Music in our Opera will never sound the same again... On the night of November 17, Maestro Gabriel Chmura, Artistic Director of Poznań Opera House, suddenly passed away. Great Musician, brilliant Conductor, extraordinary Personality, wonderful Man.
He required the highest professionalism and commitment from himself and the people who worked with him. He ambitiously challenged himself, our Opera and the audience. Monumental works by Wagner, excellent compositions by Mieczysław Weinberg or rediscovering Stanisław Moniuszko's work... When we were afraid that we would not succeed, Gabriel Chmura helped us to believe that we can achieve anything.
Gabriel Chmura conducted many compositions, but he especially loved Johannes Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem. Brahms once said that it is not a "German" requiem, but "human" — so moving and deeply describing Man. And maybe this choice is the truth about Gabriel Chmura — the Musician and the Man.
Maestro, although it will be much more difficult without your conducting baton and repartee, we promise — we will never slow down! Today we would like to dedicate to you a part of your beloved work, from the concert that you conducted so wonderfully — Johannes Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem, performed by Aleksandra Olczyk and the Choir and Orchestra of Poznań Opera House.
We express our sincere condolences to the family and relatives of Gabriel Chmura.
Management and Ensemble of Poznań Opera House

Gabriel Chmura (1946-2020) — one of the most outstanding conductors at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, winner of First Prize at the Conducting Competition in Besançon (1970), the Guido Cantelli Competition in Milan (1971) and the Herbert von Karajan Competition in Berlin (1971). He was awarded the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture — Gloria Artis. Maestro Gabriel Chmura conducted leading orchestras from different continents such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, Orchester National de France, Orchestra Filarmonica di Roma, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra (Tokyo). Gabriel Chmura was Artistic Director of excellent ensembles in European and Canadian music institutions — he was Music Director of the opera house in Aachen(1974-1983), the Bochum Symphony Orchestra (1983-1987), the National Arts Center Orchestra in Ottawa (1987-1990) and Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice (2001-2007). From 2012 he was Artistic Director of Poznań Opera House, where he prepared many operas and concerts, including the performance of R. Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg on Polish stages after over a hundred years. Gabriel Chmura conducted Gounod's Faust, Verdi's Macbeth, Janáček's Jenůfa, and Mozart's Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute. The last concert he conducted with Poznań Opera House took place on October 2, 2020.