Lutosławski as its patron, and in 2015, with the inauguration of its new concert venue, NFM, adopted the name NFM Filharmonia Wrocławska. The ensemble often performs and records the works of such Polish masters as Karol Szymanowski, Witold Lutosławski and Krzysztof Penderecki.

During each season, in addition to subscription concerts, the orchestra takes part in wide variety of artistic projects, including multiple educational concerts, open-air performances and recording sessions. In the field of education NFM Wrocław Philharmonic focuses not only on concerts for children and youth, but also on collaborations with the Music Academy in Wrocław and the Orchestral Academy and Choir Academy (projects run by NFM). Thanks to partnerships with NFM festivals, such as Jazztopad and Musica Electronica Nova, the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic regularly performs with leading representatives of the avant-garde and jazz scene, like Brad Mehldau, Wynton Marsalis and John Zorn.

The orchestra has gained special recognition in the 20^th and 21^st century symphonic repertoire, and often performs works written and commissioned for the NFM. Internationally, the group is active across Europe and the USA. In November 2018 the orchestra gave a critically acclaimed performance at the new Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg with Giancarlo Guerrero conducting.

NFM Wrocław Philharmonic Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero is a six-time GRAMMY^® Award-winning conductor, Music Director of the Nashville Symphony and Principal Guest Conductor of the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon. Guerrero has been praised for his “charismatic conducting and attention to detail” (Seattle Times) in “viscerally powerful performances” (Boston Globe) that are “at once vigorous, passionate, and nuanced” (BachTrack).

Through commissions, recordings, and world premieres, Guerrero has championed the works of prominent American composers, presenting eleven world premieres and fifteen recordings of American music with the Nashville Symphony, including works by Michael Daugherty, Terry Riley and Jonathan Leshnoff.

During the 2019/2020 season, Naxos will release recordings of Aaron Jay Kernis’ Symphony No. 4 and Christopher Rouse’s Concerto for Orchestra, both recorded with the Nashville Symphony. As part of his commitment to fostering contemporary music, Guerrero, together with composer Aaron Jay Kernis, guided the creation of Nashville Symphony’s biannual Composer Lab & Workshop for young and emerging composers.

In addition to the thirteen-city North American tour with the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic, Guerrero’s 2019/20 season will include return engagements with the Boston Symphony, São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Bamberg Symphony, Frankfurt Opera and Museums Orchestra, Queensland Symphony and the New Zealand Symphony.

Maestro Guerrero has appeared with prominent North American orchestras, including those of Baltimore, Cincinnati, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Montréal, Philadelphia, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, and the National Symphony Orchestra. Internationally he has worked in recent seasons with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Brussels Philharmonic, Deutsches Radio Philharmonie, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Netherlands Philharmonic, Residentie Orkest, NDR in Hannover, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as the Sydney Symphony in Australia. Guerrero was honored as the keynote speaker at the 2019 League of American Orchestras conference.

Guerrero previously held posts as the Principal Guest Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra Miami Residency, Music Director of the Eugene Symphony, and Associate Conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra.

Born in Nicaragua, Guerrero immigrated during his childhood to Costa Rica, where he joined the local youth symphony. He studied percussion and conducting at Baylor University in Texas and earned his master’s degree in conducting at Northwestern. Given his beginnings in civic youth orchestras, Guerrero is particularly engaged with conducting training orchestras and has worked with the Curtis School of Music, Colburn School in Los Angeles, National Youth Orchestra (NYO2) and Yale Philharmonia, as well as with the Nashville Symphony’s Accelerando program, which provides an intensive music education to promising young students from diverse ethnic backgrounds. More at www.giancarlo-guerrero.com

Acclaimed for his interpretations of music from Bach to Boulez, David Fray performs in world’s major venues as a recitalist, soloist and chamber musician. He has collaborated with leading orchestras under distinguished conductors such as Marin Alsop, Semyon Bychkov, Andrey Boreyko, Christoph Eschenbach, Daniele Gatti, Paavo Järvi, Kurt Masur, Riccardo Muti, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Michael Sanderling, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Jaap van Zweden. Orchestral appearances in Europe have included the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, London Philharmonic, Dresden Philharmonic, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Salzburg Mozarteum, Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Orchestre de Paris, and Orchestre National de France. David Fray made his US debut in 2009 with the Cleveland Orchestra followed by performances with the Boston Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has given recitals at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Park Avenue Armory in New York, Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, and appears regularly at the Vienna Konzerthaus, Mozarteum Salzburg, London’s Wigmore Hall, Théâtre des Champs Elysées, and many other major venues.

