The Kraków events of the Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival 2020 have been cancelled due to growing concerns related to the coronavirus outbreak. The main part of the festival planned in Warsaw on 29 March – 10 April has been postponed to 4-13 September.
The event has been held in Warsaw for many years now, but it never forgets its Cracovian roots: the Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival once again presents the prologue of the main events. Held for the 24th time, coinciding with the 250th anniversary of its patron’s birth, the event showcases the great influence made by the composer on music styles in the 19th and 20th centuries. The inspirational aspects of the composers work are also the focus of the exhibition of music manuscripts Beethoven – The Great Initiator presented at the Jagiellonian Library from 24 March. Most importantly, Beethoven’s music resounds at the Gallery in Sukiennice: three concerts by the Shanghai Quartet (24-26 March) showcase string quartets, the most important in composer’s oeuvre (and his favourite) genre of chamber music. Next month, the Cracovian instalment of the festival features pianists Aleksandra Świgut, Adam Goździewski and Krzysztof Książek, who present compositions by Chopin, Szymanowski and Rachmaninoff on 4 April, also in Sukiennice.
(Barbara Skowrońska, “Karnet” monthly)
24 March
noon | Jagiellonian Library
Opening of musical manuscripts exhibition Beethoven – The Great Initiator
Recital by Aleksandra Świgut (piano)
L. van Beethoven Piano Sonata in E flat major Op. 31 No. 3
R. Schumann 3 Romances Op. 28
F. Chopin Scherzo in E major Op. 54
7:30pm | Gallery in Sukiennice
Beethoven’s Complete String Quartets IV
Shanghai Quartet: Weigang Li, Yi-Wen Jiang (violin), Honggang Li (viola), Nicholas Tzavaras (cello)
L. van Beethoven String Quartet in E flat major “Harp” Op. 74, String Quartet in A major Op. 18 No. 5, String Quartet in E minor Op. 59 No. 2
25 March, 7:30pm | Gallery in Sukiennice
Beethoven’s Complete String Quartets IV
Shanghai Quartet: Weigang Li, Yi-Wen Jiang (violin), Honggang Li (viola), Nicholas Tzavaras (cello)
L. van Beethoven String Quartet in B flat major Op. 130, String Quartet in F major Op. 59 No. 1
26 March, 7:30pm | Gallery in Sukiennice
Beethoven’s Complete String Quartets IV
Shanghai Quartet: Weigang Li, Yi-Wen Jiang (violin), Honggang Li (viola), Nicholas Tzavaras (cello)
L. van Beethoven String Quartet in B flat major Op. 18 No. 6, Grosse Fuge in B flat major Op. 133, String Quartet in F major Op. 135
4 April, 7:30pm | Gallery in Sukiennice
Aleksandra Świgut
Fryderyk Chopin 4 Mazurkas Op. 30, Polonaise-fantaisie in A flat major Op. 61, Scherzo in E major, Op. 54
Karol Szymanowski Schéhérazade, Op. 34 No. 1
Adam Goździewski
Fryderyk Chopin Impromptu in G flat major Op. 51, 3 Mazurkas Op. 63, Barcarolle in F sharp major Op. 60
Krzysztof Książek
Sergei Rachmaninoff Etudes-Tableaux cycle op.33
