Over a period of three days, more than 1,000 artists from around the world will present their interpretations of French and Spanish musical brilliance from composers including Debussy, Bizet, Ravel, Albeniz, Fauré, Poulenc, de Falla and Rodrigo. There will be 60 concerts held at Warsaw’s Grand Theatre National Opera House in four rooms. And Theatre Plaza will feature a tent where free concerts will be held.
Scheduled to perform at this year’s festivities are pianists Luis Fernando Pérez and Philippe Giusiano, violinists Augustin Dumay and Anna Maria Staśkiewicz, guitarist Juan Manuel Cañizares and the acclaimed soprano Olga Pasiecznik. Accompanying ensembles include Sinfonia Varsovia, the the Orchestra of the National Philharmonic in Warsaw, Sinfonia Iuventus as well as the Grand Theatre’s Orchestra. Conductors include Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Arie van Beek, Antoni Wit and Tadeusz Wojciechowski.
During Szalonych Dni Muzyki / Crazy Days of Music audiences will have the opportunity to hear chamber music performed by Modigliani Quartet, the Silesian String Quartet and the Duo Jatekok. Along with the professional peformers and renowned ensembles, the festival will continue its tradition of featuring performances by the best bands from ten music schools across Poland. Additionally, it will hold events for children including a concert played by Smykofonia, screenings of animated films, flamenco shows and interactive activities for audiences young and old.
This event is the Polish edition of the international festival La Folle Journée, which began in Nantes, France, in 1995. Following this first occasion, the series migrated to Portugal, Spain, Canada, Japan, China, Brazil and Poland. Previous editions in Warsaw have been devoted to the music of Chopin (2010), Brahms, Mahler, Liszt, Strauss and Szymanowski (2011), and Russian classics (2012).
The media sponsor of the festival is Culture.pl.
More information about the festival including ticket sales can be found here: www.follejournee.pl / www.szalonednimuzyki.pl
Sources: press materials, author: JN, 04/09/2013
Translation: SMG 05/09/2013