European indoor silver medallist Adrianna Sulek-Schubert and Germany’s Felix Wolter lead the entries for the Wiesław Czapiewski Memorial – a World Athletics Combined Events Tour Gold meeting – in the Polish town of Naklo nad Notecia this weekend (31 August – 1 September).
Sulek-Schubert, who was formerly coached by Czapiewski, won the inaugural edition of this meeting in 2022 with 6290 – which remains the meeting record – and then went on to finish fourth at the World Championships that year in a Polish record of 6672.
At the start of 2023 she finished second at the European Indoor Championships with 5014 – a mark that exceeded the previous world indoor record, but was bettered on the day by gold medallist Nafi Thiam’s 5055 world record.
Sulek-Schubert cut her 2023 season short when she discovered she was pregnant. She gave birth in February 2024 and returned to competition just four months later, scoring 6033 in her first heptathlon since childbirth. She went on to place 12th at the Olympic Games in Paris with a season’s best of 6226.
The 25-year-old will now look to cap her season in winning ways and will start as the favourite in the heptathlon.
Two other women in the field – Ukraine’s Yuliya Loban and Poland’s Edyta Bielska – have PBs in excess of 6000 points, while a third, Hungary’s Szabina Szucs, is just four points shy of that mark.
Loban, the World University Games silver medallist, finished sixth at the World Indoor Championships earlier this year, but is yet to complete an outdoor heptathlon this year. Szucs, the 2021 world U20 bronze medallist, started her outdoor campaign with a PB of 5996 and she would dearly love to end the season as a member of the 6000-point club.
Seven men with PBs in excess of 8000 points will line up for the decathlon in Naklo nad Notecia this weekend.
Felix Wolter, who finished second in Ratingen in June with a season’s best of 8226, is the leading entrant. The German set his PB of 8299 last year, and he’ll have one eye on the meeting record of 8041.
But so too will the likes of Lithuania’s Edgaras Benkunskas and Czechia’s Vilem Strasky, both of whom have bettered 8000 this season.
Estonian duo Risto Lillemets and Taavi Tsernjavski should also put up a good fight, as should Hungary’s Zsombor Galpal, Poland’s Pawel Wiesiolek and Italy’s Lorenzo Naidon.
0.97);}@media (min-width:1024px){.css-1j5gzzj{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.55;}}.css-1cbf1l2{height:0;overflow:hidden;-webkit-transition:height 300ms cubic-bezier(0.4
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1) 0ms;height:auto;overflow:visible;}.css-15830to{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;width:100%;}.css-9vd5ud{width:100%;}Polish pianist Rafał Blechacz’s artistry is recognised as rare by any measure – his many plaudits include being dubbed “a musician in service to the music
exploring its meaning and probing its possibilities” (Washington Post) – and arises from his total command of the keyboard and ability to unlock his instrument’s full expressive range
Those qualities have supported his artistic and professional development in the years since he took first prize at the 2005 International Chopin Piano Competition
He stands today among the world’s finest pianists
in high demand for the honesty and vision he brings to performances of everything from Bach and Beethoven to Chopin and Szymanowski
The eloquence and intensity of Blechacz’s Chopin Competition performances
delivered within months of his twentieth birthday
were rewarded not only with the winner’s medal but also with a clean sweep of the event’s four special prizes and the Audience Award
He signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon in May 2006
following Krystian Zimerman to become the second Polish pianist to join the yellow label’s international roster of artists
The new relationship was launched in October 2007 with Blechacz’s debut solo album
a coupling of Chopin’s complete Preludes and the Two Nocturnes op
His second release – a recital of piano sonatas by Haydn
recording the two piano concertos with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Jerzy Semkow for an album released in 2009 to herald the upcoming bicentenary of Chopin’s birth
2012 saw the release of an album of solo works by Debussy and Szymanowski
This was followed in 2013 by another acclaimed Chopin recording
this one featuring the composer’s mature Polonaises
the Partitas Nos.1 & 3 and Italian Concerto among them
He then joined forces with Korean violinist Bomsori Kim to record a selection of works by Fauré
this was his debut chamber music album for DG
Blechacz’s latest release presents his insightful interpretations of the Second and Third Piano Sonatas
“I’ve had many experiences with this programme
in different concert halls and on different pianos,” says the artist
“I really wanted to share the beauty of these compositions with the audience.” Chopin will be released
Recent and forthcoming highlights of Blechacz’s schedule include solo recitals in Italy (January 2023); performances of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No
1 in Mannheim (April); the Schumann Piano Concerto in Munich (April); and Liszt’s Piano Concerto No
Rafał Blechacz was born in the small town of Nakło nad Notecią in northern Poland in June 1985
He showed early signs of musical talent and began piano lessons at the age of five
Having first enrolled at the Arthur Rubinstein State Music School in Bydgoszcz
he progressed to study at the city’s Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music
graduating in May 2007 from Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń’s piano class
Blechacz’s outstanding technical and artistic attributes secured a sequence of competition successes
beginning in 2002 with second prize at the Arthur Rubinstein International Competition for Young Pianists in Bydgoszcz
