6th International Music Festival 'Chopin and His Europe,' Now Playing in Warsaw thru 8/31

On August 1st, the 6th International Music Festival "Chopin and His Europe" - one of the most important cultural events of this year in Poland - will begin.

31 days, over 50 extraordinary concerts, over 2,000 performers. The program of the sixth edition of the International Music Festival "Chopin and his Europe" includes the works of the masters of baroque, classicism and romanticism.

The concerts are to take place at the Warsaw Philharmonic, the Grand Theatre - National Opera, the Witold Lutos?awski Concert Studio of the Polish Radio, in Palladium Hall and in the churches of Warsaw.

The program of the jubilee festival encompasses the finest selection of artists. Among the invited guests there are outstanding performers from around the world, including Martha Argerich, Mischa Maisky, Nikolai Lugansky, Denis Matsuev, Volodos Arcadia, Dang Thai Son, Christian Zacharias, Kristian Bezuidenhout, Andreas Staier, Christoph Prégardien, Dina Yoffe, Alexander Gavrylyuk, Joshua Bell, Steven Isserlis, Antonio Meneses, Menahem Pressler, Stanis?aw Bunin, Nelson Freire, Maria Joao Pires, Nelson Goerner, Thomas Zehetmair, Philippe Giusi, Fou Ts'ong, Howard Shelley, Ian Hobson, The King's Singers, Akiko Ebi, Lenneke Ruiten, Rudolf Jensen, Jon Nakamatsu, Russian National Orchestra conducted by Mikhail Pletnev, Frans Brüggen and the Orchestra of the 18th Century, Marc Minkowski, Philippe Herreweghe with the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, Il Giardino Armonico conducted by Giovanni Antonini, as well as the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne.

There will also be many outstanding Polish artists performing during the festival, i.a., Aleksandra Kurzak, Kaja Danczowska, Bartosz Koziak, Jan Lisiecki, Wojciech ?witala, Janusz Olejniczak, Ewa Pob?ocka, Maciej Grzybowski, as well as the following orchestras: Sinfonia Varsovia conducted by Jacek Kasprzyk, Marc Minkowski and Christopher Warren-Green, the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Micha? Dworzy?ski and Antoni Wit, the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice and the Symphony Orchestra of W. Lutos?awski Philharmonic conducted by Jacek Kasprzyk.

Traditionally a very important part of the festival's program are the historical performances - performance of works in their original sound on historical instruments. As in previous years, a number of artists will perform on historical pianos, held by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute: Erard from 1849, Pleyel from 1848 and Graf (a copy of the instrument from about 1819).

An outstanding event during the festival was an inaugural oratorio concert performed by the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and Cappelli Amsterdam conducted by Daniel Reuss, during which the Great Mass in B Minor by Bach was performed, preceded by Chopin's last work - Mazurka in F minor. For the first time in Warsaw one will hear Missa Solemnis by Beethoven in the original performance of the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées conducted by Philippe Herreweghe.

For the first time an opera will be presented at the festival - an art so close to Chopin: one is more than welcome to come and listen to Bellini's Norma performed by Europa Galante conducted by Fabio Biondi (for the first time performed in Poland on historical instruments!) and attend an opera evening with the Sinfonia Varsovia under the baton of Marc Minkowski (including extensive excerpts from Meyerbeer's Robert le Diable [Robert the Devil]).

A separate and very significant part of the festival's program comprises the improvised music concerts with jazz at the foreground, with such imminent artists performing as: Tomasz Sta?ko with Dominik Wania, S?awomir Kurkiewicz and Olavi Louhivuori (August 4th); Agata Zubel, Uri Caine, Cezary Duchnowski, Jacek Kochan, Andrzej Bauer and Maciej Walczak (August 10th), Makoto Ozone, Anna Maria Jopek and Gregoire Maret with the latest project Road to Chopin (August 16th); Bobby McFerrin & NDR Big Band (August 17th), Inga Lewandowska and Kuba Stankiewicz with Chopin Songbook (August 21st), Markus Stockhausen and W?adys?aw "Adzik" Sendecki ( August 22nd); Krzysztof Herdzin Chopin Quintet (August 24th). On August 11th a famous group Paco Peña Flamenco Company will give a concert under the Working Title Chopin and Flamenco music.

For more information and upcoming performances, visit http://en.chopin.nifc.pl/festival/.

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