Free entrance tickets will be available starting July 10
Liberator Hominis.
13th-century Cistercian chants
Schola Cantorum Minorum Chosoviensis
Schola Cantorum Minorum Chosoviensis
Thirteenth-century Cistercian chants, found by members of the Schola Cantorum Minorum Chosoviensis in historic choir books, will be revived in their natural habitat: within the walls of the twelfth-century Cistercian abbey in Wąchock, and in the space of the charming wooden Church of the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary in Kielce.
🕖7 pm
🎫Admission: free
📍Church of the Cistercian Abbey in Wąchock
🕖6 pm
🎫Admission: free
📍 Church of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Kielce
Schola Cantorum Minorum Chosoviensis
Schola Cantorum Minorum Chosoviensis has been in existence since 1996. The main area of interest and artistic activity of the ensemble is Gregorian chant. In addition, the ensemble performs a repertoire of early vocal polyphony and traditional songs. The schola's primary goal is to sing during the liturgy. The songs sung by the schola are mostly developed on the basis of the group's own research into medieval manuscripts.
The ensemble's musical director is Slawomir Witkowski, a graduate of the Instrumental Department of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice and the Institute of Musicology at Jagiellonian University, and cantor of the St. Jadwiga Śląska parish in Chorzow.
Cistercian Abbey in Wąchock
The monastery in Wąchock was built at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries. It is one of the most beautiful examples of Romanesque architecture in Poland. The abbey's founder was Bishop Gedeon (Gedko) of Cracow in 1179. The builder of the abbey was Simon, of Italian origin.
The monastery was twice destroyed by Tartar invasions. Through sheer force of will and hard work, the monks slowly restored it to its former glory.
The building of the abbey was invaded in 1656 by the armies of Transylvanian Prince George Rákóczi, ravaged the town and the surrounding area, and deprived the monastery of its rich archives, treasury and valuable relics. The collapse of the Cistercian order in Wąchock came as a result of the 1818 annulment by the tsarist authorities.
It was not until 1951 that the Cistercian monastery in Wąchock was revived. Through the efforts of the convent and with the help of the state, the restoration of this valuable historic complex was undertaken. In 1964, the highest authorities of the Order, raised the monastery anew to the status of an Abbey. In 2017, the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda, included our abbey in the prestigious list of "Monuments of History." The abbey continues to serve the Order and the Church in this beautiful corner of the Świętokrzyskie region with its prayers and work.
Source: www.niepokalana.kielce.pl
Church of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Kielcecach
The history of the Church and parish of the Immaculate Heart of the N.M.P. begins in 1946, when, at the request of the military authorities, the church of the N.M.P. Queen of Poland, which had served as a parish church, was handed over to the chaplain of the People's Army of Poland and became a garrison church. Thus, the parish was left without a House of God.
Ówczesny proboszcz Ksiądz Michalski podjął natychmiast starania o budowę nowego kościoła. I tak w 1947 roku, według znakomitego projektu Stanisława Skibniewskiego, powstał przy ul. Urzędniczej w Kielcach kościół Niepokalanego Serca Najświętszej Marii Panny. Jako materiał do budowy kościoła wykorzystano deski z rozebranych baraków, w których niemieccy naziści przetrzymywali jeńców wojennych.
ÓEarly parish priest Father Michalski immediately began efforts to build a new church. And so in 1947, according to an excellent project by Stanislaw Skibniewski, the Church of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built on Urzędnicza Street in Kielce. Planks from demolished barracks in which German Nazis held prisoners of war were used as material for the church. On May 25, 1947 (Pentecost), the cornerstone of the church was consecrated, and as early as December 07, 1947, a ceremony was held to consecrate the new church. The construction of the new parish church is currently underway.
Praise be to Thee, O Lord
Trinus Ensemble
Trinus Ensemble
Medieval works preserved in European and Polish sources from the 12th to the 15th century. These will include single- and polyphonic compositions preserved in Polish medieval manuscripts, among others from the Antiphonary of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Miechów, as well as works from the monastery of the Benedictine Sisters of Staniątki and the Benedictine Sisters of Sandomierz. Benedictine nuns from Sandomierz. We will also hear works dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary from the 14th-century manuscript LLibre Vermell de Montserrat and the 13th-century Codex Montpellier.
🕖17.00
🎫Admission: free
📍Dominican Church of St James in Sandomierz
Trinus Ensemble
Adrianna Bujak-Cyran - soprano; Liliana Pociecha - soprano; Anita Pyrek-Nąckiewicz - alto; Aleksandra Kauf-Tyrała - Biłgorajska suka, fiddle of Płock
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Three female voices united by the pursuit of perfect harmony. The ensemble is made up of Adrianna Bujak-Cyran, Liliana Pociecha and Anita Pyrek-Nąckiewicz, graduates of the Kraków Academy of Music, active in many formations, combining their diverse experiences in artistic, scientific and pedagogical activities. The ensemble specialises in the performance of sacred music. In their concert programmes, they present a wide range of repertoire, from medieval works to contemporary compositions, also drawing on traditional repertoire. They owe their fascination with medieval music and their research work with source texts to the female Gregorian schola Flores Rosarum, in which they sing on a daily basis. In the Trinus Ensemble's programme, polyphonic a cappella pieces are interwoven with monody and the unique sound of ethnic instruments - the Biłgoraj suka and the Płock fiddle, played by Aleksandra Kauf-Tyrała. Below are two recordings of works performed by the Trinus Ensemble.
The Dominican Church of St James in Sandomierz
The Dominicans arrived in Sandomierz in 1226 at the invitation of the bishop of Kraków, Iwo Odrowąż. It was the second foundation of this order in Poland. One of the first Sandomierz Dominicans was the founder's nephew, St. Jacek. On the site of the older church, the brothers built a brick monastic temple, retaining the invocation of St James the Apostle and the monastery complex. Despite difficult times, in 1260 the monastery was attacked by the Tartars, murdering 49 friars led by Prior Sadok, who are venerated as blessed today. The friars completed the church before the end of the 13th century and finished the monastery in the following century. The interior of the church was rebuilt in the Baroque style in the 17th century. The monastery functioned until the January Uprising: in 1864, as a reprisal for their involvement on the side of the insurgents, the Russian authorities abolished most of the religious congregations in the Kingdom of Poland. From then on, the church was under the care of diocesan priests. After a fire in 1905, the church was restored to its original Romanesque appearance, leaving the bricks exposed inside, which has given it its present, highly mystical character. In 2001, after an absence of 137 years, the Dominicans returned to St James's and today provide pastoral care here. In 2012, they also revived the cultivation of vines on the hill next to the monastery as part of the 'St James Vineyard'.
Marian pieces on the Renaissance organs in Olkusz
Prof. Krzysztof Urbaniak and Kacper Kwieciński (young talent)
Prof. Krzysztof Urbaniak and Kacper Kwieciński (young talent)
At the gate of the fifth edition of our Festival - triple artistry: the art of the Renaissance motet, the art of Renaissance variation and the mastery of the craft of Renaissance organ builders.
The ancient themes of Gregorian Marian invocations will form before our eyes (and ears!) into the exquisite weaves of a motet - this first ripe fruit of polyphony. This time we will hear it not in a vocal version, but in an instrumental intabolation, i.e. in a notation often made by the performers themselves in the language of Renaissance tablature.
Ricercar, from the Italian 'ricercare' - `to search` is an imitation form, with its recurring themes
and counterpoints, announcing a later fugue.
A psalm in the form of variations, a toccata - free, virtuoso forms that make excellent use of the specific tuning of Hummel's/Nitrowski's Olkusz organs seem to play with chromatisms, colors and rhythm.
Finally, there will be an improvised part, in accordance with the most exquisite tradition of organists.
The Master Krzysztof Urbaniak will take you on an unforgettable sound journey...
🕖19.00
🎫Free entrance tickets can be downloaded here
📍Basilica of St Andrew the Apostle in Olkusz
Program
prof. KRZYSZTOF URBANIAKKACPER KWIECIŃSKI
Prof. Krzysztof Urbaniak
He graduated from music universities in Warsaw (master's studies) and Stuttgart (KA and Konzertexamen) in the organ and harpsichord classes of Józef Serafin, Leszek Kędracki, Ludger Lohmann and Jörg Halubek. Professor of the organ class of the Academy of Music in Łódź and of the Organ Department of the Academy of Music in Krakow. He conducted master classes in Helsinki, Lübeck, Trieste and Budapest. He has won numerous awards at international organ competitions, including: 1st prize - International Organ Competition. Arp Schnitger (Bremen, 2010), 1st prize – International Organ Competition Willem Hermans (Pistoia, 2009), 2nd prize - International Organ Competition Franz Schmidt (Kitzbühel, 2006), 2nd prize - International Organ Competition Petra Ebena (Opava, 2004), 1st prize – 5th Polish Organ Music Competition (Legnica, 2002). Juror of international organ competitions, including: Internationaler Gottfried-Silbermann-Wettbewerb – 2017, International Schnitger Organ Competition – 2015 and 2019, Internationaler Buxtehude-Orgelwettbewerb 2022, Musahisho Organ Competition 2023). He gives concerts all over the world, giving dozens of solo recitals every year. He has published a number of solo CDs for Polish, German and Dutch publishers, and his recordings have been nominated, among others. to the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik. In the years 2013-2016 he was an artist in residence of the Łódź Philharmonic. Arthur Rubinstein. He serves as an appraiser for historic organs at the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland, and also works in the Team for Historical Organs at the National Heritage Institute. Author of several dozen publications on organ music performance and organology. He is also the artistic director of the International Festival of Organ and Chamber Music in Pasłęk, the International Organ Music Days in Olkusz and the curator of the organs of the Łódź Philharmonic Hall.
Kacper Kwieciński
Organist of the young generation, student of the organ class of dr Paweł Wróbel at the Second Cycle Conservatory in Kielce. Participant of master classes in Olkusz, Kielce, Pasłęk, Lidzbark Warmiński in basso continuo, organ and harpsichord classes conducted by Corina Marti, Urszula Jasiecka-Bury, Monica Melcova, Krzysztof Urbaniak and Marek Toporowski. Performer of the basso continuo part in the works of Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki during the Mid Europe early Music Festival 2023 during the Collegiate Basilica of Wiślica concert. In 2024, he was awarded the title of Laureate during the 7th International Competition organized in Poznań in the baroque style and took first place in the 17th National Early Music Festival in Leżajsk with music through the centuries - from the Renaissance to classicism.
Student of the Diocesan Organ College of Saint Cecilia and Fr. Zbigniew Rogala in the field of liturgical music.
