The programme of this year's Chopin and His Europe festival aims to answer the following questions: What was Europe to Fryderyk Chopin? What was and what is Chopin to Europe? Who could have inspired Chopin in his creative activity, and whom could Chopin have inspired with his music? Audiences will enjoy a diverse array of works by composers who could have been especially dear to Chopin's heart, particularly Bach - whom he worshipped and admired, as well as Mozart - whom he loved - and Beethoven - whom he found both attractive, fascinating and repulsive at once. The festival will also feature performances of works by representatives of the brillant style which was fashionable in Chopin's youth, a style to which the Polish composer owed a great deal in terms of piano technique and texture, and representatives of Italian and French bel canto who influenced the development of his melodic style.
The programme of the jubilee festival features an impressive roster of prominent performers from all over the world, including Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble, Misha Maisky, Alexander Gavrylyuk, Ian Hobson, The King's Singers, Benjamin Grosvenor, Akiko Ebi, Lenneke Ruiten, Rudolf Jansen, Joshua Bell, Philippe Giusiano, Jon Nakamatsu, Arcadi Volodos, Nikolai Lugansky, the Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev, Denis Matsuev, Fou Ts'ong, Howard Shelley, Dang Thai Son, Christian Zacharias, Martha Argerich, Dina Yoffe, Frans Brüggen and the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Stanislav Bunin, Nelson Freire, Maria João Pires, Nelson Goerner, Philippe Herreweghe and the Orchestre des Champs-Élysèes, Il Giardino Armonico, and the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne. Europa Galante, conducted by Fabio Biondi, will perform Vincenzo Bellini's Norma for the first time in Poland on period instruments. A number of pianists at the festival will play period instruments, such an 1849 Erard, a Pleyel from 1848, and a Graf copy of an instrument from ca. 1819.
Plenty of major Polish artists will grace the festival alongside international greats. Audiences will have the opportunity to hear concerts by Ewa Pobłocka, Aleksandra Kurzak, Kaja Danczowska, Maciej Grzybowski, Wojciech Świtała, Janusz Olejniczak as well as Sinfonia Varsovia, the National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michał Dworzyński and Antoni Wit, and the Wrocław Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jacek Kaspszyk. Concerts take place at the Witold Lutosławski Polish Radio Concert Studio, the National Philharmonic, and the Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera.
Apart from symphonic concerts, chamber performances, and recitals, this year's programme also includes open-air concerts, jazz performances and musical happenings. The Palladium venue in ul. Złota hosts performances by Tomasz Stańko with Dominik Wania, Sławomir Kurkiewicz, and Olavi Louhivuori on August 4; Agata Zubel, Uri Caine, Cezary Duchnowski, Jacek Kochan, Andrzej Bauer, and Maciej Walczak on August 10; Makoto Ozone, Anna Maria Jopek, and Gregoire Maret present their latest project "Road to Chopin" on August 16; Bobby McFerrin & NDR Big Band on August 17; Markus Stockhausen and Władysław "Adzik" Sendecki on August 22; Eljazz Big-Band on August27. On August 11 at the National Philharmonic, the famous Paco Peña Flamenco Company will present their concert "Chopin and Flamenco Music". Another major feature of the festival is the inaugural oratorio concert by Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and Cappella Amsterdam conducted by Daniel Reuss, featuring Bach's Grand Mass in B Minor.
The "Chopin and His Europe" International Music Festival has been held since 2005 and swiftly gained recognition as an event of high artistic standing. The main objective is to present the oeuvre of Fryderyk Chopin in a broad cultural context, highlighting the multiple sources of the composer's style, his links to 19th-century composers as well as those from subsequent generations.
See the detailed programme of the Festival at pl.chopin.nifc.pl
Source: Fryderyk Chopin Institute