The festival is held for the 45th time, filling the most beautiful corners of the city with music. This year’s guests are all local, making the event all the more Cracovian!
It’s one of the longest-running festivals in Poland, and it’s almost impossible to imagine summer by Wawel Hill without it. It has survived political transformations and upheavals faced by the festival industry, and it certainly hasn’t been defeated by the coronavirus – it’s time for the 45th Music in Old Cracow Festival! As usual, concerts are held between 15 and 31 August. Due to the restrictions imposed due to the pandemic, the organisers weren’t able to invite guests from abroad – and only in recent years the festival featured acclaimed musicians such as Grigory Sokolov, Ivan Monighetti, Steven Isserlis, Emma Kirkby and the Philharmonia Quartett Berlin and Cikada Ensemble. This year’s programme includes Cracovian musicians only – proof, if it were needed, that our city abounds with world-class artists!

In memoriam
We start with a concert dedicated to the memory of Krzysztof Penderecki; the Maestro’s works will be performed by Bartosz Koziak on cello and the Beethoven Academy Orchestra under the baton of Maciej Tworek. On 15 August, the Church of Sts Peter and Paul resounds with Concerto for cello and chamber orchestra, Adagio from Symphony No. 3 and Sinfonietta per archi No. 1. The choice of venue is no accident – once the pandemic is over and the restrictions lifted, the church will hold the Maestro’s official funeral, and his ashes will be laid to rest at the National Pantheon in the vaults.

Dedications
The festival also marks the centenary since the birth of St John Paul II: on 26 August, we will hear the programme Sub Tuum praesidium, with the Marian hymn Beneath Thy Protection as the leitmotif. The male vocal quartet Triplum performs a range of interpretations of the original Latin text: from Gregorian chants, via the Renaissance (Palestrina) and Baroque (Charpentier), to early Classicism represented by Jakub Gołąbek – musician at Kraków’s Basilica of St Mary and Wawel Cathedral. The concert will be held at the Church of St Florian – Karol Wojtyła’s first Cracovian parish.
The finale of Music in Old Cracow (31 August, Church of St Catherine) will also be dedicated to the memory of the Polish Pope. Music by Polish composers from the Baroque – Mikołaj Zieleński and Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki, ordained kapellmeister at Wawel Cathedral – is presented by Collegium Zieleński under the baton of Stanisław Gałoński, founder and artistic director of the festival.

Exploring traditions
And the festival has plenty more in store for fans of early Polish music, frequently little known and underappreciated. On 19 August, Collegium Zieleński, this time led by Stanisław Krawczyński, recalls Renaissance works by composers such as Marcin Leopolita and Wacław of Szamotuły at the Bernardine Church at the foot of Wawel Hill. Royal Kraków played a crucial role in the lives of composers at the time; although the former musician was born in Lwów and the latter in the Wielkopolska region, they both studied at the Kraków Academy and worked at the court of King Sigismund II August.
Royal Rorantists recall even more illustrious Cracovian musical traditions. Founded by Stanisław Gałoński, the vocal ensemble cultivates the heritage of the original band founded on the 16th century by King Sigismund the Old. On 16 August, they come to the Church of St Barbara to perform some of the earliest treasures of Polish music: Bogurodzica, and the hymn Gaude Mater Polonia by Wincenty of Kielcza.

Even more music
An interesting touch of this year’s festival is family-themed concerts. We will see the mother and daughter duo of Kaja and Justyna Danczowska on violin and piano, respectively. Krzysztof Jakowicz, hailed by global press as a “titan of the violin” and “Poland’s Menuhin”, is joined by his son Jakub, also an acclaimed violinist. There will also be couples whose love of music brought them together: the flautists Łukasz Długosz and Agata Kielar-Długosz, and the violin and piano duo of Aleksandra Kuls and Marcin Koziak.
And that’s not all… We will hear recitals by Elżbieta Stefańska on harpsichord, Andrzej Białko on organ and Dmytro Holovenko on guitar. Chamber music concerts include a performance by a violin trio with Daniel Stabrawa, concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Kraków Wind Quintet with guests. Jacek Muzyk presents rarely-hear music for horn as the solo instrument, while Rafał Gorczyński on gamba and the harpsichord ClaveDuo take us back to the era of Baroque masters.
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Harmonies of classic sonatas resounding among Franciscan cloisters hung with portraits of former bishops of Kraków, the splendid Baroque polyphonies echoing off the stuccoes and polychromes of the Church of St Anne, voices filling the Gothic interiors of the Church of St Catherine – the festival has another hero who makes it unique. “When I first took on organising the festival, many years ago, I asked myself what it should mean in the life of our city and how it should differ from other events,” recalls Stanisław Gałoński. “Taking all this into account, I named it Music in Old Cracow.” (Barbara Skowrońska)

