50th Festiwal – Long live Wratislavia!
In August 1966, when the first concert of the new Vratislavia Cantans (that’s how the name was spelled then) festival took place, perhaps nobody, including the founder of the event - conductor Andrzej Markowski, supposed that this initiative would exist for half a century and would become one of the most important Polish classical music festivals. This year’s program of Wratislavia Cantans will be a tribute to the history of the festival (the program of two concerts on the 6th and the 15th of September will be identical to the one during the inauguration and the finale in 1966) and an attractive proposal for the contemporary listener, who is hungry not only for classical sounds, but also for experiments.
Sale of tickets from Friday the 20th of March
The detailed schedule of concerts is already known (it will be available on the website of the festival from the 20th of March). "We wanted to announce the program in good advance so that music fans from Wroclaw and guests from Poland and abroad could buy tickets at an earlier date," explains Andrzej Kosendiak, the director of Wratislavia Cantans. It is important information, because tickets for concerts can be bought even at half price in advance sale (i.e., from the 20th of March till the 1st of July or until all available tickets are sold out). Most events will take place in the building of the National Music Forum (in the large hall with 1,800 seats and in one of the smaller chamber halls), but concerts will also be held in churches (e.g., St. Mary Magdalene Church, Collegiate Church of the Holy Cross) and in historic halls (at the University of Wroclaw and in the Old Town Hall).
Moscow Patriarchate Choir
Voice in the foreground
As usual, the most important element of Wratislavia Cantans will be the human voice (the word "singing" is already present in the name of the festival) and the program of the festival contains works where it plays a special role. The concert of Moscow Patriarchate Choir (the 10th of September), which is famous for its performance of sacred music and maintenance of the rich musical tradition of the East, can be quite a great sensation. We already know that the artist's repertoire in Wroclaw will encompass not only works by great Russian masters, but also popular national Russian and Cossack songs.
Another event particularly worth recommending to music lovers is the performance of George Frideric Handel’s first oratorio "Alexander’s Feast" with soloists, a choir from Dresden and the Wroclaw Baroque Orchestra under the baton of Paul Goodwin (the 8th of September).
It is fantastic to learn that Marcel Pérès will also perform in Wroclaw, because he is one of the world’s leading specialists in Gregorian chant. During his festival concert (the 12th of September), he will present an unusual repertoire containing Renaissance pieces in Byzantine and Corsican tradition together with his famous Ensemble Organum group.
Mozart’s fans must listen to Great Mass in C Minor under the baton of Giovanni Antonini (the 13th of September).
The English conductor Trevor Pinnock will conduct the German Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra from Bremen /photo: Tomasz Walków
Chopin encouraged others to sing
Olga Pasiecznik will take us into a slightly different world of experiences. The famous Ukrainian soprano, for whom Poland has been the second homeland for years, will sing arias from Mozart’s operas during her concert on the 10th of September; she will be accompanied by the recognised Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie from Bremen under the baton of the English conductor Trevor Pinnock – a world-famous specialist in early music.
Excellent Portuguese pianist Maria João Pires/photo: Felix Broede
During the same concert, we will listen (for the first time in Wroclaw) to the famous Portuguese pianist Maria João Pires, whose recordings of Chopin’s works are particularly appreciated in the music industry (she will play Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2). And what about vocals? They will appear, of course! After all, Chopin encouraged his students to pay special attention to the singability (Italian: "cantabile") of music.
Agata Zubel and Grammy winners from Chicago
Singing will also be the leitmotif of the joint concert of the singer and composer Agata Zubel and the eighth blackbird group – the winner of three Grammy awards. It is said that members of eighth blackbird (contrary to their name, there are only six of them) have dreamt of working with the Wroclaw artist for a long time.
Musicians of eighth blackbird combine music with theatre
This may be one of the most unpredictable evenings during Wratislavia Cantans (the 11th of September), because the American musicians are famous for original projects and crazy ideas (such as imitating the world of animals with sounds of instruments, for which they received the Grammy awards).
Musicians from eighth blackbird love breaking conventions
Simply Zubin Mehta
This name says it all – that's what we can frankly say about the Hindu conductor that is loved by music fans around the world. In Wroclaw, Zubin Mehta will perform together with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, which will play the monumental Symphony No. 9 by Gustav Mahler (over 100 musicians will occupy NMF’s stage that evening!). Zubin Mehta has worked with the Tel Aviv orchestra for almost 50 years; today, he holds the honourable title of its lifetime maestro). The understanding between the conductor and the orchestra is absolute, so the work will sound with appropriate power and will be stylish (it was performed in its entirety only after Mahler’s death). And this is not the only Mahler-related motif at the festival. During the finale of Wratislavia Cantans (the 19th of September), we will listen to the Symphony No. 8, called also "Symphony of a Thousand". On that occasion, over 200 artists (the conductor, soloists, the orchestra and four combined choirs) will appear on the stage of the National Music Forum.
Zubin Mehta is conducting musicians of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra in Adagietto from Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 5
The 50th Wratislavia Cantans Festival will take place from the 6th till the 19th of September 2015. Tickets will be available (prices range from 15 PLN to 300 PLN) also online via www.bilety.nfm.wroclaw.pl; you can pre-order them at a cheaper price from the 20th of March till the 1st of July, and then prices will increase.
