Orchestra - NOSPR

The Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra based in Katowice is one of the most important Polish symphony orchestras, as well as a versatile cultural institution.

The orchestra’s history dates back to 1935 and is inextricably linked with Grzegorz Fitelberg, who was entrusted with the task of creating Poland’s first independent radio symphony orchestra. The ensemble made its debut on 2 October 1935 and has been a constant presence on Polish Radio ever since. After the Second World War, the orchestra was reactivated in Katowice, and its reconstruction was entrusted to Witold Rowicki.

Over the following decades, the orchestra gradually strengthened its international reputation, performing in the world’s most important concert halls and collaborating with the greatest artists of our time, including Leonard Bernstein, Martha Argerich, Plácido Domingo and Arthur Rubinstein. The orchestra has premiered works by Witold Lutosławski, Wojciech Kilar, Henryk Mikołaj Górecki and Krzysztof Penderecki, among others, and NOSPR albums have been released by prestigious labels. Over the years, the orchestra has been led by distinguished conductors including Jan Krenz, Kazimierz Kord, Tadeusz Strugała, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Antoni Wit, Gabriel Chmura, Jacek Kaspszyk, Alexander Liebreich and Lawrence Foster.

Today, the orchestra’s rich musical traditions are cultivated under the artistic direction of Marin Alsop, with Ewa Bogusz-Moore serving as its General and Programme Director.

A permanent element of the NOSPR’s identity, at each stage in its history, has remained its relationship with technology. At the end of the 1960s, thanks to its artistic director at the time, Bohdan Wodiczko, the orchestra began an enduring cooperation with television, and nowadays the Internet plays an increasingly important role in building relations with the audience.

The NOSPR’s home is a modern building designed by the Konior Studio of Katowice, comprising a 1800-seat concert hall, a chamber hall and numerous workshop and educational spaces. The concert hall, with acoustics designed by Nagata Acoustics, has a reputation as one of the world’s finest in terms of acoustics. On 13 January 2023, the pipe organ – one of the largest in a European concert hall, built by Anton Škrabl of Slovenia – were heard for the first time. The venue’s outstanding qualities are widely recognised by audiences, artists and the music community, as evidenced by the fact that the NOSPR has been admitted into the ECHO network of the most prestigious concert halls in Europe.

The NOSPR is the organiser of the ‘New Polish Music’ Festival of Premieres, the ‘Katowice Kultura Natura’ Festival and the Karol Szymanowski International Music Competition, which includes five categories: piano, violin, voice, string quartet and composition. More info: szymanowski-competition.com.