The history of the Philharmonic

An orchestra on the road
Before there was a genuine and solid building for the Philharmonic in Szczecin, the orchestra musicians had played and practised in a variety of weird places. The first concerts took place in the old Bałtyk cinema, the State Clothing Plant and a tram depot. The first attempts to share the seat with the National Council of the City (today it is the City Hall building) invariably ended up with giving up the “concert hall” for the purposes of meetings of national importance. It was not until the official establishment of the State Philharmonic in Szczecin that the situation of the musicians became somewhat better. It happened on 15 December 1953, mainly thanks to the efforts of the then manager, Janusz Cegiełła.

The Philharmonic gets its audience
Appointed by the minister and located in the left wing of the building belonging to city authorities, the Philharmonic could finally start to develop. The number of musicians grew to 82, a Blüthner grand piano was added to the collection of instruments and in 1957 the concert hall underwent general renovation. The walls were lined with walnut wood and the most modern – at the time – fluorescent lamps were installed. Just after the renovation, Józef Wiłkomirski became the director and the 1st conductor. He was the longest acting director of the Szczecin Philharmonic. Also at that time, the institution was named after Mieczysław Karłowicz, a prominent composer who lived at the turn of the century.
The Philharmonic kept developing artistically. Concert series organised by the Philharmonic became increasingly popular: Music of the 20th century which presented the works of Sergei Rachmaninoff, Dmitri Shostakovich or Mieczysław Karłowicz and Jazz in Philharmonic which featured Krzysztof Komeda, Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski and Wojciech Karolak. In 1962 one of the former students of Szczecin’s State School of Music performed a concert in the Meetings with Melody series: Violetta Villas. The public went mad and the Philharmonic was virtually occupied by her devoted fans.

International language of music
The 1960s and 1970s were the time when the institution established many valuable contacts. Szczecin was visited by many prominent soloists from France, Israel, Japan, Argentina, Mexico; among them was also a Polish pianist Witold Małcużyński. But the biggest star of the 1970/1971 artistic season was the Symphony Orchestra of All-Union Radio and Television from Moscow, led by Gennady Rozhdestvensky. Thanks to the cooperation of Stefan Marczyk, the long-time director and 1st conductor, with Jan Szyrocki, the founder of the Academic Choir of the Technical University of Szczecin, the Philharmonic had rich choral repertoire. The 1980s brought the interest in opera music and the audience could listen to Traviata, Macbeth, and Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi. In 1994 a woman became the director of the Philharmonic for the first time. Among the successes of Jadwiga Igiel-Sak one can count the publication of the Famous Caprices album. The recording made by Szczecin orchestra under the baton of Jerzy Salwarowski and featuring Tatiana Shebanova and Jarosław Drzewicki as soloists was nominated to the Fryderyki Award in 1998 in the Solo Music category.

Philharmonic of the 21st century
At the beginning of the new century, the musicians promoted the institution during a tour in Spain and here at home a Committee for Building the New Philharmonic was created, the head of whom was Jadwiga Igiel-Sak. Renovated in the 1950s, the concert hall had lost its glamour and the number of seats proved inadequate. The construction of the new building was commenced by the then director of the Philharmonic, Andrzej Oryl. The new hall of the Philharmonic, designed by the Catalan architectural studio Barozzi/Veiga, was erected in 2014 in the place where the pre-war Konzerthaus used to be – at the intersection of Małopolska and Matejki streets . The move to the new hall was supervised by Dorota Serwa who became the director of the Philharmonic in 2012. The larger space allowed the Philharmonic team to work on new development directions, including less classical ones. The educational offer has also been expanded.


