During the IX Congress "Poland the Great Project" which started on Friday in Kubicki Arcades in Warsaw, the Speaker of the Sejm Marek Kuchciński presented the Medal "Courage and Credibility" to Mr. Fabio Biondi. - Maestro Fabio Biondi receives the "Courage and Credibility" Medal in a special year - the year of Stanislaw Moniuszko established by the Seym of the Republic of Poland and at the same time announced by UNESCO at the request of three countries: Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. We are grateful, Maestro, for your commitment and for the preparation and excellent concert performance of "Halka" in January this year in the Grand Theatre - National Opera in Warsaw. We are grateful for the fact that you have been artistically present in Poland for many years - said the Speaker of the Sejm.
The ceremony was also attended by, among others: Julia Przyłębska - President of the Constitutional Tribunal, Wanda Zwinogrodzka and Jarosław Sellin - Deputy Ministers of Culture and National Heritage, Dr. Artur Szklener - Director of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute and Stanisław Leszczyński - Artistic Director of the "Chopin and his Europe" Festival.
Fabio Biondi is one of the most important performers of early music. He created and leads the Europa Galante ensemble, which plays on period instruments. In January this year the Grand Theatre in Warsaw Opera House hosted the concert of the orchestra inaugurating the year of Stanislaw Moniuszko. A concert performance of "Halka" in Italian took place then. This version of the opera had its premiere during the last year's festival "Chopin and his Europe". It received excellent reviews, breaking records of popularity.
The "Courage and Credibility" medal has been awarded for five years. Its name refers to the election slogan of the late Lech Kaczyński in 2005. Its recipients are people who are actively working for the benefit of the Congress and the image of Poland and its citizens in the world. The first winner of the medal was Professor Ewa Thomson. In this group we can also find such personalities as Sir Roger Scruton or Anca Maria-Cernea.
The main organizer of the Congress is the Poland Great Project Foundation. Co-organizers are Institute of Public Initiatives, Centre for Political Thought, Association of Creators for the Republic of Poland and Association Young for Poland. Honorary patronage over the congress has been assumed by President Andrzej Duda. The idea of the congress - as indicated by its organizers - is to debate strategic development challenges facing Poland in the coming decades. The congress has been divided into several thematic discussion panels.
This year's speakers include Foreign Minister Prof. Jacek Czaputowicz, Prof. Zdzisław Krasnodębski, Prof. Ryszard Legutko, Prof. Andrzej Zybertowicz, and Prof. Zbigniew Stawrowski. The introductory lecture was delivered by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
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Photo by Rafał Zambrzycki
