Adam Wesołowski on the 80th anniversary of the Silesian Philharmonic: "This jubilee is like a bridge between industry and modernity"

Ignacy Puśledzki, Well.pl: The 80th anniversary of the Silesian Philharmonic is a special moment. Can you already feel the emotions in the team, can you see tears of emotion, or are you approaching it calmly and with distance?

Adam Wesołowski, Henryk Mikołaj Górecki Silesian Philharmonic: Of course, we are very excited because this is the first event of this type in Poland. No one has ever attempted to create an orchestra with a choir that will have a total of a thousand musicians. We have been preparing for this event for many, many months.

We have already done big artistic performances, but usually it was about 300-400 people. So it is a huge event in terms of logistics and organization. Everyone has to be served, even in such a mundane matter as a drink or a meal. Many people, each has their own tasks to perform. So we feel great excitement, but there is no fear in it, because we have been doing events at Spodek in Katowice for several years, although of course not on such a scale.

I have to admit that Spodek reminds me more of rock concerts. I was there for my first concert in my life, Rammstein. How does classical music find its place in such spaces?

Very good. Of course, you need to have top-class equipment as well as a sound director who is great at classical music. Fortunately, we work with people who can do this very well and our audience knows it from our concerts, e.g. with film music. Here, the most difficult issue is the amount of equipment that must be prepared for the implementation and service of a thousand musicians.

The Great Jubilee Gala of the Silesian Philharmonic

Okay, let's talk a little about Saturday's concert and its entire program. I have the impression that Rammstein, which I mentioned, is not so far away, right? Will there be some industrial?

Absolutely! There will be very strong, even metallic sounds. The evening concert will consist of two parts. In the first part, we will hear Wojciech Kilar in an industrial version and extract what is most interesting from him, i.e. classical and film music. Mining machines will appear with film music. A fragment of the mine will be installed next to the stage, including a coal wagon and appropriate piping. Mine sounds will co-create Wojciech Kilar's music. They will become an additional color to his original score to give it this industriality.

At 8:00 p.m. we will begin the second part of the concert, during which a thousand musicians will perform Gustav Mahler's 8th Symphony in E flat major .

Why this choice?

Every anniversary requires something spectacular. This is a moment when we look to the past and the future at the same time. Looking to the past, we show the history of our region through this industry. Wojciech Kilar is also our beautiful history. Filharmonics Ślący performed his compositions, so we were very close to each other artistically. And we are looking to the future because we are introducing all these multimedia and sounds. This is a breath of fresh air, because no one has done anything like this before.

But the anniversary is not only a bridge between the past and the future. It is also a summary of 80 years of activity. In connection with this, we have chosen the most powerful composition by Gustav Mahler , which refers to the best human qualities: affirmation of joy, affirmation of life and affirmation of love for another person. This concert is to be such a good moment, in which we will give everyone present a moment to think, but also energy for the following days. We want to inspire them to create a positive future for themselves.

Adam Wesołowski: "The Silesian Philharmonic is a place where people can connect with each other beautifully"

You have been talking from the beginning about the logistics related to these celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the Silesian Philharmonic, but I would like to ask what it means to you privately.

This is the moment when I stop, look back and analyze what has been achieved. We can build the future based on these good things. This 80th anniversary is a symbol of this. We thank for everything that has been: all the artists and the audience that has visited us over the years. On the other hand, we show that we still have aspirations and are constantly looking for inspiration to positively surprise the audience. A concert is a concert, but we order new pieces every day. Fresh music is constantly being created, which is to describe the time we are currently living in to future generations.

So what are the goals and dreams of the Silesian Philharmonic for the future? Can we reveal something?

Absolutely. The next season of the Silesian Philharmonic Orchestra will be held under the slogan: "The Silesian Philharmonic connects" . We will want to connect music with people as widely as possible, we will also cooperate with other institutions. This has already happened, of course, but I think we will do it even more willingly, to create more and more unique events that also connect other fields of art.

The Silesian Philharmonic is a place where people can connect beautifully. As a society, we are increasingly moving away from each other through new technologies, including the fact that we communicate more by phone or via the Internet, and less directly. We want to make people aware that this direct contact is very beautiful, and our concert hall is perfect for this. People are next to each other and can speak to each other very quickly, even without knowing each other. Music is a kind of leaven for stories about your emotions. There is nothing better!

Does the Silesian Philharmonic have a TikTok?

It's great that you're talking about it. I have the impression that we're still at a stage where a philharmonic or an art gallery are places that people who don't feel like experts are afraid to enter. How do you try to break down these barriers?

I think the positive atmosphere that is created here among people is the most important thing. No one here is afraid that someone might hurt them, that someone might look at them badly. Everyone who comes here creates a unique spectacle. After all, the audience is the most important part of the concert! It doesn't even matter what outfit I come in. What matters is the emotions I leave the philharmonic with. The Silesian Philharmonic is available to absolutely everyone, at any age.

So how do you reach the youngest? I saw you have TikTok, but it's a bit... empty.

It's true, because we don't want to do anything by force. We have events that are aimed more at young audiences, such as Game Music Fest . This is the first festival with music from computer games and we are really successful at it. We also have hologram concerts , for example. We are the only philharmonic in Poland that has a hologram screen. We have a lot of such cool lures, but I don't want to make anyone happy by force. We have to interest the viewer and make them want to come to us voluntarily. And then we usually manage to convince them and we have dozens of examples of that.

Young people who come to video game music festivals leave us with the slogan: "I didn't know an orchestra could be so cool." Parents often thank us because their children later say: "Mom, Dad, maybe we should just go to the philharmonic someday?" This shows that a properly selected repertoire is enough, which is made in such a way that both music lovers and those who come for the first time can find their way around it.

Finally: Is there any one event related to the Silesian Philharmonic – from your time as director or before – that is particularly important to you and that you often think back to?

We have such an event that was created over 40 years ago. It is the Grzegorz Fitelberg International Conducting Competition . It takes place every 5 years and it is growing beautifully in awareness around the world.

It is the second most important performance competition in Poland after the Chopin Competition , which has an incredibly beautiful effect on the Polish school of conductors. I am very glad that director Karol Stryja brought it to life over 40 years ago. The next edition will take place in 3 years, but the one I had the pleasure of preparing two years ago really resonated all over the world. We reached over 200 million recipients. I think that the International Conducting Competition is an event we should be very proud of.