Friday’s opening concert will see two ensembles – Sinfonia Varsovia and the New Music Orchestra from Katowice - perform under the baton of Szymon Bywalec.
The audience will hear the Polish premiere of Les Espaces acoustiques by French composer Gérard Grisey (1946-1998), one of the founders of spectral music.
According to musicologist Jan Topolski, Grisey’s monumental work is among the masterpieces of 20th-century music.
36 concerts, 67 composers, 28 Polish composers
The programme of the nine-day event comprises 36 concerts, featuring pieces by 67 composers, including 28 composers from Poland.
Twenty six works will have their world premieres.
The motto of the 2022 Warsaw Autumn is Connections. Expanding on it, the festival’s director Jerzy Kornowicz told the media: “Let’s connect in new music and thanks to it.”
He stressed a notable presence of Ukrainian composers in the programme and spoke of his deep respect for their work during “Putin’s brutal war against the Ukrainian nation and culture.”
Pieces by Katarina Gryvul, Anna Korsun, Lubava Sydorenko, Bohdan Sehin, Bohdana Frolyak and Alla Zagaykevych are all set to be performed during the 65th Warsaw Autumn.
The festival’s programme also comprises a wide range of side-line events, from sound installations, meetings with composers and workshops, to panels and special concerts for children.
Created in 1956, Warsaw Autumn is a long-standing festival and a true witness to music history. It is Poland’s only contemporary music festival that has international scale and international status. For many years it was the only event of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe.
This year’s 65th edition runs until September 24.
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Radio Poland’s Agnieszka Bielawska has this report.
Click on the audio player above to listen.