The 19th Music Gardens Festival was held from 30 June – 28 July in the Grand Courtyard of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, under a huge, air-conditioned tent that accommodated 1000 spectators.

Every year since 2001, the Festival program rebroadcasts the best opera and ballet productions, live symphonic and chamber concerts, music films and film recordings of concerts. There was also a special educational and artistic program for children: the Children’s Music Gardens.

This year’s program included 21 film screenings and 5 live concerts. The festival prologue featured the film music of Krzysztof Komeda, Henryk Kuźniak and Jerzy Matuszkiewicz. During the inauguration concert, Janusz Wawrowski, who plays a Stradivarius violin from 1685, and the Warsaw Players’ string orchestra presented, among others, works by Mieczysław Karłowicz and Mieczysław Weinberg. Songs from Moniuszko’s Songbook for Home Use were presented on 15 July in the original interpretation by Agata Zubel, Andrzej Bauer and Cezary Duchnowski.

Since 2008, the Festival has featured the culture and art of prominent countries on the European Council. This year, three countries served as the Guests of Honor: Finland, which began its presidency at the European Council on 1 July 2019; Romania, which lead the Council in the first half of 2019; and, for the second time, Austria. On 8 July, an evening devoted to Leonardo da Vinci included a concert of Sławomir Zubrzycki on viola organista, an instrument invented by Leonardo da Vinci.

For the full program, visit ogrodymuzyczne.pl/.

[Source: polmic.pl]