The Polish Radio Orchestra
Established in 1945 by Stefan Rachon, for thirty years it played mainly popular music for Polish radio and television. In 1976 its profile began to change; the successive conductors (Wlodzimierz Kamirski, Jan Pruszak, Mieczyslaw Nowakowski, Tadeusz Strugala) introduced a symphonic repertoire. In 1993 Wojciech Rajski was appointed artistic director. The orchestra has made numerous recordings of classical and contemporary music for radio. The musicians have toured France, Holland, Austria, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, and performed in such venues as La Scala, the Stuttgart Liederhalle, the Nuremberg Meistersingerhalle, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Royal Palace in Stockholm. The orchestra also releases its own albums through Polish Radio and in co-production with EMI and Koch. The orchestra is based at 17, Woronicza Street in Warsaw and boasts a studio with highly professional modern recording and broadcasting equipment. The place is also renowned for its unique acoustics.