The goal of the festival is to promote the music of Polish composers. “Our festival is open to all those who come to Kraków to explore the historical city and listen to classical music”, says festival director Paweł Orski.
This title of this year’s festival, 13/23/33, refers to the birth years of Witold Lutosławski (1913), Stainsław Skrowaczewski (1923), and Krzysztof Penderecki, Zbigniew Bujarski and Henryk Mikołaj Górecki (1933).
“The idea of the festival is to also invite foreign artists, who will later perform the works of Polish composers outside Poland”, explains Orski. The inaugural concert at the Kraków Philharmonic will feature soprano Olga Pasiecznik and the Warsaw Sinfonia Iuventus, conducted by Michał Nesterowicz. Audiences will hear works of Lutosławski and Skrowaczewski’s 1947 Overture.
Later, the Sinfonietta Cracovia under Robert Kabara will feature soloists Heinz and Ursula Holliger (oboe and harp) in a presentation of compositions by outstand Polish composers of the 20th century.
The Kraków Festival Orchestra, directed by Bassem Akiki, will present Karol Szymanowski’s Hagith, an opera not seen in Kraków for several decades. Slovenian soprano Urçka Arliź Gololiźiź will sing the title role.
The first weekend of the festival will also include a Chopin recital by Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho, as well as an intimate concert featuring works by Mozart, Józef Elsner, and Zygmunt Noskowski, performed by the Scultore Ensemble.
During the second part of the festival – from the 19th to the 21st of July – Collegium 1704, an early music ensemble from Prague led by Vaclav Luks, will perform. The Festival will also feature the Brno Contemporary Orchestra, conducted by Pavel Šnajdr, and pianist Evgenia Bozhanov – winner of the 16th International Chopin Piano Competition – in a recital of Chopin’s works.
At the end of the festival, in St. Catherine’s Church, Krzysztof Penderecki’s Credo will be performed by the Karol Szymanowksi Philharmonic Choir, the Boys' Choir of Pueri Cantores Sancti Nicolai, Sinfonia Iuventus, and soloists. The orchestra will be led by Penderecki’s longtime collaborator, Maciej Tworek.
The festival will also host the premiere of an album featuring the songs of Mieczysław Karłowicz and Karol Szymanowski, performed by soprano Elżbieta Szmytka.
Source: PAP, Ed. JHP 11.-7.2013
Translation: Alena Aniskiewicz