15 August 2020, 7:30pm
CHURCH OF STS PETER AND PAUL
Bartosz Koziak (cello)
Beethoven Academy Orchestra
Maciej Tworek (conductor)

K. Penderecki Adagio from Symphony No. 3, Concerto for cello and chamber orchestra, Sinfonietta per archi No. 1, Chaccone per archi

16 August 2020, 7:30pm
CHURCH OF ST BARBARA
Royal Rorantists
Wiktoria Swoboda (lute)
Stanisław Gałoński (conductor)

in programme: M. Paligon, W. Długoraj, T. Szadek, J. Polak, B. Pękiel, Ch. Bocquet, K. Borek, G.G. Gorczycki, D. Cato, Wincenty from Kielczy

17 August 2020, 7:30pm
GALLERY IN SUKIENNICE
Elżbieta Stefańska (harpsichord)

F. Couperin Les Fastes de la grande et ancienne Mxnxstrxndxs
C.B. Balbastre La d’Hericour, La Suzanne, La Malasherbe
A. Forqueray 5ème suite
J.J. Froberger Partita VI
J.S. Bach Prelude (Fantasia) in C minor BWV 922
Fantasia Chromatique and Fugue in D minor BWV 903
G.F. Handel Chaconne in G major
L. van Beethoven 6 Variations on the Theme “Nel cor più non mi sento” by G. Paisiello WoO 70

18 August 2020, 8pm
FRANCISCAN CHURCH CLOISTERS
Daniel Stabrawa (violin)
Ignacy Miecznikowski (viola)
Ewa Miecznikowska (cello)

J.S. Bach Sarabanda from II Partita in D minor BWV 1004
W.A. Mozart Divertimento in E flat major K. 563
F. Schubert Allegro from Tria in B flat major D. 471

19 August 2020, 8pm
BERNARDINE CHURCH
Collegium Zieleński
Michał Białko (organ)
Maciej Tworek (conductor)

Wacław from Szamotuł Już się zmierzcha
anonymous Zlotokovannuyu trubu
M. Leopolita Missa paschalis, Resurgente Christo Domino, Mihi autem nimis, Cibavit eos

20 August 2020, 7:30pm
WŁADYSŁAW ŻELEŃSKI MUSIC HIGH SCHOOL
Aleksandra Kuls (violin)
Marcin Koziak (piano)

G.P. Telemann Fantasia for violin solo
H. Wieniawski L’étude Op. 10 No. 3
B. Bartók Ciaccona from Sonata for violin solo
E. Ysaÿe V Sonata for violin solo Op. 27
J. Elsner Sonata in F major for violin and piano Op. 10 No. 1
L. van Beethoven X Sonata in G major for violin and piano Op. 96

21 August 2020, 7:30pm
CHURCH OF ST MARTIN
Krzysztof Jakowicz, Jakub Jakowicz (violin)

G.P. Telemann I Sonata in Canon
A. Vivaldi Sonata in G major, Sonata in F major
W.A. Mozart The Magic Flute (fragm.)
A. Tansman Sonata
B. Bartók 44 Duets for two violins (selection)
H. Wieniawski Capriccios in G minor, in C minor, in D major, in A minor Op. 18

22 August 2020, 7:30pm
WŁADYSŁAW ŻELEŃSKI MUSIC HIGH SCHOOL
Jacek Muzyk (horn)
Justyna Danczowska (piano)

L. van Beethoven Sonata in F major for horn and piano Op. 17
O. Messiaen Appel interstellaire for horn solo
J. Massenet Meditations (arr. for horn and piano)
R. Strauss Andante,
F. Poulenc Elegie
P. Dukas Villanelle for horn and piano
R. Glière Romance Op. 35 No. 6, Valse triste Op. 35 No. 7
P. Hindemith Sonata in F major for horn and piano

23 August 2020, 8:30pm
CARMELITE CHURCH
Kraków Wind Quintet and guests: Katarzyna Kurowska-Mleczko (flute), Marek Mleczko (oboe), Paweł Krauzowicz (clarinet), Paweł Solecki (bassoon), Tadeusz Tomaszewski (horn), Katarzyna Mrozek (oboe), Oleh Małowyczko (clarinet), Krystyna Milaniak (bassoon), Paweł Cal (horn)

