The Diplomat
The Polish pianist and composer Włodek Pawlik was the star of the extraordinary Christmas concert given by the Instituto Polaco de Cultura at the Real Casino de Madrid on Wednesday.
The deputy director of the Institute, Magdalena Majda, welcomed the numerous attendees to the concert and closed the year 2023 in terms of cultural activities that have been increasing in quality and generosity as the current year drew to a close. The event was attended by representatives of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Polish Embassy, as well as many institutional, academic, diplomatic and cultural officials in Spain.
Włodek Pawlik delighted everyone with his own compositions, jazz standards and Polish Christmas carols with jazz arrangements. Great contemporary classics such as Ray Charles’ Georgia on my Mind or John Lennon’s Imagine were played, but also traditional Christmas compositions such as Silent Night, which in his expert hands took on jazz tones. His energetic and jovial performance thrilled the audience. It is not for nothing that Pawlik is one of Poland’s most renowned musicians, the author of 30 albums released to date and the recipient of many honours and distinctions, including a Grammy Award in the Jazz category (the only Pole to win it).
Undoubtedly, these last months of the year the Instituto Polaco de Cultura has left its mark on the national cultural scene with great events, such as the Chopin music and literature recital in the Romantic Salon performed by the young Polish pianist Wiktor Gąsior at the Museum of Romanticism. The event was part of the LIBER 2023 programme, which this year had Poland as Guest of Honour.
It is also necessary to highlight the performance in concert version of the opera Halka at the Teatro Real by the great Polish composer of Romanticism Stanisław Moniuszko, coinciding with the celebration of the Day of the Recovery of the Independence of Poland on 11 November, and which was welcomed by the artistic director Joan Matabosch and the speech of the ambassador Anna Sroka. Leading the cast were American soprano Corinne Winters and the two great Polish singers of the moment: tenor Piotr Beczała and bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny. The event was attended by countless institutional, cultural and diplomatic representatives.
The Instituto Polaco de Cultura has also collaborated these days in the preview screening at the Cine Estudio of the Círculo de Bellas Artes of In the Name of the Earth, directed by D.K. and Hugh Welchman, and selected by Poland for Best International Film for the Oscars 2024. After the screening, attendees were able to enjoy a discussion with the director.
Also, in collaboration with the Polish Embassy, the B61 Institute’s interactive installation The Copernican Principle, which is part of the celebrations of the Year of Copernicus, was presented at the Planetarium in Madrid.
The Instituto Polaco de Cultura in Madrid is a governmental unit under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland which aims to take on the institutional and professional role of promoting a deeper knowledge of Poland, its history, culture, science, language, customs and heritage.