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Basilica of St Andrew the Apostle in Olkusz
Encounter of Gothic with Renaissance
Olkusz's church was built in the 14th century, although its presbytery is an adaptation of an earlier, probably 13th-century church. Like the three naves, it is covered with a characteristic cross-ribbed vault. The main body of the church is complemented by later Gothic and Mannerist chapels and annexes. Different styles are also represented by elements of the temple furnishings, including two of the most valuable monuments: a late-Gothic polyptych with a 15th-century statue of the Virgin Mary and scenes from her life, and a Renaissance organ, the oldest in Poland, which will be heard during the concert. The instrument was built in the early 17th century by the Nuremberg organ master Hans Hummel. After the tragic death of the master's son, it was completed by his pupil Jerzy Nitrowski. The original mechanism of the instrument is preserved, as well as most of the pipes
"Metamorphoses" program
Conductor. Martin Gester, Arte dei Sounatori Orchestra, Julie Goussot (soprano)
Conductor. Martin Gester, Arte dei Sounatori Orchestra, Julie Goussot (soprano)
We invite you to a masterful performance of two works by Telemann - the fruit of many years of in-depth studies of the interpretation of his music.
The suite 'La Changeante' is clearly inspired by the composer's predilection for the French style of program forms 'à la Couperin', full of feminine charm and the specific humor with which French composers suggested the character traits, sensitivity and moods of specific people.
The cantata Ino, written at the end of his life by 84-year-old Telemann, paints the dramatic emotions of a mythical heroine entangled in the destructive consequences of her own desires. At the same time, it clearly breathes a longing for transcendence, for a space of peace in which the struggle of our hearts will calm down.
The cantata Ino, written at the end of his life by 84-year-old Telemann, paints the dramatic emotions of a mythical heroine entangled in the destructive consequences of her own desires. At the same time, it clearly breathes a longing for transcendence, for a space of peace in which the struggle of our hearts will calm down.
🕖17.00
🎫Free entrance tickets can be downloaded here
📍Church of the Holy Spirit and Our Lady of Sorrows in Mlodzawa Male
Program
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Martin Gester
French conductor, organist and harpsichordist. His first musical experience was in choral singing. He then studied organ and harpsichord, receiving diplomas from the Conservatory and the University of Strasbourg in both the literature and practice of both instruments. He currently conducts musicological research and is active as a concert organist and harpsichordist. He also conducts vocal and instrumental ensembles and is active in teaching. He is particularly interested in music of the 17th and 18th centuries.
In 1990, Martin Gester set up Le Parlement de Musique to bring the fruits of his research to life. This vocal and instrumental ensemble with a flexible line-up quickly won international acclaim. In addition to working with the ensemble to faithfully reproduce ancient performance practices, Martin Gester gives concerts as a soloist and, increasingly as a guest conductor, with outstanding ensembles such as The New York Collegium (concerts of French music in New York and Boston), the Nederlandse Bach Vereniging, Collegium Vocale Gent, La Chapelle Royale (in Paris), Musica Aeterna Bratislava, and the Orchestra of Savoy. As a conductor, he is a regular guest of the Polish baroque orchestra Arte dei Suonatori, with which he performs concertos and oratorios by composers from Muffat to Mozart, as well as making radio and CD recordings (for the BIS label: George Frideric Handel: 12 Concerti grossi Op. 6). .
Recently, Martin Gester began a long-term collaboration with the two vocal ensembles Les Pages et les Chantres de la Chapelle Royale de Versailles (Musicians of the Royal Chapel of Versailles) and Maitrise de Bretagne (Cantors of Brittany), with whom Le Parlement de Musique performs concerts performing great French motets and other baroque choral works (Charpentier, Brossard, Gilles, Lalande, G. F. Handel, J. S. Bach) in France and around the world. Many of these concertos have been recorded for the Opus 111 label and for European radio and television channels.
Martin Gester performs as soloist and conductor in Europe as well as on the American and Asian continents. He has made around 35 ensemble and soloist recordings, mainly for Opus 111, Accord, Assai and Tempéraments-Radio France. Often these are pioneering interpretations of little-known works or innovative conceptions of well-known ones. Most of the recordings have received critical acclaim. Among others, Office de Ténèbres, Pastorale, and Te Deum & Motets for Louis XIV by Charpentier, Great Motets by M. R. de Lalande, Lamentations by Alessandro Scarlatti, Organ Concertos and Tilge Höchster BWV 1083 (transcription of GB Pergolesi's Stabat Mater) by J. E. Bach, Antonio Caldara's La Conversione di Clodoveo, G. B. Bassani's Vespers, the recently discovered Froberger manuscript and the most spectacularly anonymous Uppsala Passion of 1667, which has broken the record for the number of awards in France in the last decade.
Martin Gester teaches Baroque repertoire to instrumentalists and vocalists at the Strasbourg Conservatory.
He regularly gives masterclasses in France and abroad (Studio Baroque de Versailles, Jeunes Voix du Rhin, Stanford University, Academia Mexicana de Musica Antigua, etc.)
His interpretations and musical visions highlight the connections between music and spaces such as rhetoric, movement, dance, theatre, declamation and oral tradition.
In 2001, the French Minister of Culture awarded Martin Gester the Order of Chevalier of Arts and Letters.
Arte dei Suonatori
30 years ago, the musicians of the Arte dei Suonatori orchestra, founded by Ewa and Aureliusz Goliński, initiated the practice of performing music of old eras on historical instruments in Poland, becoming one of the leading Polish bands on the European music scene. After years of joint and individual experiences, the musicians' artistic searches focus on constantly exploring the essence of the musical language of composers of past eras, which, combined with historical instruments, has led to the creation of a style that is both historical, modern and thoroughly individual. The huge repertoire of Arte dei Suonatori is a collection of approximately 700 compositions, including works created from the development of baroque music to early romanticism, as well as works written contemporaneously and dedicated to him. Arte dei Suonatori has recorded and released 18 albums by renowned record companies (including BIS Records, Alpha, Channel Classics, Pentatone), distinguished by international music critics with awards such as the Gramophone Award ("Recording of the Year: Concerto" for Violin Concertos "La Stravaganza" by Vivaldi, 2003), Diapason d'Or (Harpsichord Concertos by Johann Go`ried Müthel), Diapason 5 and Choc du Monde de la Musique (multiple times), Luister 10, 10 de Répertoire, Classics Today, Classic CD , CD des Monats of the magazine "TOCCATA-Alte Musikaktuell" (multiple times), Monthly Choice and Editor's Choice of "BBC Music Magazine" (multiple times), "Classic FM Magazine" awards, Prelude Classical Music Awards 2009 (The Best Orchestral CD for 12 Concerj grossi op. 6 by Handel), Télérama ffff. The band performs intensively in the country, Europe, North America and Asia. He also made numerous recordings for many radio stations, including: for the BBC, Danmarks Radio (DR), SWR, Program 2 of the Polish Radio and made television recordings for the French station Mezzo, as well as TVP3, TVP Kultura, TVP1. From the beginning of its activity, the orchestra gave concerts with many of the most important figures of the world's early music scene. For several years, the ensemble has been developing a particularly satisfying and fruitful cooperation with Marcin Świątkiewicz as a soloist and conductor. In the 2023-2024 concert season, Arte dei Suonatori celebrates its 30th anniversary.
Julie Goussot, sopran
Born in Toulon (France), Julie Goussot is graduated from the Conservatory of Lyon (France), where she studied with Brian Parsons. In 2018, she got a scholarship from the Richard Wagner Circle of Lyon to attend the Wagner Festspiele in Bayreuth. From there, she attends the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich (Germany) with Andreas Schmidt.
In 2019-2020, she is member of the Opera Studio of the Opera National du Rhin (Strasbourg, France). She sings there the Second Nymph in Rusalka from Dvořák, Vierte Blumenmädchen in Parsifal, Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel von Humperdinck, the title role in Friederike von Lehàr, the title-role in Madame Chrysanthème from Messager and Clorinda in the new production of Cenerentolina.
She wins several competitions: the Concerto Theresia Competition, the first Nachwuchspreis at the Cesti International Competition (Innsbruck, Austria) and turns back to Innsbruck for the Young Singers Project Barockoper Jung, performing the role of Axinia in Boris Godounov at the festival Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik 2021. In August 2021 in Marmande (France) International Competition, the wins 3 different prizes: the first price for Opera, the first price for Melody and the price of the audience.
She sings chamber music with the pianist Rodolphe Lospied, and they join the project “Opera Déconfiné” during the first covid lockdown, aiming to bring forgotten repertoire to revival.
Joining the Opera Fuoco Opera Company, she sings Luise in Die Stumme Serenade from Korngold, Romilda in Händel’s Xerxes, Suzanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Cintia in Il Pittor Parigino from Cimarosa and Ilia in Mozart’s Idomeneo.
Most recently, Julie Goussot was Mimi in La Bohème with Opera Fuoco, Zunschlüpfer in Les Oiseaux at the Opéra National du Rhin, Guadalena and Manuelita in La Périchole at the Opéra-Comique, directed by Valérie Lesort, Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte at the Opéra de Clermont-Ferrand and on tour with Opéra éclaté, Silvia in Haydn's L'Isolata disabilata with the Orchestre Theresia in Saintes, the First Lady in Die Zauberflöte at the Opéra National du Rhin, the Second Nymph in Rusalka at the Opéra national de Bordeaux, the First Lady in Die Zauberflöte with Orchester Nord in Clermont-Ferrand, the voice of the Falcon and the Guardian of the Temple Gates in Die Frau ohne Schatten by Strauss at the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse, the title role in Madama Butterfly at the Nuits lyriques in Marmande, the cantata Ino by Telemann conducted by M. Gester.
Her projects include Cupid in Orphée aux enfers at the Capitole de Toulouse, Fiordiligi in Cosi fan Tutte with Opéra éclaté company, Schubert's Rosamund at the Opéra de Montpellier, a recital at the Opéra d'Avignon...
Churchof the Holy Spirit and Our Lady of Sorrows in Mlodzawa Małe. Holy Spirit and Our Lady of Sorrows in Mlodzawa Male
Pearl of the Baroque in the heart of Ponidzie
The monumental church in Mlodzawa, designed by Kacper Bażanka, was completed in the first half of the 18th century, and the finishing work continued until 1769, when the image of Our Lady of Sorrows, venerated there since 1667, was transferred from an earlier church that was more than a century older. It was the cult of the image, considered miraculous, that prompted the construction of a huge church in the small village. The façade draws on the architecture of the Loreto basilica, while the homogeneous late Baroque interior is considered a pearl of the Baroque. The church has been the destination of numerous pilgrimages, as evidenced by the signatures of pilgrims engraved on its walls. It was surrounded by a wall with Passion chapels and a bell tower was built in the form of a gate leading into the sanctuary area. The church was chosen as a resting place by the Myszkowski and Wielkopolski families, who ruled a large part of Ponidzie. Count Aleksander Wielopolski, head of the civil order of the Kingdom of Poland, was buried here.
"Achievement and potential" program
Arte dei Suonatori Orchestra, Steinar Granmo Nilsen (horn), Anna Krzyżak-Siarkowska (viola), Aline Zylberajch (harpsichord)
Arte dei Suonatori Orchestra, Steinar Granmo Nilsen (horn), Anna Krzyżak-Siarkowska (viola), Aline Zylberajch (harpsichord)
An extremely original and rich sound feast will delight you with the variety of sounds and instrumental configurations.
