The Krakow International Festival of Composers (formerly known as Days of Music by Krakow Composers and 2014-2019 International Festival of Krakow Composers) has been part the cultural life of Krakow since 1989. The main purpose of the Festival is the promotion and presentation of contemporary professional work of Krakow composers (classics and professors, but also the outstanding middle generation, and the youngest composers and students of composition) created in relation to world music. This concept is realized via organization of concerts and meetings with composers. What is more, special lectures are organized during the Festival (conducted, among others, by music theorists of the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Krakow, musicologists of the Jagiellonian University and invited guests from Poland and abroad).
In 1989, the festival was brought to life by Jerzy Kaszycki, Juliusz Łuciuk, Maciej Negrey and Kazimierz Pyzik. Since 1994 (for 20 years) the artistic director of the festival and the author of the program concept was musicologist Jerzy Stankiewicz. Since 2014 the general and artistic director is composer Marcel Chyrzyński.
Ladies and Gentlemen!
The theme of the 37th Krakow International Festival of Composers is music in music. Already in the 1970s, this issue was studied by the outstanding founder of the Krakow Theoretical School, Professor Mieczysław Tomaszewski. He reflected on the subject in an article entitled “At the Opening: why ‘music in music’”, which was published before one of the famous Music Meetings in Baranów. Composers approach this issue in various ways. Some explicitly quote music of past eras or contemporary artists in their works, while others prefer pastiches or stylizations. This year’s musicological session of the festival will be devoted to the phenomenon of “music in music.” Music theorists affiliated with the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Krakow will deliver their papers: Teresa Malecka, Małgorzata Janicka-Słysz, Natalia Szwab, and Marcin Strzelecki.
A special festival event will be the decoration ceremony of Prof. Volodymyr Hrabowski, a musicologist from Drohobych (Ukraine), with the Honorary Badge “Meritorious to Polish Culture”, awarded to him by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage in recognition of his contribution to Polish culture and the promotion of the Krakow International Festival of Composers in Ukraine. The laudation will be delivered by the vice-president of the Polish Composers’ Union, Krakow Branch, Dr. h.c. Jerzy Stankiewicz. The ceremony will take place during the inauguration of the 37th Festival at the Krakow Philharmonic.
Acclaimed composer Aleksander Nowak will also be a special guest at the festival. He will give a lecture on his work and conduct master classes with composition students of the K. Penderecki Academy of Music in Krakow. His works will be performed by the New Music Orchestra under the baton of Szymon Bywalec and the Silesian Quartet.
An extremely interesting concert will be a performance of Duo Mastruzzo-Núñez from Argentina, consisting of Ana Liga Mastruzzo (flute) and Federico Núñez (guitar). The duo will present works by composers from Argentina, Mexico, and Portugal, most of them written for the festival. The musicians will also premiere a composition by Krakow-based composer Leszek Wojtal.
The Warsaw Trio, composed of: Piotr Thieu-Quang (clarinet), Maria Leszczyńska-Thieu (cello), and Paweł Popko (piano), will give a concert featuring, among others, a composition by young composer Andrea Mastropasqua from Italy, who received the 2025 Grand Prize at the 8th Krzysztof Penderecki International Competition for Young Composers.
For lovers of electroacoustic music, there will traditionally be a presentation of the AMKP Electroacoustic Music Studio “Electronic Cocktail”.
The festival will conclude with a performance by the excellent flutist Ania Karpowicz, who normally plays with the Hashtag Ensemble. She will present compositions by Japanese artists, including Tōru Takemitsu. The visuals for them were created by Karol Tomoki Yamazaki.
The 9 festival concerts will feature works by composers from Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Argentina, Mexico, Portugal, Ukraine, Italy, China, South Korea, and Japan. The audience will hear 33 world premieres and 2 Polish premieres, among others.
I wish you an unforgettable experience!
Marcel Chyrzyński
General and Artistic Director