The Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra (Polish: Orkiestra Filharmonii Narodowej w Warszawie), one of Poland's premier musical institutions, was established in 1901 on the initiative of an assembly of Polish aristocrats and financiers, not to mention musicians. Between 1901 and the outbreak of World War II in 1939, a rollcall of virtuoso- and conductor-composers regularly performed their works with the orchestra, including Grieg, Honegger, Leoncavallo, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Saint-Saëns, Richard Strauss, and Igor Stravinsky. Among the other luminaries who played with the Philharmonic were the pianists Paderewski and Rubinstein, the violinists Heifetz and Sarasate, and the cellist Casals. The Philharmonic has played host to the Chopin International Piano Competition since the contest began in 1927, and also appeared at the inaugural Wieniawski International Violin Competition (1935) and Universal Festival of Polish Art (1937). 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 8 million military deaths {{{notes}}} World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a military conflict that took place between 1939 and 1945. ... A virtuoso (from the Latin virtus meaning: skill, manliness, excellence) is an individual who possesses outstanding mechanical ability at playing a musical instrument. ... See Conductor for other possible uses of the word. ... Composers are people who write music. ... Edvard Hagerup Grieg (June 15, 1843–September 4, 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist who composed in the romantic period. ... Arthur Honegger (March 10, 1892 – November 27, 1955) was a Swiss composer, who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. ... Ruggiero Leoncavallo (March 8, 1857 - August 9, 1919) was an Italian opera composer. ... Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev (Russian: , Sergej Sergejevič Prokofev, 15/April 271, 1891 – March 5, 1953) was a Ukrainian-born Russian composer who mastered numerous musical genres and came to be admired as one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. ... Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (Russian: , Sergej Vasilevič Rahmaninov, April 1, 1873 (N.S.) or March 20, 1873 (O.S.) – March 28, 1943) was a Russian-American composer, pianist, and conductor. ... Joseph-Maurice Ravel (March 7, 1875 – December 28, 1937) was a French composer and pianist, known especially for the subtlety, richness, and poignancy of his music and generally considered to be one of the major composers of the 20th century. ... Charles Camille Saint-Saëns (IPA: ) (9 October 1835–16 December 1921) was a French composer and performer. ... Richard Strauss (June 11, 1864 – September 8, 1949) was a German composer of the late Romantic era, particularly noted for his tone poems and operas. ... Igor Stravinsky in his middle ages. ... A grand piano A piano is a keyboard instrument, widely used in western music for solo performance, chamber music, and accompaniment, and also as a convenient aid to composing and rehearsal. ... Ignacy Jan Paderewski Ignacy Jan Paderewski (November 6, 1860 – June 29, 1941) was a Polish virtuoso pianist, composer, diplomat and politician, the third Prime Minister of Poland. ... Arthur Rubinstein photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1937 Arthur Rubinstein (January 28, 1887 – December 20, 1982) was an internationally acclaimed pianist, best known for his performances of Chopin and his championing of Spanish music. ... The pitches of open strings on a violin The violin is a bowed stringed musical instrument that has four strings tuned a perfect fifth apart, the lowest being the G just below middle C. It is the smallest and highest-tuned member of the violin family of string instruments, which... Jascha Heifetz Jascha Heifetz (February 2, 1901 – December 10, 1987) was a violinist, often proclaimed as one of the greatest of all time and the most famous of the 20th century. ... Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascues (March, 1844 - September 28, 1908) was a Spanish violinist and composer. ... Alternate meaning: Cello web browser A cropped image to show the relative size of a cello to a human (Uncropped Version) The cello (also violoncello or cello) is a stringed instrument and part of the violin family. ... Pau Carlos Salvador Casals i Defilló (December 29, 1876 – October 22, 1973), commonly known as Pablo Casals, was a virtuoso Catalan cello player (and later conductor). ... The International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition is one of the oldest and the most prestigious piano competition in the world, organized in Warsaw since 1927 and held every 5 years since 1955. ... The international Henryk Wienawski Violin Competition is a competition for violinists up to age 30 that takes place every five years in PoznaÅ„, Poland, in honor of the virtuoso and composer Henryk Wieniawski. ...

World War II interrupted the Philharmonic's activity and robbed the orchestra of much of its prominence in European musical life. The orchestra lost half its members to the war, as well as its elegant building, which had been erected and modeled after the Paris Opera at the turn of the century by Karol Kozłowski. Although the orchestra resumed its regular season in 1947-48, it had to wait until 1955 for its home to be finally rebuilt, albeit in a new style. When the building was dedicated on February 21, the Philharmonic was proclaimed the National Orchestra of Poland. Front under winter sun, photography by Eric Pouhier Left roof sculpture Right roof sculpture The Palais Garnier is an opera house, a grand landmark at the northern end of the Avenue de lOpéra in the IXe arrondissement of Paris, France. ...

The conductor Witold Rowicki was responsible for helping modernize the ensemble and ensuring the orchestra cultivated Polish music both old and recent, as represented by the works of Chopin, Górecki, and Lutosławski, without failing to refine its mastery of the world repertoire. At home, the orchestra performs in the Warsaw Autumn International Festival of Contemporary Music besides accompanying the final rounds of the Chopin International Piano Competitions, while abroad it has toured the five continents to critical acclaim. Frédéric-François Chopin as portrayed by Eugène Delacroix in 1838. ... Henryk MikoÅ‚aj Górecki (born December 6, 1933) is a Polish composer of classical music. ... Witold LutosÅ‚awski at his home. ... Cover for the CD of the 2001 Warsaw Autumn festival. ...

Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra has recorded music for several anime, including the top ranked series such as Vision of Escaflowne or Wolf's Rain.[1] Anime (アニメ) is a style of cartoon animation originating in Japan. ... The Vision of Escaflowne ( Japanese: 天空のエスカフローネ;Tenkū no Esukafurōne or Escaflowne of the Heavens) is a 26-episode anime television series by Sunrise. ... Wolfs Rain (ウルフズ・レイン) is a Japanese anime series first broadcast in Japan on January 6, 2003. ...

List of musical directors

• Emil Młynarski (1901-5)
• Zygmunt Noskowski (1906-8)
• Henryk Melcer (1908-9)
• Grzegorz Fitelberg (1909-1911)
• Zdzisław Birnbaum (1911-1914, 1916-1918)
• Roman Chojnacki (1918-1938)
• Józef Ozimiński (1938-1939)
• Olgierd Straszyński (1945-6)
• Andrzej Panufnik (1946-7)
• Jan Maklakiewicz (1947-8)
• Witold Rudziński (1948-9)
• Władysław Raczkowski (1949-50)
• Witold Rowicki (1950-5, 1958-77)
• Bohdan Wodiczko (1955-8)
• Kazimierz Kord (1977-2001), now Honorary Director
• Antoni Wit (2002-)

Grzegorz Fitelberg (b. ... Sir Andrzej Panufnik (September 24, 1914 - October 27, 1991) was a Polish composer, pianist, and a conductor of classical music. ...

External links

• Official website (in Polish and English)