L. van Beethoven Octet in E flat major Op. 103
W.A. Mozart Serenade in E flat major K. 375
Ch. Gounod Petite symphonie

24 August 2020, 8:30pm
CHURCH OF ST ANNE
Andrzej Białko (organ)

anonymous from Tablature of Jan of Lublin Salve Regina
Adam of Wągrowiec Fantasia III secundi toni
J.P. Sweelinck Fantasia in a (auf die Manier eines Echo), Mein junges Leben hat End
J. Podbielski Prelude in D minor
F. Chelleri Sonata (Suita) No. 1 in A major
C.P.E. Bach Sonata in A minor Wq 70/4
J.S. Bach Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend BWV 655, Toccata in C major BWV 564

25 August 2020, 7:30pm
TEMPEL SYNAGOGUE
Łukasz Długosz, Agata Kielar-Długosz (flute)
Marek Toporowski (pianoforte)

L. Delibes Flower Duo from Lakmé (arr. for two flutes and piano)
W.A. Mozart Rondo in D major K. 373 for flute and piano
M.K. Ogiński Polonaise for two flutes and Pianoforte
J. Elsner Rondo alla Krakowiak for pianoforte, Rondo alla Mazurek for pianoforte
I. Kisiel Once Upon the Sea for two flutes and pianoforte
F. Doppler Andante and Rondo Op. 25 for two flutes and pianoforte

26 August 2020, 8pm
CHURCH OF ST FLORIAN
Sub Tuum praesidium – On the Centenary of the Birth of Pope John Paul II
Triplum: Łukasz Dulewicz (countertenor), Piotr Piwko (tenor), Maciej Michalik (baritone), Mariusz Zarzycki (bass)

Gregorian chant Sub Tuum praesidium, Salve Sancta Parens, Benedicta et Venerabilis, Ave Regina caelorum, Sub Tuis visceribus
J. Dunstable Sancta Maria
J. Gołąbek IV Missa commune festorum B.M.V., Sub Tuum praesidium, Deo Gratias, Zdrowaś bądź Maryja
G.P. da Palestrina Sub Tuum praesidium
M.-A. Charpentier Sub Tuum praesidium

27 August 2020, 7:30pm
HALL OF BL. JACOB
Dmytro Hołoweńko (guitar)

G.P. Telemann Fantasia No. 7
J.N. Bobrowicz Variatons on the Theme of Mozart
D. Aguado Introduction and Rondo in A minor Op. 2 No. 2
A. Barrios Mangore Waltz No. 3 and No. 4
M. Llobet Variatons on the Theme of Sor Op. 15
J. Rodrigo Sonata giocosa, Toccata

28 August 2020, 7pm
PREMONSTRATENSIAN SISTERS CHURCH
Rafał Gorczyński (viola da gamba)
Klaudia Rogała, Zofia Satała (harpsichord)

G.F. Handel Sonata in C major for viola da gamba and harpsichord
Mr. Dubuisson (Manuskrypt krakowski) Suita in D minor
C.F. Abel Sonata in G major for viola da gamba and basso continuo A2:72, Allegro for viola solo WKO 208
J.S. Bach Sonata in D major for viola da gamba and harpsichord BWV 1028

29 August 2020, 7:30pm
CHURCH OF ST MARTIN
ClaveDuo: Anna Huszczo, Joanna Solecka (harpsichord)

M. Mielczewski Canzona prima à 2, Canzona terza à 3
A. Jarzębski Canzoni e concerti: Berlinesa, Chromatica, Spandesa
B. Pasquini Sonate per uno o due cembali con il basso cifrato, 14 Sonate per due cembali

30 August 2020, 7:30pm
TEMPEL SYNAGOGUE
Kaja Danczowska (violin)
Justyna Danczowska (piano)

J.S. Bach Andante
P. Glass Sonata for violin and piano (Polish premiere)
E. Grieg Sonata in F major Op. 8 No. 1
K. Penderecki Grand Finale from II Sonata for violin

31 August 2020, 7:30pm
CHURCH OF ST CATHERINE
On the Centenary of the Birth of Pope John Paul II
Joanna Stawarska, Agnieszka Kałużna (soprano)
Małgorzata Langer-Król (mezzo-soprano)
Joanna Święszek (alto)
Zygmunt Magiera (tenor)
Jerzy Butryn, Marcin Wróbel (bass)
Collegium Zieleński
Festival Orchestra
Stanisław Gałoński (conductor)

G.G. Gorczycki Completorium
M. Zieleński Offertoria et Communiones totius anni (selection)