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NATALIA WALEWSKA, leader of the Gdańsk-based Fryderyk Chopin Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra and concert violinist, numbers legendary violin virtuoso Leonid Kogan amongst her teachers. She has won awards at various prestigious international competitions, including the
K. Szymanowski International Music Competition, and has performed at numerous festivals, appearing with conductors of the ilk of Sir G. Solti, Ch. Eschenbach and M. Rostropovich. She assumed the distinguished position of leader of the Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra in 1999 and is regularly invited to appear as a soloist with symphonic orchestras in Poland and internationally. The renowned conductors who have their esteem for her skills include
J. Maksymiuk, Ernst van Tiel, M. Caldi, M. Vengerov, V. Papian, J.Domarkas, Sir N. Marinerr, S.Chrzanowski and P. Chromcak.
Walewska’s work encompasses albums which have been very well received by music lovers and recording industry journalists alike. Favourites include Romanza Classica for Violin and Organ with Professor Roman Perucki, which reached Gold status, Clair de Lune, recorded with pianist and professor Bogdan Kułakowski, Violin & Piano, with Rafał Lewandowski, Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, with the Cappella Gedanensis Early Music Ensemble, directed by T. Wojciechowski, which went to Platinum, and War Requiem, with conductor Sir Neville Marinerr. She has also recorded Z. Kruczek’s Harmonia for Violin, Trumpet and Symphony Orchestra, conducted by M. Caldi and featuring the Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra. The concerto was composed especially for her and is dedicated to her.
She also performs her own programmes. In addition to her well-known series of recitals spotlighting Antonio Vivaldi’s compositions, she gives concerts where she plays popular music such as tangos, waltzes and classical virtuoso miniatures for violin and piano. She presents educational programmes for young audiences, as well. Numerous albums and recordings for radio and television feature her as orchestra leader and soloist. In 2010, she began collaborating with the Gdańsk-based Królewska Orkiestra Salonowa (Royal Salon Orchestra), where she performs as a soloist and conducts at the same time. The performances are shows in the style of Viennese opera house galas, featuring singers, ballet and plenty of audience appeal. In recognition of her artistic achievements and work in the field of culture, she was nominated for the 2010 Splendor Gedanensis award. She has also received a number of grants from the Chief Executive of the Voivodship of Pomerania.
In 2014, she was invited to work on a film by W. Orzechowski, Women With No Shame; she recorded Postcard from Paris for the soundtrack composed by P. Salaber. She recorded an album of film music, Amber Tango, in 2015. It contains some of the most famous and beautiful cinematic melodies and was made in collaboration with conductor Sz. Morus, accordionist P. A. Nowak and Progress Chamber Orchestra. In 2016, she became the vice president of the Gdańsk-based Amberton Association; she works with the organisation on original artistic programmes and educational initiatives for young concertgoers. She is the founder and director of the Baltic Souvenir Festival, which is held in Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdynia during the summer holiday season. In 2017, she was invited to appear as the violin soloist in an outdoor performance of P. Salaber’s oratorio, Non Omnis Moriar, and on the DVD recording of the work. The concert, which was held on Mill Island in the north Polish city of Bydgoszcz, drew an audience of several thousand.
When the Catholic University of Lublin celebrated it centenary in 2018, Walewska gave a concert in honour of the occasion, in June, together with an orchestra. That same year, during the celebrations marking the one hundredth anniversary of Poland’s regained independence, she took part in a number of prestigious events, playing P. Vasks’ Vox Amoris: Fantasy for Solo Violin and Orchestra and polonaises by M. K. Ogiński. The world premiere of her rendition of Ogiński’s works took place in Gdańsk, where she performed with the composer’s great-great-great-grandson, pianist Iwo Załuski. The polonaises were recorded in 2019 and have now been released on this CD, Pearls of Polish Culture, which celebrates the musical legacy of Polish composers.
It was also in 2018 that she began performing concerts 6th Battle of the Tenors for the Roses. She was also delighted to take part in a charitable event, the 5th SOS Children’s Village fundraising gala, which was held in Warsaw.
As a soloist, she performs with the Katowice, Olsztyn, Zabrze and Kielce philharmonic orchestras on their concert stages and on her home ground with the Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra.
In March 2020, the Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra gave a jubilee concert marking twenty years of Natalia Walewska’s artistic work.
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