One of the specialties of the Arte dei Suonatori group is reaching for less known compositional sources of a selected era that deserve to be rediscovered. Artists compare these works with contemporary achievements, thus giving them the shine they deserve.
And so, in our concert we will hear an example of the work of Marcin Żebrowski - violinist, composer, member of the Jasna Góra Band, next to the well-known concerto by Joseph Haydn in an outstanding performance by Steinar Granmo Nilsen, and two extremely interesting early classical concertos for viola. The latter will allow you to discover the promising talent of Anna Krzyżak-Siarkowska. In line with the principle of this year's edition of MEMF - we present young talents alongside the champions.
🕖17.00
🎫Free entrance tickets can be downloaded here
📍National Museum in Kielce, Former Palace of the Bishops of Krakow
Program
Arte dei Suonatori
30 years ago, the musicians of the Arte dei Suonatori orchestra, founded by Ewa and Aureliusz Goliński, initiated the practice of performing music of old eras on historical instruments in Poland, becoming one of the leading Polish bands on the European music scene. After years of joint and individual experiences, the musicians' artistic searches focus on constantly exploring the essence of the musical language of composers of past eras, which, combined with historical instruments, has led to the creation of a style that is both historical, modern and thoroughly individual. The huge repertoire of Arte dei Suonatori is a collection of approximately 700 compositions, including works created from the development of baroque music to early romanticism, as well as works written contemporaneously and dedicated to him. Arte dei Suonatori has recorded and released 18 albums by renowned record companies (including BIS Records, Alpha, Channel Classics, Pentatone), distinguished by international music critics with awards such as the Gramophone Award ("Recording of the Year: Concerto" for Violin Concertos "La Stravaganza" by Vivaldi, 2003), Diapason d'Or (Harpsichord Concertos by Johann Go`ried Müthel), Diapason 5 and Choc du Monde de la Musique (multiple times), Luister 10, 10 de Répertoire, Classics Today, Classic CD , CD des Monats of the magazine "TOCCATA-Alte Musikaktuell" (multiple times), Monthly Choice and Editor's Choice of "BBC Music Magazine" (multiple times), "Classic FM Magazine" awards, Prelude Classical Music Awards 2009 (The Best Orchestral CD for 12 Concerj grossi op. 6 by Handel), Télérama ffff. The band performs intensively in the country, Europe, North America and Asia. He also made numerous recordings for many radio stations, including: for the BBC, Danmarks Radio (DR), SWR, Program 2 of the Polish Radio and made television recordings for the French station Mezzo, as well as TVP3, TVP Kultura, TVP1. From the beginning of its activity, the orchestra gave concerts with many of the most important figures of the world's early music scene. For several years, the ensemble has been developing a particularly satisfying and fruitful cooperation with Marcin Świątkiewicz as a soloist and conductor. In the 2023-2024 concert season, Arte dei Suonatori celebrates its 30th anniversary.
Steinar Granmo Nilsen
Steinar Granmo Nilsen - professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, where he teaches French horn and natural horn classes.
He grew up in Trondheim and began studying music at the Trøndelag Conservatory of Music under Stein Villanger. He then studied in Germany at the Freiburg Academy of Music with Ifor James (French horn) and Renée Allen (natural horns). He completed his studies at the Norwegian Academy of Music, specializing in chamber and solo music under the direction of Frøydis Ree Wekre.
Steinar Granmo Nilsen's repertoire includes baroque and contemporary music. He performs both as a chamber musician and a soloist, playing contemporary and historical brass instruments. He has collaborated with many leading Scandinavian baroque ensembles and is a permanent member of the Oslo Chamber Academy.
In 1999, Steinar took part in the renowned Festival d'Art Lyrique in Aix-en-Provence, France with L'Académie Européenne de Musique, where he performed as an orchestral musician, chamber musician and soloist - performances that earned him the title of "instrumentalist of the year" in this year. In 2000, he won second prize in the Princess Astrid Music Award.
In 2012 he recorded Sonata op. 17 by Beethoven, in 2015 the album "Early Romantic Sonatas for the Horn", and in 2020 "The Horn in Romanticism" with Kristin Fossheim, all for the 2L publishing house. The discography of Steinar and the Oslo Chamber Academy includes titles such as: "Beethoven", "Leipzig", "the first beauty", "Mozart", "Mozart/Danzi/Beethoven for piano and wind instruments" and "Chanson et Danses", which were published in LAWO Classics.
Anna Krzyżak-Siarkowska
Anna Krzyżak-Siarkowska is a violist – soloist and chamber musician of the young generation. She focuses on the performance of early and modern music. She graduated from music universities in Berlin, Warsaw, Katowice and Bydgoszcz. In the years 2016-2018, she was a musician of the prestigious LGT Young Soloists orchestra, with which she went on many concert tours in Asia and Europe. The album "The Nordic Dream", which she recorded with this band, was nominated in three categories of the OPUS Classic competition. Anna is a winner of international viola competitions and a scholarship holder of the "Young Poland" program of the Minister of Culture and the Prime Minister. In 2016, she participated in the Young Musician of the Year Competition. She improved her playing skills under the supervision of outstanding musicians such as Pinchas Zukerman, Yuri Bashmet, Wolfgang Klos, Maxim Rysanov, Pierre Henri-Xuereb, Chiara Banchini and Bernhard Forck. In 2021, she premiered the piece "Exodus" for solo viola by Gaston Barthelemy, composed for her. Anna regularly performs as a soloist and chamber musician, and is permanently associated with such ensembles as Arte dei Suonatori, Polish Soloists and Theresia Orchestra, and also collaborates with the {oh!} Orchestra and Capella Cracoviensis.
AlineZylberajch-Gester
Graduate of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris, in music history, analysis and harpsichord. Aline Zylberajch excelled as a harpsichordist under the famous Ton Koopman in Amsterdam.
During her three-year stay in the United States, she worked under John Gibons in the early music department at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where she received her master's degree - the Master of Music. Her interest in the music and instruments of the late 18th century naturally led her towards playing the pianoforte. She is an outstanding expert and populariser of the repertoire of the first pianos, the richness of their unique sound.
He collaborates with prominent ensembles such as les Musiciens du Louvre - Musicians of the Louvre and with chamber formations such as les Nièces de Rameau.
He is a member of the Musical Parliament ensemble in Strasbourg. She acts as a hugely respected accompanist for many soloists, with whom she performs a wide repertoire, including opera and song (Lieder), alongside the most varied instrumental forms. As a solo harpsichordist, her vast repertoire includes works by Byrd, Frescobaldi, Froberger, French harpsichordists, D. Scarlatti, J. S. Bach and his sons, Mozart, Haydn and many lesser-known composers.
Aline Zylberajch, who in fact needs no introduction to connoisseurs of early music. An outstanding French harpsichordist and pedagogue, she has educated a generation of young students of the art of harpsichord playing, conducts masterclasses all over Europe, and has made many recordings that have received the highest awards from international music critics (e.g. the golden camertone for Scarlatti's Sonatas).
Aline Zylberajch has recorded for radio in many countries and has also participated in more than sixty record projects. Here are some of them:
National Museumin Kielce, Former Palace of the Bishops of Cracow
Capital of the power of the Bishops of Cracow
The palace in Kielce is the best-preserved magnate residence in Poland from the first half of the 17th century. It was erected by Bishop Jakub Zadzik in a private town of the bishops of Kraków. The design of the palace was probably commissioned by Giovanni Trevano. The palace was intended to tell the story of Zadzik's services to the state and the Church. The exterior features his numerous coats of arms and sculptures of the Swedish and Moscow deputies with whom he negotiated. Inside, the unique framed ceilings are decorated with paintings from the workshop of Thomas Dolabella, depicting, among other things, the judgement on the Arians, whose expulsion Zadzik contributed to. The decoration of the Upper Table Chamber, where the concerts of our Festival will take place, is also carefully thought out: the walls are decorated with a frieze with portraits of the bishops of Cracow, and the beamed ceiling with numerous allegories, including, for example, depictions of all the continents known at the time. Above the windows, there are portraits of two kings of the Vasa dynasty and of Zadzik himself and his successor: the initiator of the construction did not live to see it completed. The palace serves as the headquarters of the National Museum in Kielce.
The most ravishing things – the musical universe of Nicolas Mattei
Theatrum Affectum (Switzerland): Andreas Böhlen (flute), Ayako Matsunaga (violin), Pierre-Augustin Lay (cello), Takashi Watanabe (harpsichord)
Theatrum Affectum (Switzerland): Andreas Böhlen (flute), Ayako Matsunaga (violin), Pierre-Augustin Lay (cello), Takashi Watanabe (harpsichord)
The extraordinary music world of the violinist and composer Nicolas Matteis - a Neapolitan who spent most of his life in London, gaining fame and prestige. History however has unfairly placed him somewhat in Corelli's shadow. Matteis, living far from the royal court, forged a unique, very personal artistic path: knowing perfectly the contemporary British and French compositional techniques, he enriched it with the Italian 'spirit', which is unique for those times: just like Bach - Matteis a little later performs a masterful synthesis of styles. His Ayres, accompanied by numerous, very detailed comments on ornamentation, phrasing and other elements of interpretation, constitute an invaluable source of knowledge for performers.
So, this is about delight! Italian melody, British elegance and French lightness will provide you with an experience of incomparable beauty.
🕖19.00
🎫Free entrance tickets can be downloaded here
📍Warmian Museum in Lidzbark Warmiński, Former Bishop's Castle
Program
Nicola Matteis (c.1646-c.1695) :
Theatrum Affectuum
Theatrum Affectuum, founded in Amsterdam in 2003, specialises in music from 17th and 18th century Italy and Germany. Using the combination of recorder, one or two violins, cello, lute and harpsichord, the ensemble has an individual, energetic and insightful approach to the contrasting affects found in baroque music. Press reviews have described the ensemble’s interpretations as both profound and witty. The incorporation of the improvisations in different baroque styles is one of the group’s prominent features (see critic from early music).
The group has toured extensively in Europe, allowing them to develop a distinct way of performing. The members of Theatrum Affectuum are regularly performing with leading baroque and classical groups, such as Accademia Bizantina, Il Giardino Armonico, Concert de la Loge Olympique and Bach Collegium Japan. The ensemble’s first CD La meraviglia parlante has been received with great success in Europe, Japan and Australia. The second CD “Most ravishing things” with works by Nicola Matteis was released in 2015 on the German label Aeolus and has since received great international reviews.
Theatrum Affectuum is currently based in Pavia, Italy, and Basel, Switzerland.
For more information see www.andreasboehlen.com.
Andreas Böhlen
Flutist and jazz saxophonist Andreas Böhlen focuses on both early music and jazz. He is particularly interested in the different improvisation styles of the Renaissance, Baroque and jazz.
Andreasleads his own ensembles Theatrum Affectuum, Ensemble alla mente, Andreas Böhlen Band and Crank, and has collaborated with various other groups and orchestras in Europe, such as Residentie Orkest Den Haag, Capriccio Barockorchester, Bach Collegium Japan, Ensemble Arcimboldo and many others.
Bornin 1983, Andreas started playing the recorder at the age of six, and began playing alto saxophone a few years later. While attending secondary school, Andreas took lessons at conservatories in Bremen with Ulrike Petritzki and Cologne with Günther Höller. He was awarded prizes in international competitions.
From2003 to 2007 he studied recorder with Walter van Hauwe and Paul Leenhouts and jazz saxophone with Jasper Blom and Ferdinand Powel at the Amsterdam Conservatory. After becoming a virtuoso on the recorder with honours, Andreas studied musicology at the University of Bologna in Italy. He completed a master's degree in early music improvisation with Rudolf Lutz and received a master's degree in jazz saxophone with Domenica Landolf and Andy Scherrer in 2011.
Andreashas appeared on several CDs as leader (Telemann Trios and Quartets, Sammartini sonatasfor flute and basso continuo Vol.1/Vol.2, La meraviglia parlante, Things most delightful, Satire Band, Airborne, Windgesang und Cruise) and as a member of ensembles on radio and television broadcasts in Europe, the USA, Japan and Australia where he regularly performs.
He isprofessor of recorder at the Zurich University of the Arts in Switzerland and at the Schola Cantorum in Basel, Switzerland.
Warmia Museum in Lidzbark Warmiński, Former Castle of the Bishops of Warmia
Wonderfully preserved Gothic castle The 14th-century castle in Lidzbark Warmiński is one of the most valuable and best-preserved monuments of defensive Gothic architecture in Poland. This quadrilateral building with turrets referred in its architecture to the Teutonic convent houses. The courtyard with its two-storey cloisters is reminiscent of the courtyard of the Wawel Royal Castle. The eastern wing of the first floor houses the Great Refectory, where collections of medieval art from Warmia and Teutonic Prussia are exhibited. The festival concert will take place there. From the Second Peace of Toruń until 1795, the Lidzbark castle was not only the seat of the Warmian bishops, but also an important centre of Polish culture, thanks to people such as Jan Dantyszek, Marcin Kromer, Andrzej Batory and Ignacy Kraisicki, to whom the castle owes its beautiful gardens.
French-Polish Harpsichord Trio
Aline Zylberajch, Martin Gester, Marek Toporowski
Aline Zylberajch, Martin Gester, Marek Toporowski
A wonderful program in the most wonderful place one could imagine for its performance in our Region. The pinnacle of baroque compositional art, in two different versions - German and French.
An extraordinary display of the harpsichord's capabilities, the instrument that successfully offers the audience a transcription of an opera on the one hand and an orchestral concerto grosso on the other.
Finally, a rare opportunity to listen to a masterpiece of French music such as Apothèose de Corelli by François Couperin in such a masterful performance.
We hope to delight you with both the splendor and power of Bach's concertos and the fleeting charm of French ornaments.
🕖17.00
🎫Free entrance tickets can be downloaded here
📍Popiel Palace in Kurozwęki
Program
AlineZylberajch-Gester
Graduate of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris, in music history, analysis and harpsichord. Aline Zylberajch excelled as a harpsichordist under the famous Ton Koopman in Amsterdam.
During her three-year stay in the United States, she worked under John Gibons in the early music department at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where she received her master's degree - the Master of Music. Her interest in the music and instruments of the late 18th century naturally led her towards playing the pianoforte. She is an outstanding expert and populariser of the repertoire of the first pianos, the richness of their unique sound.
He collaborates with prominent ensembles such as les Musiciens du Louvre - Musicians of the Louvre and with chamber formations such as les Nièces de Rameau.
She is a member of the Musical Parliament ensemble in Strasbourg. She acts as a hugely respected accompanist for many soloists, with whom she performs a wide repertoire, including opera and song (Lieder), alongside the most varied instrumental forms. As a solo harpsichordist, her vast repertoire includes works by Byrd, Frescobaldi, Froberger, French harpsichordists, D. Scarlatti, J. S. Bach and his sons, Mozart, Haydn and many lesser-known composers.
Aline Zylberajch, who in fact needs no introduction to connoisseurs of early music. An outstanding French harpsichordist and pedagogue, she has educated a generation of young students of the art of harpsichord playing, conducts masterclasses all over Europe, and has made many recordings that have received the highest awards from international music critics (e.g. the golden camertone for Scarlatti's Sonatas).
Aline Zylberajch has recorded for radio in many countries and has also participated in more than sixty record projects. Here are some of them:
Aline Zylberajch teaches harpsichord at the Strasbourg Conservatory and Academy and didactics at the CNSM in Paris. She frequently gives masterclasses in France, Austria, Spain, Poland, Germany, Mexico, USA, Japan and Australia.
He is co-founder of the association 'Clavecin en France'.
Martin Gester
French conductor, organist and harpsichordist. His first musical experience was in choral singing. He then studied organ and harpsichord, receiving diplomas from the Conservatory and the University of Strasbourg in both the literature and practice of both instruments. He currently conducts musicological research and is active as a concert organist and harpsichordist. He also conducts vocal and instrumental ensembles and is active in teaching. He is particularly interested in music of the 17th and 18th centuries.
In 1990, Martin Gester set up Le Parlement de Musique to bring the fruits of his research to life. This vocal and instrumental ensemble with a flexible line-up quickly won international acclaim. In addition to working with the ensemble to faithfully reproduce ancient performance practices, Martin Gester gives concerts as a soloist and, increasingly as a guest conductor, with outstanding ensembles such as The New York Collegium (concerts of French music in New York and Boston), the Nederlandse Bach Vereniging, Collegium Vocale Gent, La Chapelle Royale (in Paris), Musica Aeterna Bratislava, and the Orchestra of Savoy. As a conductor, he is a regular guest of the Polish baroque orchestra Arte dei Suonatori, with which he performs concertos and oratorios by composers from Muffat to Mozart, as well as making radio and CD recordings (for the BIS label: George Frideric Handel: 12 Concerti grossi Op. 6).
Recently, Martin Gester began a long-term collaboration with the two vocal ensembles Les Pages et les Chantres de la Chapelle Royale de Versailles (Musicians of the Royal Chapel of Versailles) and Maitrise de Bretagne (Cantors of Brittany), with whom Le Parlement de Musique performs concerts performing great French motets and other baroque choral works (Charpentier, Brossard, Gilles, Lalande, G. F. Handel, J. S. Bach) in France and around the world. Many of these concertos have been recorded for the Opus 111 label and for European radio and television channels.
Martin Gester performs as soloist and conductor in Europe as well as on the American and Asian continents. He has made around 35 ensemble and soloist recordings, mainly for Opus 111, Accord, Assai and Tempéraments-Radio France. Often these are pioneering interpretations of little-known works or innovative conceptions of well-known ones. Most of the recordings have received critical acclaim. Among others, Office de Ténèbres, Pastorale, and Te Deum & Motets for Louis XIV by Charpentier, Great Motets by M. R. de Lalande, Lamentations by Alessandro Scarlatti, Organ Concertos and Tilge Höchster BWV 1083 (transcription of GB Pergolesi's Stabat Mater) by J. E. Bach, Antonio Caldara's La Conversione di Clodoveo, G. B. Bassani's Vespers, the recently discovered Froberger manuscript and the most spectacularly anonymous Uppsala Passion of 1667, which has broken the record for the number of awards in France in the last decade.
Martin Gester teaches Baroque repertoire to instrumentalists and vocalists at the Strasbourg Conservatory.
He regularly gives masterclasses in France and abroad (Studio Baroque de Versailles, Jeunes Voix du Rhin, Stanford University, Academia Mexicana de Musica Antigua, etc.)
His interpretations and musical visions highlight the connections between music and spaces such as rhetoric, movement, dance, theatre, declamation and oral tradition.
In 2001, the French Minister of Culture awarded Martin Gester the Order of Chevalier of Arts and Letters.
Marek Toporowski
Harpsichordist, organist, pianist and conductor.
Marek Toporowski was born in Warsaw in 1964. He teaches harpsichord at the Academies of Music in Kraków and Katowice, and harpsichord and organ at the Fryderyk Chopin Conservatory of Music in Warsaw.
He studied with Leszek Kędracki, Aline Zylberajch and Bob van Asperen (harpsichord), Martin Gester (basso continuo and chamber music) and Jozef Serafin and Daniel Roth (organ).
He won first prize in the 1st Wanda Landowska National Harpsichord Competition and was also a finalist in the 1st Wanda Landowska International Competition in 1994.
With his two ensembles, Marek Toporowski has made numerous recordings of early Polish music, including works such as Johann David Holland's opera Agatka, Jan Tomasz Żebrowski's oratorio Christiani poenitentes ad sepulchrum Domini, and sacred music by Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki, Amando Ivančič by Józef Zeidler and Marcin Józef Żebrowski.
As a harpsichordist he made the first ever recording of Charles Noblet's Livre de clavecin. As an organist, he has made many recordings on historical organs. Worth mentioning is his participation in the documentary project Orgeln in der Niederlausitz, or his first recording on the Silbermann organ in Oederan.
For his latest recording - Bach's organ trio sonata BWV 525-530 on the historic organ of Joachim Wagner in Siedlce (version with added continuo instruments) - he received the prestigious Fryderyk award of the Polish recording industry (for the fifth time in his career).
Marek Toporowski is a chamber music partner of many renowned soloists. He is also very active in the field of national heritage conservation. In 2012, he founded the Pianoarium - a unique collection of antique instruments that are exhibited and used for concert and teaching purposes.
Popiel Palace in Kurozwęki
From castle to palace
A document from 1400 mentions a castle in Kurozwęki - castrum Curoswank, built by the Poraits of the Rose coat of arms. Subsequent owners of the estate were the Kurozwęcki, Lanckoroński, Sołtyk and Popiel families, who rebuilt the building many times. In the 17th century, the castle took the form of a two-wing palace, and at the turn of the 17th/18th century, arcaded galleries were built. The current appearance was given to the palace by a reconstruction in 1768-1772 by Maciej Sołtyk, a military officer and Sandomierz voivode. It was then that the ballroom, where our concert will take place, was furnished. In later years, garden pavilions were added to decorate the surrounding landscape park. In 1944 the Popiel family was forced to leave the estate. During the communist years, the property fell into disrepair, from which it was brought out by Jean Martin Popiel, who, together with his wife Karen Sveny Jacobsen, took over the estate, which had been bought back by its rightful owners in 1991.
Masterpieces of baroque music
Paweł Wróbel (organ), Świętokrzyski Wind Quintet: Wojciech Wojciechowski (trumpet), Marcin Czajkowski (French horn), Michał Dudkiewicz (trombone), Krzysztof Gajda (tuba), Zbigniew Pasieka (trumpet)
Paweł Wróbel (organ), Świętokrzyski Wind Quintet: Wojciech Wojciechowski (trumpet), Marcin Czajkowski (French horn), Michał Dudkiewicz (trombone), Krzysztof Gajda (tuba), Zbigniew Pasieka (trumpet)
The Cathedral Basilica will resound with the brilliant music of a program in the convention of British monumentalism: from Handel, through Clarke, to Stanley, we will listen to the majestic pieces that draw their source from the processions of Anglican liturgical celebrations.
These include both original pieces for brass instruments and transcriptions, for example of the famous 'Hallelujah' choir from 'Messiah'.
The monumental forms were interestingly interwoven in the program with several delicate dance-like pieces (gavotte and rondo) and the wonderful, delicate and dramatic Partita in E minor by Johann Sebastian Bach, which will be played on the solo organ.
🕖19.00
🎫Free entrance tickets can be downloaded here
📍 Cathedral Basilica in Kielce
Program
Pieces for quintet with organ
Pieces for quintet
Organ solo
Paweł Wróbel
He studied with Prof. Andrzej Chorosiński at the Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, Prof. Jon Laukvik at the Hochschule für Musik in Stuttgart (Germany) and Prof. Gunther Rost at the Universitӓt für Musik in Graz (Austria). A grant-holder of the Keimyung Research Foundation of the University in Daegu (South Korea) in 2007. In 2012, he was awarded the Doctor of Music Arts degree by the I. J. Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań, and in 2019 a Habilitated Doctor degree by the S. Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk.
He is a prize-winner of international organ competitions in Poznań (2005), Gdańsk (2006), Zurich (2011), Miami (2012).
He has taken part in the organ performance seminars and master classes given by Ludger Lohmann, Bernhard Haas, Gerhard Weinberger, Wolfgang Zerer, Martin Sander, Christoph Krummacher.
He is an author of organ transcriptions of harpsichord, piano and orchestral works by J. S. Bach, F. Chopin, P. Tchaikovsky, G. Fauré, F. Liszt, S. Prokofiev, S. Rachmaninov, J. Sibelius and I. Stravinsky. His own original organ transcriptions of F. Liszt’s Funérailles S. 173/7 (2010), Forgotten Waltz no. 1 S. 215 (2017), Piano Sonata in B minor S. 178 (2019), as well as G. Fauré’s Après un rêve (2018) and P. Tchaikovsky’s Dance of a Sugar Plum Fairy from the ballet Nutcracker (2018) were published by the ”Polihymnia” Edition in Lublin.
Paweł Wróbel’s repertoire comprises complete organ works of J. Brahms, N. Bruhns, C. Franck, R. Schumann and all organ sonatas by A. G. Ritter.
The artist has given concerts in England, Denmark, Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Russia, Switzerland, Italy, Hungary, United States and Poland; he is a member of an international organist association – the American Guild of Organists in New York.
In 2019, Paweł Wróbel recorded organ works by the Polish composer Aleksander Karczyński on the organ of the Divine Mercy Basilica in Kraków-Łagiewniki. The album, published by ”Ars Sonora” in Łódź, is the first ever phonographic recording of these works. Whereas the sheet music featuring Three Preludes and Fugues op. 5 by Aleksander Karczyński, edited by Paweł Wróbel and published by the ”Polihymnia” Edition in Lublin, is the first ever printed publication of those compositions, based on the manuscript from the National Library in Warsaw.
Paweł Wróbel is the artistic director of the International Organ and Chamber Music Festival in the Cathedral Basilica in Kielce; he has also been involved in the reconstruction project of the cathedral organ (The Rieger Brothers, 1912) by the organ-building company ”Zych” from Wołomin, and recorded an album, published by the ”Jedność” publishing house from Kielce.
He is a teacher of organ at the Diocesan Organist College and complex of Ludomir Różycki State Music Schools in Kielce. He collaborated with the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and the Jan Długosz University in Częstochowa.
In 2022 he received a scholarship from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage in Warsaw, within which the project “Forgotten Polish organ music of 20th century composers” was created, which consists of music publication of 5 Fugues op. 35 by Aleksander Karczyński published by the ”Polihymnia” Edition in Lublin, as well as a CD published by ”Ars Sonora” in Łódź, with works of the following composers: Walerian Styś, Franciszek Przystał, Bolesław Wallek Walewski, Kazimierz Garbusiński.
Świętokrzyski Tin Quintet
An ensemble made up of musicians who work on a daily basis with the Oskar Kolberg
Oskar Kolberg Świętokrzyska Philharmonic Orchestra in Kielce.
Since2001 the ensemble has been successfully performing at home and abroad. The aim of the musicians of ŚKB is to promote classical and pop music to a wide range of listeners.
and entertainment music. The consonance of five brass instruments provides a unique concert experience, while the ensemble's rich repertoire allows it to reach a wide range of listeners. The artists were awarded the prestigious Marshall of the Voivodeship prize for their achievements in artistic creation, dissemination and protection of national heritage. The musicians boast many fantastic concerts and a recorded album, which was premiered in 2016.
Cathedral Basilicaof Kielce
Testimony of faith of many generations
The first church on today's Castle Hill was founded by Bishop Gedko of Kraków in 1171. For centuries, the temple was the centre of the spiritual life of the people of Kielce, and as a collegiate church it was a place of prayer for the group of clergy forming the Kielce chapter. Foundations of the successive bishops of Kielce - the owners of Kielce - and of the canons, resulted in numerous reconstructions. Today, the church is a three-nave basilica of baroque character. The Neo-Baroque façade is the result of a reconstruction in the 19th century, at which time the current painting on the walls inside the church was created. It is still possible to discover traces of the long history of this centre of prayer of the city and the region: the presbytery is built of Romanesque blocks from the original church, and inside you will find altars and tombstones from successive eras. After the creation of the Diocese of Kielce, the Collegiate Church became a cathedral, and since 1971 it has enjoyed the title of Minor Basilica.
The most ravishing things – the musical universe of Nicolas Mattei
Theatrum Affectum (Switzerland): Andreas Böhlen (flute), Ayako Matsunaga (violin), Pierre-Augustin Lay (cello), Takashi Watanabe (harpsichord)
Theatrum Affectum (Switzerland): Andreas Böhlen (flute), Ayako Matsunaga (violin), Pierre-Augustin Lay (cello), Takashi Watanabe (harpsichord)
The extraordinary music world of the violinist and composer Nicolas Matteis - a Neapolitan who spent most of his life in London, gaining fame and prestige. History however has unfairly placed him somewhat in Corelli's shadow. Matteis, living far from the royal court, forged a unique, very personal artistic path: knowing perfectly the contemporary British and French compositional techniques, he enriched it with the Italian 'spirit', which is unique for those times: just like Bach - Matteis a little later performs a masterful synthesis of styles. His Ayres, accompanied by numerous, very detailed comments on ornamentation, phrasing and other elements of interpretation, constitute an invaluable source of knowledge for performers.
So, this is about delight! Italian melody, British elegance and French lightness will provide you with an experience of incomparable beauty.
🕖20.00
🎫Free entrance tickets can be downloaded here
📍Cathedral Basilica of St James the Apostle in Olsztyn
Program
Nicola Matteis (c.1646-c.1695) :Andreas Böhlen
Flutist and jazz saxophonist Andreas Böhlen focuses on both early music and jazz. He is particularly interested in the different improvisation styles of the Renaissance, Baroque and jazz.
Andreasleads his own ensembles Theatrum Affectuum, Ensemble alla mente, Andreas Böhlen Band and Crank, and has collaborated with various other groups and orchestras in Europe, such as Residentie Orkest Den Haag, Capriccio Barockorchester, Bach Collegium Japan, Ensemble Arcimboldo and many others.
Bornin 1983, Andreas started playing the recorder at the age of six, and began playing alto saxophone a few years later. While attending secondary school, Andreas took lessons at conservatories in Bremen with Ulrike Petritzki and Cologne with Günther Höller. He was awarded prizes in international competitions.
From2003 to 2007 he studied recorder with Walter van Hauwe and Paul Leenhouts and jazz saxophone with Jasper Blom and Ferdinand Powel at the Amsterdam Conservatory. After becoming a virtuoso on the recorder with honours, Andreas studied musicology at the University of Bologna in Italy. He completed a master's degree in early music improvisation with Rudolf Lutz and received a master's degree in jazz saxophone with Domenica Landolf and Andy Scherrer in 2011.
Andreashas appeared on several CDs as leader (Telemann Trios and Quartets, Sammartini sonatasfor flute and basso continuo Vol.1/Vol.2, La meraviglia parlante, Things most delightful, Satire Band, Airborne, Windgesang und Cruise) and as a member of ensembles on radio and television broadcasts in Europe, the USA, Japan and Australia where he regularly performs.
He isprofessor of recorder at the Zurich University of the Arts in Switzerland and at the Schola Cantorum in Basel, Switzerland.
Theatrum Affectuum
Theatrum Affectuum, founded in Amsterdam in 2003, specialises in music from 17th and 18th century Italy and Germany. Using the combination of recorder, one or two violins, cello, lute and harpsichord, the ensemble has an individual, energetic and insightful approach to the contrasting affects found in baroque music. Press reviews have described the ensemble’s interpretations as both profound and witty. The incorporation of the improvisations in different baroque styles is one of the group’s prominent features (see critic from early music).
The group has toured extensively in Europe, allowing them to develop a distinct way of performing. The members of Theatrum Affectuum are regularly performing with leading baroque and classical groups, such as Accademia Bizantina, Il Giardino Armonico, Concert de la Loge Olympique and Bach Collegium Japan. The ensemble’s first CD La meraviglia parlante has been received with great success in Europe, Japan and Australia. The second CD “Most ravishing things” with works by Nicola Matteis was released in 2015 on the German label Aeolus and has since received great international reviews.
Theatrum Affectuum is currently based in Pavia, Italy, and Basel, Switzerland.
For more information see www.andreasboehlen.com.
Cathedral Basilica of St. James the Apostle in Olsztyn
Witnessto the Polishness of Warmia
The basilica was built with the rise of the city, at the end of the 14th century. After many alterations, the current interior of the church is crowned by two types of vaulting: the nave has a lattice vault, while the two even side vaults have a crystal vault. Fires and destruction led to the loss of the original decoration, but the interior is filled with the multicoloured light of stained glass windows full of Gothic harmony. At the turn of the 20th century, Feliks Nowowiejski, a prominent composer, served as organist in the church. Thechurch houses the relics of Saint Adalbert, which came to Olsztyn straight from Gniezno.
Concert by participants of the Academia Kielcensis
Participants of the week-long workshops on playing early instruments, held during the Festival at the Karczówka monastery.
Participants of the week-long workshops on playing early instruments, held during the Festival at the Karczówka monastery.
Academia Kielcensis is a transplantation of the French-English experience to Poland. Following the method used by J.E.Gardiner in London, a master and a pupil sit at each orchestra pit: together they prepare a joint performance of selected works.
Each student has individual lessons, either on their instrument or in chamber ensembles. They present the fruits of their labour at a gala final concert.
🕖16.00
🎫Free entry
📍St. John Paul II AcademicChurch in Kielce.
St. John Paul II Academic Churchin Kielce
Precious simplicity
In the 18th century, on the initiative of Kraków Bishop Konstanty Felicjan Szaniawski, new church buildings were erected on Kielce's Castle Hill, including a seminary and vicarage: the house of the vicars of the Kielce canons. This building existed until the 1980s, when the cathedral parish house with a chapel dedicated to the Visitation of Our Lady was built on its site. In 2013, the chapel was extensively renovated, becoming the academic church of St John Paul II. Designer Janusz Sobczyk has created an interior of delightful simplicity. The dominant feature is a large cross reproducing the famous pastoral cross used by the church's patron. The cross is placed against a background of marble panes which, illuminated from behind, contribute to the mystical character of the interior. Numerous communities and groups gather around the church, co-founding the Wesoła54 Pastoral Centre.
Polacca Trionfante / Bach – Handel. Arias and ensembles in Polish style.
Polish Royal Opera
Polish Royal Opera
Johann Adolph Scheibe, an 18th-century theoretician and composer, listed the Polish style as fourth among national European styles - next to Italian, French and German, thus indicating its high rank. Particularly promoted by Georg Philipp Telemann, it is also reflected in the works of the greatest Baroque masters - Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Friedrich Handel.
In the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, the rhythm of the polonaise is a symbol of power - both earthly and divine. Hence, arias and ensembles from church cantatas, in which the power of the Most High is praised, are often presented in the form of Polish dance. One of the most perfect examples of this is the solemn choir Ehre sei dir, Gott, gesungen from the famous Weihnachts-Oratorio, which will sound at the finale of the concert.
Georg Friedrich Handel also saw the potential of a musical idiom from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, as evidenced by the inclusion of a refined polonaise as the fourth movement of the Concerto grosso, Op. 6 No. 3 (HWV 321). Handel also uses the characteristic rhythm and tripartite meter of Polish dance in his operas, in various contexts. In Oronto's aria Ma non s'aspetti from Act II of Floridante, these features emphasize agitation, in Ariodante we find them in a passage expressing despair (Scherza infida), and in Partenope they resound in a declaration of love (Voglio amare insin ch'io moro).
Marta Dziewanowska-Pachowska
🕖17.00
🎫Free entrance tickets can be downloaded here
📍National Museum in Kielce, Former Cracow Bishops' Palace
Program
Performers
The Early Instruments Ensemble of the Polish Royal Opera Capella Regia Polonia
The Early Instruments Ensemble of the Polish Royal Opera Capella Regia Polonia was established in September 2018. The ensemble's repertoire includes music of the Polish and European baroque - oratorio and cantata works, operas and instrumental music. The band consists of young and talented instrumentalists specializing in the performance of early music, playing period instruments or their copies. The musicians cooperate with both the best Polish and foreign bands. The harpsichordist, Krzysztof Garstka, is the band's musical director.
.
Karol Kozłowski
Tenor
A graduate of the Vocal and Acting Department of the Academy of Music in Gdańsk in the class of Dr. Stanisław Daniel Kotliński (diploma with distinction) and the Faculty of Sculpture of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. He received the second prize at the Hariclea Darclèe International Vocal Competition, 2005. Nominated for the Polityka Passport 2013 in the classical music category and, together with the pianist Jolanta Pawlik, for the Fryderyk 2013 award in the chamber music category.
In the years 2007-2009 he was a soloist of the Wrocław Opera, where he made his debut as Alfred in Strauss's Die Fledermaus and where he also performed the parts of Tamino in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Almaviva in Rossini's The Barber of Seville, Cassio in Verdi's Otello and Archangel in Penderecki's Paradise Lost. He has performed on stages including: the Théâtre Montansier in Versailles, the Latvian National Opera in Riga, the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich and the Kiev Opera. Since 2009, he has been associated with the Grand Theater - National Opera, where he performed as Vitellozzo in Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia, Misail in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, Damazy in Moniuszko's The Haunted Manor, Young Servant in Strauss' Elektra, Kudriasz in Janáček's Katia Kabanowa, Edrisi in Szymanowski's King Roger, Goro in Puccini's Madame Butterfly and The Dance Teacher and Lamplighter in Puccini's Manon Lescaut and as Father Mignon in Penderecki's The Devils of Loudun.
Since 2010, he has been performing as a soloist with the early music ensemble Capella Cracoviensis. He performed under the baton of, among others, Fabio Bonizzoni, Andreas Spering, Andrew Parrott, Konrad Junghänel, Kai Wessel, Christophe Rousset and Jan Tomasz. He cooperates with most Polish bands performing baroque music on period instruments, including: with the Wrocław Baroque Orchestra as well as with the {oh!} Historical Orchestra, Musicae Antiquae Collegium Varsoviense, Il Giardino d'Amore and Arte dei Suonatori.
Jakub Burzyński
Singer (countertenor), music theorist and conductor.
In 1998, he founded the band La Tempesta, with which he regularly gives concerts and records 16th-19th century repertoire. As a soloist, he performed leading and supporting roles in operas by Charpentier, Purcell, Vivaldi, Handel, Mysliveček, Mozart, Krauze and Zych. He has recorded over twenty CDs for the BIS, ARTS, DIVOX, NAXOS, MUSICON and DUX labels. The album Vespers of Sorrow with compositions by A. Vivaldi was named Record of the Year by the Music Web International portal, and its fragments were used as the soundtrack to the French film DIVINES, awarded at the Cannes festival. Jakub Burzyński is the artistic director of the Barok Music Festival in Radość, a long-time lecturer at the Summer Schools in Kelč, Holešov, Valtice and Broumov (Czech Republic), the artistic director of the International Summer School of Early Music Schloss Scharfeneck and a regular speaker at the Silent Music Festival in Toruń. In 2019, he was nominated for the prestigious OPUS KLASSIK award in the Conductor of the Year category.
National Museum in Kielce, Former Cracow Bishops' Palace
Capital of the power of the bishops of Cracow
The palace in Kielce is Poland's best-preserved magnate residence from the first half of the 17th century. It was erected by Bishop Jakub Zadzik in a private town of the bishops of Kraków. The design of the palace was probably commissioned by Giovanni Trevano. The palace was intended to tell the story of Zadzik's services to the state and the Church. The exterior features his numerous coats of arms and sculptures of the Swedish and Moscow deputies with whom he negotiated. Inside, the unique framed ceilings are decorated with paintings from the workshop of Thomas Dolabella, depicting, among other things, the judgement on the Arians, whose expulsion Zadzik contributed to. The decoration of the Upper Table Chamber, where the concerts of our Festival will take place, is also carefully thought out: the walls are decorated with a frieze with portraits of the bishops of Cracow, and the beamed ceiling with numerous allegories, including, for example, depictions of all the continents known at the time. Above the windows, there are portraits of two kings of the Vasa dynasty and of Zadzik himself and his successor: the initiator of the construction did not live to see it completed. The palace serves as the headquarters of the National Museum in Kielce.
Polacca Trionfante / Bach – Handel. Arias and ensembles in Polish style.
Polish Royal Opera
An anniversary concert through which we want to thank everyone without whom our Festival could not take place and our Foundation could not develop: authorities , sponsors, donors, co-organisers, volunteers.
Polish Royal Opera
An anniversary concert through which we want to thank everyone without whom our Festival could not take place and our Foundation could not develop: authorities , sponsors, donors, co-organisers, volunteers.
Johann Adolph Scheibe, an 18th-century theoretician and composer, listed the Polish style as fourth among national European styles - next to Italian, French and German, thus indicating its high rank. Particularly promoted by Georg Philipp Telemann, it is also reflected in the works of the greatest Baroque masters - Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Friedrich Handel.
In the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, the rhythm of the polonaise is a symbol of power - both earthly and divine. Hence, arias and ensembles from church cantatas, in which the power of the Most High is praised, are often presented in the form of Polish dance. One of the most perfect examples of this is the solemn choir Ehre sei dir, Gott, gesungen from the famous Weihnachts-Oratorio, which will sound at the finale of the concert.
Georg Friedrich Handel also saw the potential of a musical idiom from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, as evidenced by the inclusion of a refined polonaise as the fourth movement of the Concerto grosso, Op. 6 No. 3 (HWV 321). Handel also uses the characteristic rhythm and tripartite meter of Polish dance in his operas, in various contexts. In Oronto's aria Ma non s'aspetti from Act II of Floridante, these features emphasize agitation, in Ariodante we find them in a passage expressing despair (Scherza infida), and in Partenope they resound in a declaration of love (Voglio amare insin ch'io moro).
Marta Dziewanowska-Pachowska
🕖17.00
🎫Free entrance tickets will be available from 20 August
📍 The Royal Castle in Warsaw, Sala Wielka
Program
Performers
The Early Instruments Ensemble of the Polish Royal Opera Capella Regia Polonia
The Early Instruments Ensemble of the Polish Royal Opera Capella Regia Polonia was established in September 2018. The ensemble's repertoire includes music of the Polish and European baroque - oratorio and cantata works, operas and instrumental music. The band consists of young and talented instrumentalists specializing in the performance of early music, playing period instruments or their copies. The musicians cooperate with both the best Polish and foreign bands. The harpsichordist, Krzysztof Garstka, is the band's musical director.
.
Karol Kozłowski
Tenor
A graduate of the Vocal and Acting Department of the Academy of Music in Gdańsk in the class of Dr. Stanisław Daniel Kotliński (diploma with distinction) and the Faculty of Sculpture of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. He received the second prize at the Hariclea Darclèe International Vocal Competition, 2005. Nominated for the Polityka Passport 2013 in the classical music category and, together with the pianist Jolanta Pawlik, for the Fryderyk 2013 award in the chamber music category.
In the years 2007-2009 he was a soloist of the Wrocław Opera, where he made his debut as Alfred in Strauss's Die Fledermaus and where he also performed the parts of Tamino in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Almaviva in Rossini's The Barber of Seville, Cassio in Verdi's Otello and Archangel in Penderecki's Paradise Lost. He has performed on stages including: the Théâtre Montansier in Versailles, the Latvian National Opera in Riga, the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich and the Kiev Opera. Since 2009, he has been associated with the Grand Theater - National Opera, where he performed as Vitellozzo in Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia, Misail in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, Damazy in Moniuszko's The Haunted Manor, Young Servant in Strauss' Elektra, Kudriasz in Janáček's Katia Kabanowa, Edrisi in Szymanowski's King Roger, Goro in Puccini's Madame Butterfly and The Dance Teacher and Lamplighter in Puccini's Manon Lescaut and as Father Mignon in Penderecki's The Devils of Loudun.
Since 2010, he has been performing as a soloist with the early music ensemble Capella Cracoviensis. He performed under the baton of, among others, Fabio Bonizzoni, Andreas Spering, Andrew Parrott, Konrad Junghänel, Kai Wessel, Christophe Rousset and Jan Tomasz. He cooperates with most Polish bands performing baroque music on period instruments, including: with the Wrocław Baroque Orchestra as well as with the {oh!} Historical Orchestra, Musicae Antiquae Collegium Varsoviense, Il Giardino d'Amore and Arte dei Suonatori.
Jakub Burzyński
Singer (countertenor), music theorist and conductor.
In 1998, he founded the band La Tempesta, with which he regularly gives concerts and records 16th-19th century repertoire. As a soloist, he performed leading and supporting roles in operas by Charpentier, Purcell, Vivaldi, Handel, Mysliveček, Mozart, Krauze and Zych. He has recorded over twenty CDs for the BIS, ARTS, DIVOX, NAXOS, MUSICON and DUX labels. The album Vespers of Sorrow with compositions by A. Vivaldi was named Record of the Year by the Music Web International portal, and its fragments were used as the soundtrack to the French film DIVINES, awarded at the Cannes festival. Jakub Burzyński is the artistic director of the Barok Music Festival in Radość, a long-time lecturer at the Summer Schools in Kelč, Holešov, Valtice and Broumov (Czech Republic), the artistic director of the International Summer School of Early Music Schloss Scharfeneck and a regular speaker at the Silent Music Festival in Toruń. In 2019, he was nominated for the prestigious OPUS KLASSIK award in the Conductor of the Year category.
The Royal Castle in Warsaw
Seat of the Polish monarchs
The Royal Castle in Warsaw is one of the most important monuments of the Polish capital, with a rich history dating back to the 14th century. Initially serving as the residence of the Mazovian princes, from the 16th century it became the official seat of the Polish kings and the administrative centre of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The building, with its characteristic Baroque style, witnessed many key historical events, including the adoption of the 3rd of May Constitution in 1791.
During the Second World War, the castle was almost completely destroyed by German troops, but thanks to a huge effort it was rebuilt in the 1970s. Today, the Royal Castle serves as a museum where you can admire the rich art collections, including works by masters such as Rembrandt and Canaletto. Among the most valuable exhibits are also royal insignia and original state documents.
Every year, the castle attracts crowds of tourists and hosts numerous exhibitions, concerts and state ceremonies. It is a place that combines magnificent architecture, historical significance and the cultural heritage of Poland, while also being a symbol of the rebirth and steadfastness of the Polish nation.
Hot Strings - harpsichord and jazz guitar
Piotr Domagała (guitar), Marek Toporowski (harpsichord)
Piotr Domagała (guitar), Marek Toporowski (harpsichord)
This concert is our Festival`s idea from two years ago. We then thought about experimenting a bit: we combined the sound of two stringed instruments plucked under the fingers of their great masters, but playing in styles that seem difficult to put into dialogue. After a moment of hesitation, the artists took up the challenge. Thanks to their extraordinary talents, a completely new artistic quality was created!
A form that somehow fits into the sphere of what we call 'transvelsal music', bordering on jazz and classical at the same time, on dance and meditation, full of reflection but also humor. Since its birth, the project has been successfully traveling around Poland, and its mature fruit is last year's excellent album, which enjoys very favorable opinions from critics.
🕖17.30
🎫Free entrance tickets can be downloaded here
📍 Ekomuseum, Starachowice
Program
Marek Toporowski
Harpsichordist, organist, pianist and conductor.
Marek Toporowski was born in Warsaw in 1964. He teaches harpsichord at the Academies of Music in Kraków and Katowice, and harpsichord and organ at the Fryderyk Chopin Conservatory of Music in Warsaw.
He studied with Leszek Kędracki, Aline Zylberajch and Bob van Asperen (harpsichord), Martin Gester (basso continuo and chamber music) and Jozef Serafin and Daniel Roth (organ).
He won first prize in the 1st Wanda Landowska National Harpsichord Competition and was also a finalist in the 1st Wanda Landowska International Competition in 1994.
With his two ensembles, Marek Toporowski has made numerous recordings of early Polish music, including works such as the opera Agatka by Johann David Holland, the oratorio Christiani poenitentes ad sepulchrum Domini by Jan Tomasz Żebrowski, and sacred music by Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki, Amando Ivančič by Józef Zeidler and Marcin Józef Żebrowski.
As a harpsichordist, he made the first ever recording of Charles Noblet's Livre de clavecin. As an organist, he has made many recordings on historical organs. Worth mentioning is his participation in the documentary project Orgeln in der Niederlausitz, or his first recording on the Silbermann organ in Oederan.
For his latest recording - Bach's organ trio sonata BWV 525-530 on the historic organ of Joachim Wagner in Siedlce (version with added continuo instruments) - he received the prestigious Fryderyk award of the Polish recording industry (for the fifth time in his career).
Marek Toporowski is a chamber music partner of many renowned soloists. He is also very active in the field of national heritage conservation. In 2012, he founded the Pianoarium - a unique collection of antique instruments that are displayed and used for concerts and teaching purposes.
Piotr Domagała
Jazz guitarist, creator of original music projects on the borderline of jazz, contemporary music and folk, winner of master guitar competitions. His output includes five original albums highly acclaimed by the audience and critics. He has presented his music on many European (Germany, UK, Austria, Netherlands, France) and Polish music stages.
He debuted with the recording of his quartet Szy-Szy Kaan Jazz Group "In time"(2005), followed by the albums "Slavonic Tales"(2009) and "Vines"(2013), recorded with Adam Kawończyk and Slawek Berny. In 2016, together with the world-famous Silesian Quartet (winners of the Gramophone Classical Music Awards), he realised the avant-garde project 'Chowaniece'. In turn, the album of the international project 'A handful of AccepDance' - Wesely / Domagała/ Schiffer/ Dyyak/ Hupfauf - was released in 2019 on the Vienna-based label SessionWorkRec.com. The most recent artistic project is the album 'Music for Jazz Guitar and Harpsichord', recorded together with Marek Toporowski - a harpsichord virtuoso and outstanding interpreter of early music.
As a guitarist, he has collaborated with giants of the jazz music scene - including taking part in the world premiere of the Pat Metheny & NOSPR project (2019). He has performed with American vocalist Marguerite Juenemann (Grammy Award Nominee), blueswoman Caren Caroll, German improviser Richard Ortmann, as well as with many outstanding artists of the Polish music scene - including Piotr Wojtasik, Lech Dyblik, Krystyna Prońko. He also collaborates with the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, Capitol Musical Theatre, Słowacki Theatre in Kraków and AST Theatre. He has given concerts at many Polish and European music festivals (Holland, UK, Germany, France, Slovakia, Austria).
He is a lecturer at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice.
Jan Pazdura Museum of Nature and Technology "Ekomuzeum" in Starachowice
A legacy of hard work
The museum is located on the site of the former blast furnace works, whose history dates back to the forge settlement established in the mid-15th century, belonging to the Cistercians of Wąchock. The unusual spatial layout consists of buildings and equipment that illustrate the successive stages of technological development, including the creation of the first modern blast furnace in the 18th century, or the incorporation of the plant in the 19th century into the series of plants on the Kamienna River designed by Stanisław Staszic as part of the idea of the Old Polish Industrial District, as well as its modernisation in the inter-war period as part of the Central Industrial District. The idea of transforming the post-industrial site into a museum was promoted by the eminent expert on the history of industrial heritage, Professor Jan Pazdur. His idea was realised in 2001, when the Museum of Nature and Technology was established and named after its originator.
Recital of French Baroque music
Adrian Janus (baritone), Sylwia Ziółkowska (soprano), Klara Janus, Kamila Łopatka (harpsichord)
Description soon
🕖17.00
🎫Free entrance tickets can be downloaded here
📍 Synagogue in Szydłów
Program
Adrian Janus
Adrian Janus – baritone Born in Kielce, Poland in 1995, baritone. The member of Opera Academy - The Young Talent Development Programme of Polish National Theatre in Warsaw, where he has been improving his skills since 2021 under Olga Pasiecznik, Izabella Kłosińska, Michał Biel and Katelan Terrell.
In 2020 he received a M.A. degree in vocal – drama performance at the K. Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice.
Adrian Janus has taken part in vocal masterclasses with esteemed tutors such as Hedwig Fassbender, Rene Massis, Mariusz Kwiecień, Artur Ruciński, Topi Lehtipuu, Brenda Hurley, Mathias Rexroth, Eytan Pessen, Enrico Cacciari, Adrian Kelly. In 2022 he was the participant of Exzellenz Labor Oper.
His debut was on the stage of the Silesian Opera in Bytom in 2018 in the role of Roberto-Nardo in W. A. Mozart’s La finta giardiniera, directed by A. Heller-Lopes; musical direction: B. Akiki. In 2019 he sang Zbigniew's part in S. Moniuszko’s The Haunted Manor, directed by W. Ochman during the 1st W. Ochman Festival in Zawiercie and in the Arte Creatura Theatre. He performed the role of Uberto in G. B. Pergolesi’s La serva padrona directed by K. Widera at the Silesian Opera. In 2023 he sang Alexandre’s part in the concert version of the opera Aleksandre bis by Bohuslav Martinu in the Warsaw Philharmonic. In 2023 he had debut on the stage of the National Opera in Warsaw (Commisario - Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and Cesario - Różycki’s Beatrix Cenci) and Krakow Chamber Opera (Uberto - Pergolesi’s La serva padrona). In 2024 he sang Il capitaine’s part in the concert version of the opera Salade by Darius Milhaud. He sang concerts with Polish Royal Opera and Warsaw Chamber Opera.
As an oratorio soloist, he has performed Szymanowski’s Stabat mater, J. S. Bach’s Ich habe genug, Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Missa brevis, A. Ramirez’s Missa Criolla, A. Marko’s Missa Poloniae, G. Rossini’s Le Petite Messe Solennelle. He performed as a soloist during the 27th and 28th Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival in Warsaw, the 52nd International Festival Wratislavia Cantans in Wroclaw, the 13th Summer Music Festival in Radziejowice, the 18th M. Fołtyn International Music Kaleidoscope Festival in Sopot, the Passion Music Festival in Gliwice, The Pearls in the Crown Festival in Ostrzeszów, the 16th M. Brosig Festival of Organ and Chamber Music and during concerts accompanying the 73rd International Piano Festival of F. Chopin Music in Duszniki-Zdrój.
He has cooperated with the Warsaw National Philharmonic, Poznańska Philharmonic in Poznań, Zielonogórska Philharmonic in Zielona Góra, Silesian Philharmonic in Katowice, the Silesian Opera in Bytom, the Zabrze Philharmonic, IPIUM Silesia, the Arte Creatura Theatre, the Poniticello Orchestra. He is the laureate of the 1st prize in the 23rd International I. Godin Competition in Vrable, Slovakia 2022, 1st prize in the 9th International Competion Bella Voce in Busko-Zdrój 2023, 1st prize in the 3rd National Bogdan Paprocki Vocal Competition in Bydgoszcz 2024, 2nd prize and special prize for the best male voice in the 5th International Vocal Competition of Sacred Music Ars et Gloria in Katowice 2023,
Special prize in one of the most prestigious vocal competitions 42nd Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition 2024, Honorable mention in the 20th International Ada Sari Vocal Competition in Nowy-Sącz 2023 Finalist 13th Klaudia Taev Competition for Young Opera Singers in Parnu, Estonia 2023
Sylwia Ziółkowska
soprano, comes from Brzeziny, in the Szydłów commune in the province. Świętokrzyskie.
She started learning solo singing in the singing class of Renata Drozd, MA at the School Complex.
Music in Kielce. She graduated with honors from the Academy with a master's degree
Muzyczna im. Karol. Szymanowski in Katowice in the singing class of prof. Ph.D. Eve
You're running.
Participant of the Young Talents Education Program "Opera Academy" of the Theater
Grand National Opera in Warsaw. She performed in: the Silesian Opera, Opera Nova,
the National Philharmonic, the Krakow Philharmonic and the Świętokrzyska Philharmonic.
She performed as a soloist at the Silesian Opera in Bytom, the Opera Nova in...
Bydgoszcz, National Philharmonic in Warsaw, Silesian Philharmonic in Katowice,
the Krakow Philharmonic, the Świętokrzyska Philharmonic and the Zabrze Philharmonic. She performed, among others,
during the International Festival of Jan Kiepura in Krynica Zdrój,
International Festival of Krystyna Jamroz in Busko Zdrój, International
Song Festival - Anna German in Warsaw or the Polish Music Festival in
Krakow. She cooperated with the Tomczyk Art agency.
She is a winner of international and national competitions. Winner of the 3rd
National Vocal Competition Bogdan Paprocki (2023). Finalist of the 19th
International Vocal Art Competition Ady Sari in Nowy Sącz (2021),
Winner of the 1st place at the 9th National Vocal Competition. Zdzisław Skwara w
Mława (2021) and 3rd place at the 5th International Sacred Vocal Competition
Ars et Gloria in Katowice (2021). In 2019, she took third place at the 5th National Competition
Vocal Competition named after Krystyna Jamroz in Busko Zdrój (2019). First place winner
during the 19th International Competition. Imrich Godina IUVENTUS CANTI in
Vrablach in Slovakia (2017).
Klara Janus
Born in Kielce, Poland in 1996, pianist. The member of the Opera Academy of the Polish National Theater in Warsaw, where she is improving her skills with Olga Pasiecznik, Izabella Kłosińska, Michał Biel and Katelan Terrell. In 2020 she graduated with honors from the Academy of Music in Cracow.
She was a competition pianist at XI International S. Moniuszko Vocal Competition. She recived two awards for the best pianist at vocal competitions: XXIII I. Godin Vocal Competition in Vrable ( Slovakia), K.Jamroz Vocal Competition in Busko-Zdrój ( Poland). In 2022 she was a participant of the Exzellenz Labor Oper.
She is a laureate of some solo piano and chamber music competitions:
International solo piano competitions:
1st place at the 13th International Piano Competition "Music without limits" in Druskininkai, Lithuania, 1st prizes and special awards in the International Competition for Young Musicians "Citta di Barletta" in Italy in two age categories, 1st prize and a special prize at the 4th International Piano Competition M. Moszkowski "Per aspera ad astra" in Kielce,1st prize at the 2nd International Competition for Young Pianists "Nad Kamienna",1st prize at the 2nd National T. Leszetycki Competition for Young Pianists in Łańcut, 1st prize at the International Piano Meetings in Krosno.
National piano competitions:
1st prize at the 7th S. Woytowicz National Competition for Young Instrumentalists in Jasło, 2nd prize at the 7th Polish National Competition I. Paderewski in Piotrków Trybunalski, 2nd prize at the 16th H. Czerny-Stefańska Piano Tournament in Żagań, 2nd prize at the 12th National Piano Competition in Konin, 2nd prize at the 6th National Competition for Music Interpretation in Krasiczyn, 3rd prize at the Podkarpackie Chopin Music Festival, 3rd prize at the 10th National Piano Chamber Music Competition in Toruń.
International and national chamber music competitions:
1st prize at the "Roma International Piano Competition" in Rome (four hands piano category), 1st prize at the "Roma International Piano Competition" in Rome (two pianos), 1st prize at the "International Young Musicians Competition" in Legnano, 1 st prize at the International J. Zarębski Piano Competition in Łomianki - Warsaw; the title of Laureate (the main reward of the Festival) of the "Young Stage" of the 52nd Polish Piano Festival in Słupsk.
She is a piano teacher and an accompanist in Music School in Kielce. In her spare time she likes to play squash.
Kamila Łopatka
Kamila Łopatka was born in 1993 in Legnica. She is a graduate of the Academy Muzycznof Music in Wrocław in the piano class of prof. Paul Zawadzki, as well as the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in piano class (Master Lied) prof. Cornelis Witthoefft in Stuttgart. From 2021 is a participant of the Young Talents Education Program of the Opera Academy at the Grand Theater in Warsaw. She improved her skills during master classes and workshops among others with artists such as: Maciej Pikulski, Izabella Kłosińska, Ewa Podleś, Jerzy Marchwiński, Anna Marchwińska, Eytan Pessen, Matthias Rexroth, Olga Pasiecznik, Elly Ameling, Edith Wiens, Hedwig Fassbänder, Marek Toporowski, Lech Napierala.
As a tutor, he regularly participates in the sessions of the Polish National Choir Youth, among others working in the singing classes of Urszula Kryger and Krystian Adam, Nicholaus Mulroy, Henryk Böhm, Fulvio Bettini.
She participates in projects of the Opera Academy at the Grand Theater, including: as competition pianist of the 11th International Competition S. Moniuszko in Warsaw.
She works as a piano teacher and pianist at the Conservatory of 1st and 2nd cycle in Kielce and the Music School in Busko-Zdrój.
Synagogue in Szydłów
The history of the Jewish community in Szydłów dates back to at least the 15th century. The synagogue, which has survived to this day, was built a century later. Initially it consisted of only the main hall, and later a vestibule and women's space were added. The synagogue was decorated with polychromes from the 17th and 18th centuries, but these were destroyed by a fire in the late 19th century. During World War II, the synagogue was destroyed, sharing the tragic fate of the local Jewish community. After the war, the building was transformed into a warehouse and cinema, and then renovated between 1978 and 1981, adapting it to the function of a community centre. Today, after extensive revitalisation, the synagogue houses an exhibition on the history of the local Jewish community.
Hot Strings - harpsichord and jazz guitar
Piotr Domagała (guitar), Marek Toporowski (harpsichord))
This concert is our Festival`s idea from two years ago. We then thought about experimenting a bit: we combined the sound of two stringed instruments plucked under the fingers of their great masters, but playing in styles that seem difficult to put into dialogue. After a moment of hesitation, the artists took up the challenge. Thanks to their extraordinary talents, a completely new artistic quality was created!
A form that somehow fits into the sphere of what we call 'transvelsal music', bordering on jazz and classical at the same time, on dance and meditation, full of reflection but also humor. Since its birth, the project has been successfully traveling around Poland, and its mature fruit is last year's excellent album, which enjoys very favorable opinions from critics.
🕖17.00
🎫Free entrance tickets can be downloaded here
📍 Zielinski Palace - House of Creative Environments in Kielce
Program
Marek Toporowski
Harpsichordist, organist, pianist and conductor.
Marek Toporowski was born in Warsaw in 1964. He teaches harpsichord at the Academies of Music in Kraków and Katowice, and harpsichord and organ at the Fryderyk Chopin Conservatory of Music in Warsaw.
He studied with Leszek Kędracki, Aline Zylberajch and Bob van Asperen (harpsichord), Martin Gester (basso continuo and chamber music) and Jozef Serafin and Daniel Roth (organ).
He won first prize in the 1st Wanda Landowska National Harpsichord Competition and was also a finalist in the 1st Wanda Landowska International Competition in 1994.
With his two ensembles, Marek Toporowski has made numerous recordings of early Polish music, including works such as the opera Agatka by Johann David Holland, the oratorio Christiani poenitentes ad sepulchrum Domini by Jan Tomasz Żebrowski, and sacred music by Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki, Amando Ivančič by Józef Zeidler and Marcin Józef Żebrowski.
As a harpsichordist, he made the first ever recording of Charles Noblet's Livre de clavecin. As an organist, he has made many recordings on historical organs. Worth mentioning is his participation in the documentary project Orgeln in der Niederlausitz, or his first recording on the Silbermann organ in Oederan.
For his latest recording - Bach's organ trio sonata BWV 525-530 on the historic organ of Joachim Wagner in Siedlce (version with added continuo instruments) - he received the prestigious Fryderyk award of the Polish recording industry (for the fifth time in his career).
Marek Toporowski is a chamber music partner of many renowned soloists. He is also very active in the field of national heritage conservation. In 2012, he founded the Pianoarium - a unique collection of antique instruments that are displayed and used for concerts and teaching purposes.
Piotr Domagała
Jazz guitarist, creator of original music projects on the borderline of jazz, contemporary music and folk, winner of master guitar competitions. His output includes five original albums highly acclaimed by the audience and critics. He has presented his music on many European (Germany, UK, Austria, Netherlands, France) and Polish music stages.
He debuted with the recording of his quartet Szy-Szy Kaan Jazz Group "In time"(2005), followed by the albums "Slavonic Tales"(2009) and "Vines"(2013), recorded with Adam Kawończyk and Slawek Berny. In 2016, together with the world-famous Silesian Quartet (winners of the Gramophone Classical Music Awards), he realised the avant-garde project 'Chowaniece'. In turn, the album of the international project 'A handful of AccepDance' - Wesely / Domagała/ Schiffer/ Dyyak/ Hupfauf - was released in 2019 on the Vienna-based label SessionWorkRec.com. The most recent artistic project is the album 'Music for Jazz Guitar and Harpsichord', recorded together with Marek Toporowski - a harpsichord virtuoso and outstanding interpreter of early music.
As a guitarist, he has collaborated with giants of the jazz music scene - including taking part in the world premiere of the Pat Metheny & NOSPR project (2019). He has performed with American vocalist Marguerite Juenemann (Grammy Award Nominee), blueswoman Caren Caroll, German improviser Richard Ortmann, as well as with many outstanding artists of the Polish music scene - including Piotr Wojtasik, Lech Dyblik, Krystyna Prońko. He also collaborates with the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, Capitol Musical Theatre, Słowacki Theatre in Kraków and AST Theatre. He has given concerts at many Polish and European music festivals (Holland, UK, Germany, France, Slovakia, Austria).
He is a lecturer at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice.
Old tales painted with sound
Luka Mazur (piano, percussion intr.), Michael Jones (violin, viola, ravanhatha, percussion instr.)
During the concert, which takes the form of a suite based on improvisation, you will be able to hear motifs taken from secular and sacred music from various regions of Europe and even the world. Full of energy, unusual harmony and oriental rhythms, melodies from Andalusia, the Middle East and ancient Byzantium, together with the ascetic-sounding Gregorian monody and the ludic note of the gradual that is so close to the heart.
🕖19.00
🎫Free entrance tickets can be downloaded here
📍 The wooden Church of the Transfiguration in Kielce-Bialogon