Compiled on the basis of archival materials of the Szczecin Philharmonic and the publication „Filharmonicy szczecińscy 1948-1998” by Mikołaj Szczęsny (Szczecin, 1999).
April 2023
01APRsa, 09:00
Warsztaty RANIUTTOWorkshops dla dzieci od 1. do 2. roku życia z opiekunami
01APRsa, 10:30
Warsztaty RANIUTTOWorkshops dla dzieci od 3. do 4. roku życia z opiekunami
01APRsa, 12:00
Warsztaty RANIUTTOWorkshops dla dzieci od 5. do 6. roku życia z opiekunami
01APRsa, 12:00
01APRsa, 12:00
Galeria Poziom 4.Chris Niedenthal PRL - RPExhibition
01 APR, sa, 19:00 - LUBIĘ WRACAĆ TAM. NOWE ARANŻACJE POLSKIEJ PIOSENKI koncert zewnętrzny
TODAY02 APRsn, 12:00
TODAY02 APRsn, 12:00
Galeria Poziom 4.Chris Niedenthal PRL - RPExhibition
TODAY02 APRsn, 19:00
GRANDIOSO 2022/2023Manchester Camerata | MOZARTSymphonic concert
TOMORROW03 APRmn, 09:00
Donuta zapraszaChamber concertdla przedszkoli, klas I-III i seniorów
TOMORROW03 APRmn, 11:00
Donuta zapraszaChamber concertdla przedszkoli, klas I-III i seniorów
03 APR, mn, 13:00 - A TO MY. KONCERT GEOMETRYCZNYkoncert zewnętrzny
05 APR, wd, 19:00 - MIKROMUSICkoncert zewnętrzny
11 APR, tu, 19:00 - L.U.C & REBEL BABEL FILM ORCHESTRAkoncert zewnętrzny
12 APR, wd, 19:00 - SŁAWEK UNIATOWSKI „WIELKI BŁĘKIT”koncert zewnętrzny
13APRth, 19:00
RUBATO 2022/2023Dimitris Mystakidis | SALONIKIKoncert muzyki świata
14APRfr, 15:00
14APRfr, 19:00
GRANDIOSO 2022/2023LOEWE I MAYER I Historie szczecińskieSymphonic concert
15APRsa, 12:00
16APRsn, 12:00
16APRsn, 17:00
Family concerts 2022/2023Wielka improwizacjaFamily concertfor children from 6 years of age accompanied by adults
17APRmn, 10:00
Koncerty szkolne 2022/2023Wielka improwizacjaSchool concert dla klas I-III
17APRmn, 12:00
Koncerty szkolne 2022/2023Wielka improwizacjaSchool concert dla klas IV-VIII
17APRmn, 19:00
ESPRESSIVO 2022/2023YOUNG POWER NEW EDITION | FREEDOMJazz concert
20APRth, 20:00
SOUNDLAB 2022/2023Bass Stories I Wojciech GuniaElectronic music concert
22APRsa, 09:00
Warsztaty RANIUTTOWorkshops dla dzieci od 1. do 2. roku życia z opiekunami
22APRsa, 10:30
Warsztaty RANIUTTOWorkshops dla dzieci od 3. do 4. roku życia z opiekunami
22APRsa, 12:00
Warsztaty RANIUTTOWorkshops dla dzieci od 5. do 6. roku życia z opiekunami
22APRsa, 19:00
ENERGICO 2022/2023Kayah & Royal String QuartetConcert
23 APR, sn, 18:00 - MICHAŁ BAJOR- NO, A JA?koncert zewnętrzny
24APRmn, 09:00
Donuta zapraszaChamber concertdla przedszkoli, klas I-III i seniorów
24APRmn, 11:00
Donuta zapraszaChamber concertdla przedszkoli, klas I-III i seniorów
25 APR, tu, 19:00 - EWA BEM Z KWARTETEM ANDRZEJA JAGODZIŃSKIEGOkoncert zewnętrzny
28APRfr, 14:00
28APRfr, 15:00
28APRfr, 19:00
GRANDIOSO 2022/2023BEETHOVEN I BergmannSymphonic concert
May 2023
05MAYfr, 15:00
05MAYfr, 15:30
05MAYfr, 19:00
GRANDIOSO 2022/2023Polonezy MaseckiegoSymphonic concert
07MAYsn, 17:00
Family concerts 2022/2023Edu Virtuoso V - rodzinny talent showFamily concertfor children from 6 years of age accompanied by adults
08MAYmn, 09:00
Donuta zapraszaChamber concertdla przedszkoli, klas I-III i seniorów
08MAYmn, 11:00
Donuta zapraszaChamber concertdla przedszkoli, klas I-III i seniorów
09MAYtu, 20:00
Możdżer Danielsson FrescoWydarzenie partnerskie
11MAYth, 19:00
RUBATO 2022/2023Amsterdam Klezmer Band | KLEZMERZY Z AMSTERDAMUKoncert muzyki świata
12MAYfr, 19:00
GRANDIOSO 2022/2023Bugaj I MOZART I Wielka msza c-moll Symphonic concert
13MAYsa, 09:00
Warsztaty RANIUTTOWorkshops dla dzieci od 1. do 2. roku życia z opiekunami
13MAYsa, 10:30
Warsztaty RANIUTTOWorkshops dla dzieci od 3. do 4. roku życia z opiekunami
13MAYsa, 12:00
Warsztaty RANIUTTOWorkshops dla dzieci od 5. do 6. roku życia z opiekunami
15MAYmn, 09:00
Raniutto BISworkshops
15MAYmn, 10:30
Raniutto BISworkshops
16MAYtu, 10:00
Koncerty szkolne 2022/2023Kim był Oz?School concert dla klas I-III
16MAYtu, 12:00
Koncerty szkolne 2022/2023Kim był Oz?School concert dla klas IV-VIII
19MAYfr, 14:00
19MAYfr, 15:00
22MAYmn, 09:00
Donuta zapraszaChamber concertdla przedszkoli, klas I-III i seniorów
22MAYmn, 11:00
Donuta zapraszaChamber concertdla przedszkoli, klas I-III i seniorów
26MAYfr, 19:00
GRANDIOSO 2022/2023WILLIAMS I Gwiezdne wojny Symphonic concert
27MAYsa, 09:00
Warsztaty RANIUTTOWorkshops dla dzieci od 1. do 2. roku życia z opiekunami
27MAYsa, 10:30
Warsztaty RANIUTTOWorkshops dla dzieci od 3. do 4. roku życia z opiekunami
27MAYsa, 12:00
Warsztaty RANIUTTOWorkshops dla dzieci od 5. do 6. roku życia z opiekunami
27MAYsa, 20:00
SOUNDLAB 2022/2023Dreamscapes I Dobrawa Czocher Electronic music concert
29MAYmn, 09:00
Raniutto BISworkshops
29MAYmn, 10:30
Raniutto BISworkshops
2023
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