The 16th “Chopin and his Europe” International Music Festival will run from 15 August to 1 September 2020. This year’s program will present Ludwig van Beethoven’s works on the 250th anniversary of his birth.

Beethoven’s pieces will be performed by Belcea Quartet and the Orchestra of the 18th Century with Kristian Bezuidenhout as soloist and conductor.

The main program of the Festival will feature gems of Polish music, with Chopin’s works at the forefront. Fabio Biondi and his band Europa Galante will present Stanisław Moniuszko‘s opera The Countess. Sinfonia Varsovia and pianists Clare Hammond and Philippe Giusiano under the baton of Jacek Kaspszyk will perform the Piano Concerto in A flat major, Op. 2 by Ignacy Feliks DobrzyńskiFantasy for piano and orchestra by Andrzej Panufnik, and Concertino for piano and orchestra by Roman Palester. The 1st Violin Concerto and 4th Symphonie Concertante, Op. 60 by Karol Szymanowski will be presented at the National Philharmonic. Three pieces in old style by Henryk Mikołaj Górecki will be performed by the Scottish Ensemble. The final concert will begin with Witold Lutosławski‘s Funeral Music.

The Festival will host pianists associated with the International Chopin Competition, including five of its winners – Yulianna Avdeeva, Philippe Giusian, Kevin Kenner, Garrick Ohlsson and Dang Thai Son – who will play not only on contemporary pianos, but also on historical instruments.

Tickets went on sale on 17 March. For the full program, visit festiwal.nifc.pl.

[Source: polmic.pl]