continuing the following year with joint first prize at the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition
and culminating in outright victory at the 2005 International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw
where he became the first Polish musician to receive the top prize since Krystian Zimerman thirty years earlier
He went on to win the 2010 Premio Internazionale Accademia Chigiana
awarded annually by the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena to an outstanding pianist or violinist
In 2014 Blechacz received the Gilmore Artist Award
a prestigious prize conferred every four years in recognition of “extraordinary piano artistry”
he has also garnered ringing endorsements from senior colleagues
extraordinary and sensitive artist” and the Irish pianist and pedagogue John O’Conor as “one of the greatest artists I have ever heard in my life”
Blechacz took a sabbatical from performing between 2016 and 2017 to complete a doctorate in philosophy at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
His thesis explored aspects of the metaphysics and aesthetics of music and
his studies have helped him “understand both the freedoms and limitations of musical interpretations”
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BORN IN THE small town of Nakło nad Notecią in northern Poland
pianist Rafal Blechacz went on to win the prestigious 2005 International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw—becoming the first Polish musician to receive the prize in 30 years
He’s gone on to sell a platinum record in his home country (of Chopin’s Preludes)
to win awards by Germany’s Echo Klassik and France’s Diapason d’Or
and to record a dozen universally acclaimed albums
Blechacz's latest release interprets the gorgeous piano sonatas Nocturne Op
the Deutsche Grammophon artist returns to the Vancouver Chopin Society
where there will be an array of work by the group’s namesake: Polonaise Fantasy
The evening also includes a serene mix of Mozart’s Sonata in A Major
and Polish modernist composer Karol Szymanowski’s Variations
full of beauty—and a concert piano fans will want to swoon in
Cheldon Paterson’s uncategorizable music fuses his love for nature with his taste for obscure sound
Compelling young artist has performed worldwide and won prizes at the National Chopin Piano Competition
Genre-spanning international and local talents take to North Shore venues in BlueShore at CapU and Vancouver International Jazz Festival presentation
Program includes an Emily Carr–inspired piece by Tawnie Olson
a composition about a satellite falling out of orbit by Chris Sivak
Vancouver director interweaves archival footage
and mesmerizing music in tribute to late Punjabi-Black artist
updated production adds depth and nuance to the iconic work
Another 30 concerts will take place at Performance Works
and the Revue Stage from June 20 to July 1
Tanzania’s Zawose Queens and Congo’s Les Mamans du Congo x Rrobin rub shoulders with Canadian names like Elisapie and Ocie Elliott at ʔəy̓alməxʷ Jericho Beach Park
program draws on previously performed works by Bach
Vetta Chamber Music’s artistic director is joined by talented colleagues for a season-closing program of Haydn
Virtuosic singer and dancer takes the intoxicating sounds of early Afro-funk and soul in exciting new directions
The choir’s long-time artistic director hopes the upcoming concert will open new ears to choral music’s powers to heal and create community
Adult and children’s choirs perform hits by the Beatles and Broadway favourites from musicals like Mamma Mia
Yasko Sato and Karen Chia-Ling Ho navigate the emotional toll of Vancouver Opera’s post–Second World War–set tragedy
which features selections from Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Boy’s Magic Horn)
works from the 17th century and the present day mingle in this exploration of the musical riches of Venice
Veteran singer Norma Winstone and drummer Joe LaBarbera join the trio to deliver exciting new perspectives on familiar tunes
Offerings include Downtown Jazz concerts on June 21 and 22
Bentall Centre happy-hour shows from June 23 to 27
Tawnie Olson’s “Beloved of the Sky” and Andrew Balfour’s “Kiyam” accompany a new work by laura hawley on the program
and more musicians to perform world-class compositions at RockRidge Canyon lakeside resort
All-Canadian production by Sound the Alarm: Music/Theatre features iconic hits from Disney and Hollywood musicals
The young ensemble revisits and reinvigorates repertoire with an energy that breaks through classical solemnity
Toronto-based turntable artist and composer performs his piece Within Touch with close-up projections of his storytelling process
Science meets history in Vancouver violinist’s 50-minute piece of music for violin and found-sound
Composer Chihchun Chi-sun Lee portrays Taiwanese dragons through sound
Innovation Series features five concerts from June 25 to 29
while the return of Time Flies brings three free late-night shows to Granville Island
Program also features virtuoso British pianist Stephen Hough
who hosts a Pyatt Hall masterclass on April 10
Program honours special people and moments in the choir’s history with works by Bach
Early Music Vancouver program features a piffari
accompanied by the early dances of French and Italian court festivities
Vancouver Chamber Choir concert features some of the Italian virtuoso’s most enduring Renaissance music
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and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples
including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam)
and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations
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Wawrzyńca w Nakle nad Notecią odbyła się uroczystość odsłonięcia pomnika upamiętniającego ofiary zbrodni
Autor: Małgorzata DobrosielskaPublikacja: Piotr Pawlaczyk