The Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra is versatile, performing and recording opera and ballet as well as orchestral masterworks, mostly from Poland. The group has a substantial recording catalog, including releases on French and German labels as well as Polish ones. The Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Polish: Polska Orkiestra Radiowa), headquartered in Warsaw since its founding and also known as the Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, should not be confused with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, from the city of Katowice. The history of the Polish Radio Symphony dates back to 1934, when managers of Polish Radio, like those of other European broadcasters, decided to assemble an orchestra (and chorus) for the many broadcasts that required live music. At first, it was simply called the Polish Radio Orchestra; the first conductor was Grzegorz Fitelberg. The orchestra disbanded during World War II but was re-formed in 1945 by violinist and conductor Stefan Rachon. At first, the group fulfilled its original utilitarian function on Polish radio and soon television, performing popular music and accompanying radio dramas and the like. Rachon served as conductor until 1976. It was his successor, Wlodzimierz Kamirsky, who began to remake the orchestra along symphonic and operatic lines; in 1977, under conductor Jerzy Semkow, the group backed an EMI recording of Mussorgsky's opera Boris Godunov; that album was reissued on CD in 1993. Conductors Jan Pruszak (1980-1988), Mieczysław Nowakowski (1988-1990), and Tadeusz Strugała (1990-1993) continued to develop the orchestra's symphonic repertory; under the latter, the group was renamed the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra and moved into Polish Radio's new Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio. Under Wojciech Rajski, artistic director from 1993 to 2006, the group toured 11 eastern and western European countries, exposing audiences there to little-known Polish works. Conductor Łukasz Borowicz (2007-2015) inaugurated a tradition of opening seasons with concert performances of unknown or forgotten Polish operas. Michał Klauza became artistic director and continued to hold that position in the early 2020s. The Polish Radio Symphony has recorded for major labels such as Accentus, Chandos, and Hänssler Classic, as well as for Dux and other Polish labels. By 2022, when Klauza and the orchestra backed accordionist Klaudiusz Baran on an album of Polish accordion concertos on Naxos, the group's catalog comprised more than 30 albums. ~ James Manheim, Rovi

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Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra

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