Warsaw Philharmonic Choir began its activity in 1953 under Zbigniew Soja. Its successive directors were Roman Kuklewicz (1955–71), Józef Bok (1971–74), and Antoni Szaliński (1974–78). Since 1978 the Choir’s Artistic Director has been Henryk Wojnarowski.
In addition to regular performances in the subscription series of symphonic and choral-orchestral concerts of the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra as well as a cappella performances in the Warsaw Philhar-monic Hall, the Choir performs regularly at the Warsaw Autumn and the Wratislavia Cantans Festival in Wrocław.
Foreign tours have taken the Warsaw Philharmonic Choir to Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey. It has
performed with such renowned orchestras as the Munich Philharmonic, the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, the rias Orchestra, the Bamberger Symphoniker, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem Symphony Orchestras, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Orchestra in Rome, the Brussels Opera Orchestra, the Palermo Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of Milan’s La Scala.
Highlights in the Choir’s history have included the invitation to take part in the La Scala production of Donatoni’s Atem in 1985. Following this operatic debut, the Warsaw Choir was invited to La Scala again to sing in Weber’s Oberon (1989) and Beethoven’s Fidelio (1990). It also sang in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress (1986) and Mozart’s The Magic Flute (1987) at La Fenice in Venice; in Beethoven’s Fidelio in Paris (1989), Szymanowski’s King Roger (1992), Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex (1993) and Honegger’s Antigone (1993) in Palermo and Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri in Pesaro. In 1988, 1990 and 2001 the Choir took part in gala concerts for Pope John Paul II in the Vatican.
The Warsaw Philharmonic Choir has appeared with leading Polish and foreign conductors including Gary Bertini,
Sergiu Comissiona, Henryk Czyż, Jacek Kaspszyk, Kazimierz Kord, Jan Krenz, Lorin Maazel,
Jerzy Maksymiuk, Zubin Mehta, Grzegorz Nowak, Seiji Ozawa, Krzysztof Penderecki, Witold Rowicki, Jerzy Semkow, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Stanisław Skrowaczewski, Leopold Stokowski, Igor Stravinsky, Stanisław Wisłocki, Antoni Wit, and Bohdan Wodiczko.
The repertoire of the Choir includes over 150 oratorios and a cappella works from the Middle Ages to contemporary music, with special attention given to Polish music, notably the works of Krzysztof Penderecki. The Choir has performed all of his oratorios and a cappella works. The latter performances were released on records, as were the St Luke Passion (twice), the Polish Requiem, Seven Gates of Jerusalem and Credo. A recording of the St Luke Passion under Penderecki himself received a Grammy nomination in 1991. The Choir’s discography also includes Handel’s Messiah, Israel in Egypt and Judas Maccabaeus, Verdi’s Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Fidelio and Symphony No. 9, Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust, Bruckner’s Te Deum, Elsner’s Passion, Szymanowski’s Harnasie and Symphony No. 3, Roman Maciejewski’s Requiem and Wojciech Kilar’s Missa pro pace.
In November 2003, the Warsaw Philharmonic Choir celebrated its 50th anniversary.