6. International Brahms Festival in Wrocław
The International Brahms Festival is the only festival in Poland and elsewhere in Europe that is solely devoted to the music of one of the most celebrated Romantic composers.
The International Brahms Festival is the only festival in Poland and elsewhere in Europe that is solely devoted to the music of one of the most celebrated Romantic composers. From 20–25 May, solo recitals, chamber music and symphonic concertos will resound again in locations where Johannes Brahms once personally conducted them in the past. From 1874–1881, the composer visited and performed in then Breslau many times. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the then University of Breslau in 1879. Brahms expressed his gratitude to the University by composing Academic Festival Overture.
Leo Garda
Out of many concerts in Wrocław and elsewhere in Lower Silesia one catches the ear in particular. On 25 May at 7 pm, the Oratorium Marianumx Concert Hall is going to host the internationally acclaimed La Scala counter-tenor Leo Garda and the chamber music Amati Ensemble München conducted by Jan Pogány The programme for the evening features works by Brahms and arias from Brahms’s favourite Great Masters. Tickets range from 40 to 120 PLN.
Inaugural concert
Scheduled for 20 May at 7 pm at the Leopoldinum Hall (Wrocław University), the inaugural concert “Brahms and Freemason Composers” is going to be just extraordinary. The event is expected to feature Japanese mezzo-soprano Midori Ahmed, La Scala counter-tenor Leo Garda and Monika Pietruszewska on English horn, a soloist acclaimed in Europe, Asia and elsewhere. They will be accompanied by the chamber music Amati Ensemble München and soloists from the Camerata Wrocław Chamber Orchestra. The programme for the evening brings works by Brahms and Freemason composers. Freemasonry are going to celebrate their tercentenary this year. Throughout the eras and musical periods, a number of eminent composers, e.g. Brahms, Mozart, Beethoven, Grieg, Haydn, Cherubini, Elsner, Kurpiński, Bogusławski and probably Chopin joined the ranks of the secret brotherhood. Their links to Freemasonry were deeply ingrained in their music, which reflected Masonic symbolism.
The programme features celebrated arias and songs for counter-tenor and mezzo-soprano and orchestra, as well as Sonata for English Horn and String Orchestra by Cherubini, Masonic Music and Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart, Romance for Strings Op. 42 by Sibelius, Peer Gynt Suite by Grieg and Hungarian Dances by Brahms. The performance will be conducted by Jan Pogány, a Polish conductor, composer and cellist, a Hochschule für Musik und Theater München alumnus and the winner of numerous competitions for composers. Pogány was a long-standing musical director at one of musical theatres in Munich. He is now the Director of the chamber music Amati Ensemble München and pursues his career as a conductor by collaborating with various orchestras, including the Royal Opera House Muskat in Oman. He is also Director of the International Brahms Festival in Wrocław.
The International Brahms Festival is the only festival in Poland and elsewhere in Europe that is solely devoted to the music of one of the most celebrated Romantic composers.
Event details:
brahms-festival.com
