Wratislavia Cantans 2016 kicks off on Sep 3rd

51. edition specially for the ECC 2016

This year, a lot of excellent concerts have been planned, and for the fourth time, the person behind the festival (this time entitled "Europa Cantans," which is a nod at the ECC 2016), is Giovanni Antonini, Italian conductor and the leader of Il Giardino Armonico ensemble. Andrzej Kosendiak, director of the NFM revealed that he has already signed a contract with the maestro for the coming years. This should please a large group of admirers of Wratislavia Cantans, especially that Antonini proved himself flawlessly as artistic director, though never before held a similar position.

At the festival, we can expect both big events and a more intimate format, master classes with world-class artists, as well as projects, involving ensembles associated with the National Forum of Music.

Grand concerts at the NFM

Among others, the monumental and moving XIII Symphony by Dmitri Shostakovich "Babi Yar," will sound at the opening on September 3. in the main hall of the NFM. The work is the composer's tribute to the victims murdered by the Nazis in a Babi Yar Ravine in Kiev in 1941. In the first part, Shostakovich used a poem by Yevgeny Yevtushenko, which is performed by the choir and soloist (in Wroclaw these will be the Male Choir of the Podlaska Opera and Philharmonic and bass Mikhail Pietrenko). The NFM Orchestra will play under the baton of Andrey Boreyko.

A day later, i.e. on September 4, again at the NFM, Giovanni Antonini will conduct Ludwig van Beethoven's IX Symphony with the Kammerorchester Basel, soloists (including soprano Christiane Oelze, who has once before appeared at the Wratislavia Cantans) and the Choir of the National Forum of Music. Interestingly, the Italian conductor is now recording the complete symphonies of Beethoven, and the last album he will record with the NFM Choir.

The closing the festival on September 18 at the NFM will also feature a spectacular form - Passion According to St. Matthew by Johann Sebastian Bach under the baton of Sir John Eliot Gardiner, and with the participation of his ensembles - English Baroque Soloists and Monteverdi Choir, as well as soloists (the Evangelist will be sung by tenor Mark Padmore, known from Gardiner's legendary recordings). For fans of Bach, there will be a surprise - on September 11 you can see a staged (!) Passion According to St. John, featuring the baroque ensemble B'Rock, the NFM Choir and soloists under the baton of Andreas Spering, directed by Pierre Audi, with set design by Wim Delvoye. This may be one of the biggest sensations of the festival (on 11 September, at the NFM).

Intimate recitals and chamber concerts

However, the 51st edition of the festival Wratislavia Cantans is not only about grand, monumental concerts. It will include a string of recitals and chamber concerts. Re-visiting Wroclaw is the great pianofortist Kristian Bezuidenhout; this time, he will play with violinist Alina Ibragimova (8 September, the NFM).

Gambist Paolo Pandolfo will also appear (14 September), and the fans of the wacky cellist Giovanni Sollima don't need to be told twice about his concert (September 13, the St. Cross Collegiate).

Things are becoming more and more interesting with the participation of the famous vocal ensemble Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares. The biggest of the stars, however, will be the French counter-tenor Philippe Jaroussky. He has never sung in Wroclaw before, and he is considered one of the greatest vocal talents of the last decade (5 September, the NFM). Together with his Ensemble Artaserse, he will perform songs that can be found in the collections of the Wroclaw University Library (albeit the effect is unintended).

But that's not all. Paul Van Nevel from Belgium and his Huelgas Ensemble are coming (September 9, the Collegiate Church of St. Cross), as is Catalan Jordi Savall and his ensemble Hesperion XXI (with a programme referring to the various sources of European culture). They will play on September 12 at the NFM.

Five artists from among the distinguished guests of the festival will also hold master classes in Wroclaw. 'The musicians come to Wratislavia Cantans not only to play a concert, but to meet with us as well. And there is no better meeting than that, which is expressed in joint work,' says Andrzej Kosendiak.

Music, food and drink

Among the attractions of the festival is also a concert featuring tasting of food and drinks, which has been prepared by the Wrocław Baroque Orchestra and Giovanni Antonini (this time as a flutist), as well as the programme Tafelmusik by Georg Philipp Telemann, i.e. the music that accompanies feasts. The guests will participate in the following parts of the concert by moving from NFM halls (the Black, the Red) to the foyer, where they will be offered specialties of the French, Italian, German and Polish cuisines. All this is coming up on September 11.

Tickets are now on sale

Ticket prices for the Wratislavia Cantans range from 15 to 300 PLN, and the programme can be found below.