The International Festival of Krakow Composers (formerly known as Days of Music by Krakow Composers) has been present among the cultural events in Krakow since 1989. The main purpose of the Festival is the promotion and presentation of contemporary, professional work of Krakow composers (from classics and professors, through the outstanding middle generation to the youngest composers and students of composition) created in relation to the musical tradition of neighbouring countries, countries of the European Union and music of the world. This concept is realised via organisation of concerts and meetings with composers. What is more, there are organised special lectures during the Festival (conducted, among others, by the music theorists of the Academy of Music in Krakow and musicologists of the Jagiellonian University). For the last 20 years the musicologist Jerzy Stankiewicz was the art director and the author of the Festival’s programme. From the 2014 the person responsible for the Festival is the composer Marcel Chyrzyński.
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen!
The present time in music is multidimensional, often difficult to define, diverse, but it gives the artist freedom of his choice of sonic worlds that he needs to create a composition. During the act of producing the musical reality, the origin of inspiration often determines the idea of a work. This is why this year I would like to pay attention to this aspect — the origin of inspiration in the context of understanding and emotional experience of musical compositions.
The guiding principle of the 29th International Festival of Krakow Composers is to present the artists from Krakow and Poland in comparison with music of the Nordic composers. Therefore, you will hear compositions from Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Denmark.
The special guest of the festival will be the outstanding composer from Finland, living permanently in France — Kaija Saariaho. She will give a lecture on her output and teach an open master class for students of composition at the Academy of Music in Krakow. The performance of the first part of Concordia for violin and cello by K. Saariaho will be a very important element of this year’s edition of the festival. The first performance of the whole composition will take place in May at the festival in Bergen, however, the composer gave the permission to perform the first part in Krakow.
The next special guest will be an excellent Danish cellist, Jakob Kullberg, a Professor at the Royal College of Music in London. Besides two concerts, in which he will take part (also with the Danish Kroger Quartet), he will teach a master class at the Academy of Music in Krakow.
The musicology session on Nordic and Dutch music will take place as well during the festival. We will be honored to host the musicians from the Netherlands: the composer and musicologist Leo Samama and the excellent duet from the group Ensemble 306. For the electronic music enthusiasts, there will be, traditionally, “Koktajl Elektroniczny” — a concert of the Electroacoustic Music Studio of the Academy of Music in Krakow. A lecture by Piotr Kletowski, PhD, on Nordic sounds in the Cinema – from Sibelius to Pärt, illustrated by Marek Piestrak film Inquest of Pilot Pirx (1979) with the music of Arvo Pärt and Eugeniusz Rudnik, will reveal the origin of inspiration for composers writing film music.
The closing concert of the 29th International Festival of Krakow Composers will contain, among others, the first performance of the 3rd Symphony by a Krakow composer, Maciej Jabłoński. I hope that these festival events will provide you with unforgettable experience.
Marcel Chyrzyński
Artistic Director