The farewell to the old year and the welcoming of the new one in the Main Market Square gathers crowds of people every year.
It’s a great opportunity to raise a New Year’s toast together and enjoy the atmosphere of this special night in an extraordinary place.
Many people travel from remote parts of Poland only to be here on this exceptional night.
The concerts are monographic reviews of the creative work of composers of the 19th and 20th centuries grouped according to nationality.
The main attractions of the Pierogi Festival in Krakow are an opportunity to taste pierogi and participate in contests, games and performances.
This traditional Polish dish offers an incredible range of tastes: from the sweetness of fresh fruit-filled served with cream and sugar, via the reliable and nutritious everyday pierogies with meat, sauerkraut and mushroom, and cottage cheese and potato, to the rarer and experimental varieties.
An opportunity to learn what Polish people like to eat and participate in a number of contests.
Gatherings of thousands of people on the banks of the Vistula on Midsummer Night have become a tradition and a yearly event in the programme of cultural events in Kraków.
Each year, thousands of Cracovians and visitors from around the world gather at the foot of Wawel to participate in the old Polish tradition of garland-throwing – a tradition more alive in Kraków than anywhere else in Poland.
Over the years, the tradition has changed; nowadays, anyone can make garland, not only innocent girls.
The atmosphere of Midsummer Night is unique, and there is no other night like it.
Many outstanding artists will present their talents in Krakow during
the 4th edition of the Misteria Paschalia Festival which will take place between 4-9 April 2007.
The aim of the festival is to present music closely related to the celebrations of the Holy Week and Easter Time interpreted by historic music performers’ leading masters.
On Holy Wednesday (4 April), the event will be inaugurated by the performance of
a world-renowned historic music ensemble - Europa Galante, directed by Fabio Biondi. The artists will present the Polish premiere of an oratory by Alessandro Scarlatti La Santissima Annunciata. The soloists include the most outstanding performers from Italy, Spain and Sweden: Roberta Invernizzi, Emanuela Galli, Marina de Liso, Marta Almajano and Magnus Staveland.
The next day, on Maundy Thursday (5 April), the same artists will present Stabat Mater by Luigi Boccherini. The concert will also feature two instrumental pieces by the masters of Italian baroque – Michele Mascitti and Pietro Antonio Locatelli.
On Good Friday (6 April), one of the leading French ensembles specializing in historic music - Le Poème Harmonique directed by Vincent Dumestre –
will present, together will the splendid Claire Lefilliâtre, Tenebrae by Michel-Richard de Lalande.
On Holy Saturday (7 April), another famous French ensemble - Le Concert Spirituel, will perform, directed by the charismatic conductor Hervé Niquet. The artists will present Leçons de Ténèbres and Méditations pour le Carême by Marc-Antoine Charpentier. On the same day on the Main Market Square in Kraków, after the Resurrection Mass in the Wawel Cathedral, the traditional Mystery of the Lord’s Passion will take place. This year it is written and directed by Jerzy Zoń.
On Easter Sunday (8 April), the most famous Italian ensemble – Il Giardino Armonico, which many years ago revolutionized the perception of historic music with its recording of The Four Seasons by Vivaldi, will inaugurate the joyous season. The ensemble will perform at the Festival with a highly interesting repertoire, including compositions by three great masters: Georg Philipp Teleman, Antonio Vivaldi and Johann Sebastian Bach.
On Easter Monday (9 April), another ensemble of the Italian “extra-class” of historic music performers - Accademia Bizantina directed by Ottavio Dantone – together with Sonia Prina, the most famous alto singer in the world, will present a monographic project dedicated to Antonio Vivaldi – Motetti e concerti II.
Programme4 April 2007 (Holy Wednesday), 8 pm
Krakow Philharmonic, Zwierzyniecka 1
Alessandro Scarlatti, La Santissima Annunciata
Maria Vergine: Roberta Invernizzi, soprano
Angelo: Emanuela Galli, soprano
Pensiero di Verginità: Marta Almajano, soprano
Pensiero d’Humiltà: Marina de Liso, alto
Pensiero di Sospetto: Magnus Staveland, tenor
Europa Galante
Fabio Biondi, concert-master, conductor***
5 April 2007 (Maundy Thursday), 9 pm
Church of SS Peter and Paul, Krakow, Grodzka 54
Luigi Boccherini, Stabat Mater
Michele Mascitti, Concerto grosso A-dur
Pietro Antonio Locatelli, Sinfonia f-moll “composta per le esequie della sua Donna che si celebrarono in Roma”
Roberta Invernizzi, soprano
Europa Galante
Fabio Biondi, concert-master, conductor***
6 April 2007 (Good Friday), 9 pm
St Joseph Church, Krakow, Zamoyskiego 2
Michel-Richard de Lalande, Tenebrae
Michel-Richard de Lalande, Miserere
Claire Lefilliâtre, soprano
Le Poème Harmonique
Vincent Dumestre, theorbo, conductor***
7 April 2007 (Holy Saturday), 6 pm
St Kinga’s Chapel, Wieliczka Salt Mine
Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Leçons de Ténèbres
Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Méditations pour le Carême
Le Concert Spirituel
Hervé Niquet, conductor7 April 2007 (Holy Saturday), 9.30 pm
Market Square in Krakow
The Mystery of the Lord’s Passion
Jezusa Judasz przedałWritten and directed by Jerzy Zoń
***
8 April 2007 (Easter Sunday), 8 pm
Krakow Philharmonic, Zwierzyniecka 1
Georg Philipp Telemann – Antonio Vivaldi – Johann Sebastian BachSuites & concertos
Il Giardino Armonico
Giovanni Antonini, conductor***
9 April 2007 (Easter Monday), 8 pm
Krakow Philharmonic, Zwierzyniecka 1
Antonio Vivaldi, Motetti e concerti II
Sonia Prina, alto
Accademia Bizantina
Ottavio Dantone, harpsichord, conductor
The Piano Recitals in Polonia House, which take place regularly
throughout theyear in Polonia House in Krakow are mainly aimed at foreign tourists who arefrequent visitors to Krakow. Eminent pianists from Poland and abroad, including Teresa Janina Czekaj, Marek Szlezer, Pawel Kubica, Mariusz Adamczak, Eduard Mamajew and Leopold Strauss, perform works by Chopin.
Program:
1, 5, 10, 15, 19, 24, 29 AprilPreludium cis-moll op.45
Polonez fis-moll op.44
Mazurek G-dur op. 50 nr 1
Mazurki g-moll, C-dur, op.24, nr 1, 2
Mazurek cis-moll op.63, nr 3
Walc As-dur op.42***
Nokturn H-dur op. 62, nr 1
Tarantella As-dur op. 43
Walc cis-moll op.64, nr 2
Etiuda c-moll op. 10, nr 12
Fantazja f-moll op.493, 8, 12, 17, 22, 26 April
Ballada g-moll op.23
Ballada As-dur op.47
Scherzo E-dur op.54***
Nokturn Es-dur op.9, nr 2
Nokturn Es-dur op.55 nr 2
Etiuda c-moll op.10, nr 12
Preludia As-dur i c-moll op.28, nr 17, 20
Mazurek cis-moll op.50, nr 3
Polonez As-dur op.53