In addition to his tour with the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic with Giancarlo Guerrero, Mr. Fray returns this season to the Baltimore Symphony with Marin Alsop, the Van Cliburn Foundation, and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. He embarks on recital tours with Bach Goldberg Variations in Europe, Russia and China, where he also tours with the Vienna Radio Symphony. Mr. Fray will perform Bach keyboard concertos for two, three, and four pianos in Abu Dhabi and will collaborate in recital with violinist Renaud Capuçon as well as baritone Benjamin Appl. He also starts his residency at the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest as a visiting professor.

Last season, Mr. Fray returned to North America with the Chicago Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. The Théâtre des Champs Elysées presented a Bach cycle with David Fray performing Bach’s keyboard concertos, Sonatas with Renaud Capuçon, and Goldberg Variations. He gave recitals in Amsterdam, Budapest, Dresden, Milan, Istanbul, Santiago, and toured South Korea and Russia. European orchestral collaborations included the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Vienna Radio Symphony, and play-directing the Casa da Musica Orchestra in Porto.

Mr. Fray released two discs this past season: Bach Concertos for 2, 3, and 4 pianos, a “musical family affair” along with his teacher Jacques Rouvier and his former students Audrey Vigoureux, Emmanuel Christien, and Bach Violin Sonatas with Renaud Capuçon. In 2017, Mr. Fray released a CD of selected Chopin piano works which was followed by his first public performances of the composer’s music. The previous disc called Fantaisie, an album of Schubert’s late piano works, was named Gramophone Editor’s Choice and Sinfini Music called it “one of the most appealing listening experiences of present times” and “exceptionally thoughtful and touching.” Mr. Fray records exclusively for Erato/Warner Classics and his first album with works of Bach and Boulez was praised as the “best record of the year” by the London Times and Le Soir. Mr. Fray’s second release, a recording of Bach keyboard concerti with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen was awarded by the German Recording Academy. An album with Schubert Moments Musicaux and Impromptus followed. Mr. Fray’s other critically acclaimed releases include Mozart piano concerti with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Jaap van Zweden and Bach Partitas Nos. 2 and 6 along with Toccata in C minor. In 2008 the TV network ARTE +7 presented a documentary on David Fray directed by the renowned French director Bruno Monsaingeon. The film Sing, Swing & Think was subsequently released on DVD.

David Fray holds multiple awards including the German Echo Klassik Prize for Instrumentalist of the Year and the Young Talent Award from the Ruhr Piano Festival. In 2008 he was named Newcomer of the Year by the BBC Music Magazine. At the 2004 Montreal International Music Competition, he received both the Second Grand Prize and the Prize for the best interpretation of a Canadian work.

David Fray started taking piano lessons at the age of four. He furthered his studies with Jacques Rouvier, who is also featured on his latest Schubert album, at the Conservatoire National Supérieur in Paris.

Janusz Wawrowski is a violin virtuoso who is considered one of the most outstanding Polish violinists of his generation. His international career has taken him to among others the Berliner Philharmoniker, Musikverein in Vienna, Wigmore Hall in London, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Piotr Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, National Philharmonic in Warsaw, De Doelen in Rotterdam, Teatro Teresa Carreño in Caracas, the Tel Aviv Music Center and Seoul Arts Center. He has appeared at many of the world’s most reputable festivals, such as Salzburger Festspiele, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Chopin and His Europe Festival, and the Transatlantyk Festival.

Wawrowski has appeared as a soloist with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Lithuanian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra Katowice, Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie, Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra in Venezuela, and many others, under such conductors as Conrad van Alphen, Łukasz Borowicz, Gabriel Chmura, Jacek Kaspszyk, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Mykola Diadiura, Tomáš Netopil, Agnieszka Duczmal, Juozas Domarkas, Daniel Raiskin, and Antoni Wit.

Janusz Wawrowski is a keen explorer, performer, and editor of missing and forgotten works by Polish composers, including Mieczysław Karłowicz, Karol Lipiński, Ludomir Różycki and Zygmunt Noskowski. Besides being a violinist, he has founded and served as artistic director of two international chamber music events — Music on the Heights (2009–2010) and Spaces of Music (from 2011). In 2017, Wawrowski founded Warsaw Players, a chamber orchestra composed of extraordinary students and graduates of The Fryderyk Chopin University of Music.

Wawrowski’s multi-album contract with Warner Classics has yielded two solo albums (Paganini Caprices and Sequenza), two chamber music titles with pianist Jose Gallardo (Aurora and Hidden Violin), as well as Brillante with Stuttgarther Philharmoniker.

In recognition of his artistic achievements, Janusz Wawrowski was awarded the Decoration of Honour “Meritorious for Polish Culture” by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.

He performs on the Antonio Stradivari 1685 violin Polonia, courtesy Mr. Roman Ziemian. It is the first Stradivarius violin in post-war Poland. His album Hidden Violin was recorded on the Polonia Stradivarius and received the 2019 Fryderyk Award for the best solo recital release.

Karol Szymanowski: Concert Overture in E major Op. 12 performed by the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic with Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero