The annual Szymanowski Festival held in his favorite Tatra Mountains retreat town of Zakopane took place July 25—August 2 this year. As usual, it presented a number of concerts and artists from all over the world as well as other accompanying events that spotlighted Szymanowski as well as Zakopane’s history.
The Festival attracted a lot of positive press reviews and articles, starting with Wojciech Mróz, writing for Tygodnik Podhalański that, “For the first time, the Festival did not begin with speeches or concerts […] but with a parade of horse-driven carriages to the accompaniment of local Highlander and Ukrainian music, that proved a most attractive opening.” The Ukrainian link was also underscored by the presence of the Młyneczek Ensemble hailing from the area of Tymoszówka, a family estate where Szymanowski was born in 1882.
Local musician and conductor, Agnieszka Kreiner-Bogdańska, described a fascinating concert presenting a 2-piano transcription of Szymanowski’s orchestral ballet, Harnasie, made by Grażyna Bacewicz in performance by Joanna Domańska and Andrzej Tatarski. That program was balanced on the second half by local folk music featured by Trebunie Tutki Ensemble and the bagpipe orchestra led by Szymon Bafia.
Writing for the Ruch Muzyczny, Tomasz Cyz observed that “… the Zakopane Szymanowski Festival always proves itself in the chamber music offerings. Without a proper concert hall venue, performances take place in churches or in famous Zakopane residences. One of the concerts at Villa Atma (a natural choice for a Szymanowski program) and the other at Villa Koliba (built in 1892 to a project by Stanisław Witkiewicz) … were devoted to the 100th anniversary of Szymanowski’s Mythes for Violin and Piano … and music for harp and flute presented under a title, ‘Handsome Karol.’”
The Festival’s finale featured a world premiere performance of Mikołaj Górecki’s Trio Concerto with Sinfonia Cracovia Orchestra led by Maestro Massimiliano Caldi. As the PWM Newsletter stated, the audience reacted enthusiastically to this brand new work. Daniel Cichy, Editor-in-Chief at PWM declared that, “Mikołaj Górecki’s new composition is another proof of the composer’s amazing gift for melody, excellent sense of form and carefully-planned dramatic development of various sections of the piece. Additionally, an interesting and pioneering approach to the relationship between the soloists and the accompanying string orchestra deserves a special mention.”
Reminiscing about the same concert, Sławomir Czarnecki noted that, “The world premiere of a new work and being a witness to it is always an ennobling experience. Such concerts are exceptional and unusual and they remain in the listener’s memory for a long time, especially if we hear an excellent composition, such as the Trio Concerto. From the opening bars the piece drew us in with interesting entrances of the solo instruments. Then came a satisfying and rich climax followed by a long relaxation bathed in beautiful harmonies and fascinating melodic lines that created a mood of heavenly misterioso and beguiled us with Messiaen-like soundscapes.”
[Sources: Joanna Domańska, press release]