The orchestra is an ideal society. It offers conditions in which young musicians can break away from their own individual thoughts and focus on creating something together. The most developed societies in the world are investing in the development of orchestras, as well as in young musicians. They do this to have citizens who are well educated and who can cooperate with others.

Aleks Klein – oboe, ILYO 2019 tutor, soloist of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra

Several hundred young musicians have already participated in the International Lutosławski Youth Orchestra, i.e. workshops, courses, and activities at the Philharmonic in Szczecin. The culmination of each of the seven editions to date was a gala concert. This year's seventh edition of ILYO ended with a show on August 30, 2019. The orchestra was conducted for the third time by maestro Rune Bergmann – Artistic Director of the Szczecin Philharmonic. Pianist Jan Wachowski accompanied the musicians. In the golden hall of the Philharmonic in Szczecin, on the eve of the anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, young musicians performed the Leningrad Symphony by Dmitri Shostakovich. Of course, there was also a piece by the orchestra's patron, Witold Lutosławski – this year, it was "Variations on a Theme by Paganini".

We invite you to watch the movie showing the struggles of the musicians participating in this year's edition of the project.



The first edition of the ILYO project took place in 2013 when the whole world celebrated the 100th anniversary of Witold Lutosławski's birth. Since then, young musicians aged 18-26, both from Poland and other European countries, meet at the Mieczysław Karłowicz Philharmonic Hall in Szczecin every September to discover together the extraordinary and innovative work of the orchestra's patron. During each edition of the International Lutosławski Youth Orchestra project, the participants face various works of the composer, presenting them in the broader context of music history.