Performances and Concerts

We found the cultural program of the Tychy City Council, when we entered Andromeda Cultural Hub in Bachynsky Square. Therefore, we started following the cultural events and attended many of them.

Open Air Concerts

After the success of the Musical Evenings in 2021, measured by the high attendance and the level presented by the performers, the city council returned to such evenings with a series of weekly summer concerts. Concerts are held at 8 p.m. every Friday in July and August at the Paprocany Recreation Center. A new artist/new artists play at the lake shore every week. The city residents get to know new (and old) works of the musicians, enjoy the musical atmosphere in a beautiful setting listening to pieces of movie music, classical music, jazz, as well as original arrangements of well-known melodies.
This event is organized by the city council and is administered by a private company. The spectators are provided with comfortable chairs. I would call this event “Musical Evenings under the Old Oak” instead since the “stage” is on a small hill, and all the spectators sit under the old oak.
We managed to attend a concert of Parnas Brass Band. The band consists of six talented musicians that call themselves a Silesian brass band. We enjoyed listening to their improvisation and potpourris. The concert of Marcin Pater Trio was great! The musicans: Martin: vibraphone, Matt: contrabass, bass guitar, and Adam: percussion presented the spectators a wonderful program. There was a piece from their debut studio album “Nothing But Trouble”.

At the concert of Indialucia at Lake Paprocany, Tychy

We continued attending the concerts on the lake shore within the framework of Musical Evenings at Lake Paprocany. We were impressed by the concert of AQuartet : Łukasz – 1st violin; Adriana (2nd violin); Radosław (viola); Johanna (cello).
They presented many fine pieces: Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”

"Every Step You Take" by The Police, Tychy

AQuartet performs “Chariots of Fire” by Vangelis, Tychy

Marta Śliwa Śpiewająco performed at the lake shore scene during the 38th Working Songs Festival, Tychy:

Within the framework of the 38th Working Songs Festival in Tychy, Marek Szurawski performed several old working songs, among them also sailor songs such as "What Shall We Do with a Druinken Sailor"

Sonos Quartet (flute, violin, viola, and cello) kindly presented concerts in Solidarity Park every Sunday in July and August. We attended their concerts “Journey through Ages” (music of classical composers) and “Super Journey with Superheroes” (music from famous movies).

“Journey through Ages” (music of classical composers), Tychy

Maly Theater also presents free performances on Sundays. We managed to attend a unique Polish-Ukrainian kids’ performance named “Jezioro wrażeń” (Lake of Impressions). It was one of the final products of the kids’ workshop that operates at this theater. We enjoyed seeing the charming performance of the kids’ amateur company.

We were alo glad to attend a comedy performance of a travelling cabaret called Mohair Berets from Białystok, Podlaskie. The performance was called "Women's Day". It was a great parody on the modern way of life of some people in Poland. "Mohair berets" (Polish: moherowe berety) is a funny expression that stands for people who support the views expressed by the Polish conservative and nationalistic movement. This expression originated from the characteristic headgear worn by the stereotypical representatives of this circle — mostly the old ladies in their sixties and seventies.

Mohair Berets Show, Wilkowyje, Tychy

King Lear's Daughters

We attended the play called “The Daughters of King Lear" at Andromeda Cultural Hub. The screenplay is inspired by the following works: "King Lear" by William Shakespeare, "Daughters of Lear" by Elaine Feinstein and "The Book of Apocrypha" by Karel Čapek. We saw the Shakespearean drama told from the perspective of King Lear's three daughters – Gonerilla, Regana and Cordelia. According to the play director Karolina Przystupa, it is a story about a family, about the relationship between the daughters and the father, a father who is a king, anointed by God, who must think he has divine rights. It is a story about trying to contact the daughters’ eternally absent mother and longing for their lost beloved nanny. It is a story about the absence, about the need for closeness, about a sense of insufficiency, love and hate.

We entered the hall that represented the throne room of King Lear's castle to listen to the stories of his daughters. They daughters recreate their story from their childhood memories and conversations. They go through it all over again so everyone can listen to their story.
In Shakespeare, the tragedy begins with the fact that the father, the old king, decided to abdicate the throne and divide the kingdom among his daughters. He wanted to avoid disputes that could be caused by the division of property after his death. A very prudent and wise decision. Only an idea on how to make a division inconceivable, because Lear decided to organize a contest for love. He wanted to measure the love of his children, and how the kingdom would be divided would be decided by which of his daughters loved him most. Why did Lear come up with such an idea? Why did he ask his daughters about love and want to measure something so immeasurable? Is it cruelty, or maybe the need for closeness and confirmation that he is loved? Shakespeare defends Lear, Elaine Feinstein makes a clear thesis that Regan, Gonerilla and Cordelia were victims of the tyrannical father. But how was it really? Many questions, thoughts and ideas...

We attended a children's performance at Gemini Park Shopping Mall located on the city outskirts. Since we only have an A1 certificate in Polish, the entire kids' performance was clear for us because the narration belonged to the elementary level.

Attending a children's performance at Gemini Park, Tychy

Easter Concert
We enjoyed the Easter concert of the local chamber orchestra called Aukso. The orchestra is directed by Marek Mosia. The concert took place after the Easter liturgy at Blessed Karolina Church. The musicians performed Joseph Haydn's "The Seven Last Words of Jesus on the Cross".

Aukso Chamber Music Orchestra, Tychy

Magdalene Concerts
We attended the May concert of Sentito Ensemble consisting of: Katarzyna Głowacka – mezzo-soprano; Karolina Jędrasik - flute; and Joanna Duźniak- organ. The concerts are held at St.Mary Magdalene's Church under the motto Musical Bridges of Culture.

The concert program included the following works:

• Johann Sebastian Bach - Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust BWV 170 - Aria
• Johann Pachelbel - Toccata in F J.S. Bach-Erbarme dich, mein Gott. BWV 244 – Aria
• Stanisław Moniuszko - Penitential Song
• Josef Gabriel Rheinberger - Suita c-moll op. 166, cz. I Preludium
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Kommt, Ihr Angefochtnen Sünder, BWV 30, No.5
• Albert Franz Doppler - L'Oiseau des bois, Op. 21
• Johanna Duźniak - Virginum custos et pater
• Louis Vierne – The First organ symphone, op. 14, part VI Final.

Constitution Day Concert
The outdoor concert of Gaba Kulka in Baczyński Square was the musical accent of the celebration of the Constitution Day on May 3. This singer with very versatile musical sensitivity has already performed in Tychy with various compositions at the Little Theater, at Mediateka and at Kloster Pub.

The daughter of the excellent violinist Konstanty Andrzej Kulka, Gaba gained education as an interior architect, but musical genes pushed her to compose songs. On May 3, Gaba Kulka presented songs with lyrics of Cyprian Norwid in connection with the 240th anniversary of the poet's death in May. The songs were accompanied by Sonos Quartet (also known to the residents of Tychy from the outdoor performances last summer) and Miłosz Wośko on the piano.

During the concert, we heard the premiere of the song entitled "Poem on Polish Topics", composed by Piotr Pudełko especially for Sonos Quartet. The originality consists in combining many folk motifs in one song, derived from the work of well-known Polish composers .
This concert was one of the elements of the celebration of the Construction Day on May 3 in Tychy. The celebration program included a solemn mass in Saint Mary Magdalene’s Church followed by a traditional procession to the Silesian Insurgents monument, laying flowers to this monumet, and sevefal speeches of the officials and veterans, as well as a similar ceremony at the Silesian Insurgents monumet in Czułów District. The pricession and the meeting at the monument was accompanied by Presto Cantabile Choure and Cantate Deo Choire as well as Piast Coalmine Brass Band.

Jam Session
We were glad to attend the Jam Session at Art Music Club attached to Veranda Hotel.

I must confess I have never attended such sessions. We saw what they implied: the unity of musicians, both amateur and professional ones, the joy of life and memories.

Attending the Jam Session at Art Music Club, Tychy

Marek Gruszka (right) at the Jam Session, February 2023, Tychy

Jam Session at Art Music Club, Tychy