Warsaw is the Capital of French and Spanish Music
The greatest festival in the world that popularises classical music is coming to Poland for the fourth time.
“La Folle Journée – Music from France and Spain” is the Polish edition of the international La Folle Journée. It will take place on 27-29 September in Warsaw, making it the world capital of French and Spanish music. The festival, which takes place from Spain through France, China and Japan, is organised in Poland by the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra and hosted by the Grand Theatre-Polish National Opera. Tickets, priced from 7 to 10 PLN are on sale now.
In the course of three days, 1000 artists will present the musical genius of the greatest French and Spanish composers, such as Debussy, Bizet, Ravel, Albeniz, Fauré, Poulenc, De Falla and Rodrigo. The mission of the festival is to overcome the stereotype of inaccessibility of classical music by encouraging and facilitating the participation of a large audience in concerts, while providing a high level of performance. This is why the festival enjoys immense popularity – over the years, it hosted nearly 100 000 fans, with 36 000 attending last year’s edition.
By now, long lines in front of the National Opera during the last weekend of September are a traditional sight. The audience is attracted by an interesting programme, excellent performers, unusual concerts and a unique, relaxed atmosphere. We are happy that La Folle Journée has managed to entice more and more people – comments Janusz Marynowski, Director of the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra, the festival’s chief organiser.
This year, invited performers include pianists Luis Fernando Pérez, Philippe Giusiano, violinists Augustin Dumay, Anna Maria Staśkiewicz, guitarist Juan Manuel Cañizares and soprano Olga Pasiecznik. DuringLa Folle Journéethere will be an opportunity to listen to chamber music performed by Quatuor Modigliani, the Silesian String Quartet and Duo Jatekok. The programme also features symphonic works. Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Arie van Beek, Antoni Wit and Tadeusz Wojciechowski will conduct the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra, The National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, the orchestra of the Grand Theatre-National Opera and the Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra.
The concerts – there are 60 this year – will take place in four halls within the Opera and in a tent set up in the Theatre Square. For the duration of the festival, the halls will take on names of great Frenchmen and Spaniards: The Moniuszko Auditorium becomes Salle Balzac, the back-stage area of the Moniuszko Auditorium becomes Salle Picasso, the Small (Młynarski) Auditorium takes on the name of Eiffel, and the Redutowe Rooms will be named after Proust. The patron of the concert tent, where admission is free is Gaudi.
The Festival traditionally features special concerts by young performers, the best ensembles from 10 music schools from all over Poland. Furthermore, the Festival also features concerts for the youngest listeners, and for pregnant women and toddlers – “Smykofonia” [the Toddler Philharmonic].
Film animations, flamenco dancing and a happening with the participation of the audience are only some of the musical surprises awaiting us at this year’s “La Folle Journée”. Some of these will be announced during the press conference which will take place on 12 September at 12:00 in the Grand Theatre-Polish National Opera in Warsaw.
