September 9th sees the launch of the 18th edition of the Cross Culture festival in Warsaw.
The festival, which is a boiling cauldron of ethnic music from all corners of the world, and where cultures intertwine to find a common denomination, was usually a very festive affair held in a huge tent set at the foot of the palace of Culture and Sciences in the capital. This year the event, lasting for only three days, is held in the Dramatyczny Teatr in the Palace of Culture. Albeit shorter, it will still be packed with events and has a strong focus on music from Ukraine.
The opening concert sees Maria Mazzotta from Italy, one of the leading voices of Canzioniere Grecanico Salentino, the world renowned group performing the modern pizzica, also among the performers are Stelios Petrakis from Greece, Yegor Zabelov, a musician from Belarus or Dakh Daughters a musical cabaret from Ukraine.
Professor Maria Pomianowska, composer, instrumentalist and artistic director of the event talks about this year's edition and the beginnings of Cross Culture Festival.