From opera through musical to dance performance. Mix of old and contemporary works, orchestral and chamber pieces, classical and traditional music. The Academy of Music in Łódź invites you to a cultural summary of the activities of its professors, students and invited guests as the 9th edition of the AŻ Festival, which will run from 4 November to 5 December 2021.
This year, the Academy will be visited by artists such as: pianist Cyprien Katsaris, conductor Marcin Sompoliński, New Music Orchestra conducted by Szymon Bywalec, Janusz Prusinowski Kompania, and Gdańsk Percussion Group "Jeunesses Musicales".
The festival will be inaugurated by the long-awaited premiere of the opera Platée by Rameau (4 and 5 Nov). Three performances supervised by Sebastian Gonciarz of the play AŻ się chce... will be staged by students of the Department of Musical Performance (12-14 Nov). The stage works at AŻ Festival will also be joined by the dance performance Lithos, inspired by the myth of Sisyphus and choreographed by Jacek Owczarek (24 Nov).
The oldest Polish ensemble performing contemporary music, the New Music Orchestra will be conducted by Szymon Bywalec (15 Nov). The festival final concert, traditionally devoted to contemporary music, will commence the 78th Musica Moderna Session (5 Dec) with compositions of Łódź artists – Glądys, Hans and Szostak. The Contemporary & Baroque Music concert (2 Dec) will be sort of a bridge between the old and the new music. The programme will feature works by Bach and Vivaldi as well as modern music composers such as Zagajewski and Szymański. This year chamber music will fill the programme of three festival evenings, featuring Polish Violin Duo, Michał Balas and Bacewicz Percussion Ensemble.
The project "Opera-ballet J.-Ph. Rameau Platée – The First Polish Interpretation ”is realized thanks to co-financing from the budget of the City of Łódź.
Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.
Programme and ticket information: https://www.amuz.lodz.pl/pl/inne-wydarzenia-cykliczne/az-festiwal/9-az-festiwal