Poland in Greece

The tree planting event was organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Athens as part of the global project "Penderecki's Garden", coordinated by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. It was attended by Ambassador Artur Lompart, President of Megaro Mousikis Nikos Pimblis and Artistic Director Jannis Vakarelis, Director of the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra Janusz Marynowski, delegation of the Polish School “Zygmunt Mineyko” in Athens and others. The tree planted to honor the memory of the outstanding Polish composer is the blooming Acacia saligna, known in Poland as blue mimosa or blue acacia.

In his speech, Ambassador Artur Lompart referred to the artistic achievements of Krzysztof Penderecki and to his great passion, - the garden in Lusławice, which became the inspiration for the project "Penderecki's Garden" (www.pedereckisgarden.pl ). Krzysztof Penderecki created and maintained a garden in Lusławice, near Tarnów, where he lived for several dozen years. There are over 2,000 species of trees and shrubs in it. The ambassador emphasized that "the symbolism of planting a tree has two dimensions: the one related to the artist's love for nature, and the one reminding us that Krzysztof Penderecki's work is and will remain valuable for current and future generations, just like the tree that will grow in this garden for many years".

The tree planting ceremony was preceded by an evening concert of the Sinfonia Varsovia orchestra and the outstanding pianist Rafał Blechacz, at the Christos Lambrakis Hall in Megaron.

Rafał Blechacz, winner of the prestigious Gilmore Artist Award (often referred to as the "Nobel Piano Prize") achieved an unprecedented triumph at the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 2005, winning not only the 1st prize, but also all other competition prizes in individual categories. Today, he makes a brilliant career, performing in the world's most important concert halls, and is considered a leading interpreter of Chopin. He performed for the first time in front of the Athens audience, interpreting Fryderyk Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21. The next day after the concert, Rafał Blechacz met with Polish youth - students of the Polish School. Z. Mineyko in Athens, at the Polish Archaeological Institute at Athens.

Sinfonia Varsovia is a highly regarded orchestra with thousands of concerts and over three hundred recordings for the world's largest record labels. The orchestra performed several times in Athens in the past years, both in Megaro Mousikis and in Herodion's theater near the Acropolis. The culmination of this year's concert was the moving Symphony No. 2 by Krzysztof Penderecki, for many years artistic director of the orchestra.

The event was organized with the support of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and the cooperation of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Athens. Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland.