The 55th International Andrzej Markowski Festival ‘Wratislavia Cantans’ was held on 11-13 September 2020 in Wrocław under the theme ‘Lights to the World’. Events were held at the National Forum of Music and the Collegiate Church of the Holy Cross and St Bartholomew.
Sound and light are waves, differing in length. Sound waves need air to propagate. Music will not sound in a vacuum. Light and air are a living environment for people, plants and animals – music is a space for beauty. We think of all who help each other in these difficult times. Music supports such attitudes. It is a space in which people unite. It helps you look forward to the future. We want it to be better and more beautiful thanks to people who work for the good. They are lights to the world.
—Andrzej Kosendiak, general director of the Festival.
The first concert of this year’s International Festival Wratislavia Cantans was a tribute to Krzysztof Penderecki, who is considered by many scholars to be the greatest Polish composer active in the last six decades. The program of the NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra featured four captivating works of artists active in the 20th century: Andrzej Panufnik, Benjamin Britten, Edward Elgar, and Penderecki. The concert featuring Giovanni Antonini, Julia Lezhneva, and Il Giardino Armonico presented outstanding Baroque composers. It has become a tradition of Wratislavia Cantans to present Polish early music. This time, Wrocław Baroque Ensemble under the direction of Andrzej Kosendiak performed the works of Jacek Różycki, a composer active in the second half of the 17th century.
[Source: polmic.pl ]