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The 2nd Vitis Music Sfera Festival, which will take place on August 12-18, 2018, is the second edition of an exceptional weekly music event, which takes place at the top of the vineyard in Janowice.

The idea of ​​the event is to present and combine different genres of music – from classical, through jazz, to pop. The Janowice Festival, which has a chance to become a famous and recognizable feast of music in Poland, promotes not only artists from Poland and abroad, but above all, the geographical and cultural richness of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. The main objective of the project is to enrich the artistic offer of the region by inviting talented artists representing various genres of music, as well as providing residents and guests from Tarnów and neighboring towns with access to the highest quality cultural events. The cultivation of musical traditions refers to the patron of the Foundation, Ignacy Jan Paderewski – an outstanding pianist and politician who initiated the series of concerts in his vineyard, celebrated to this day as the "Paderewski Festival".

The second edition of the Vitis Music Sfera Festival will begin on August 12, and will include seven concerts of soloists, chamber musicians and string orchestra, which was founded during the first edition of the event, as a reference to the international traditions of the best festivals in the world: the Martha Argerich Festival in Lugano and the Baden Baden Easter Festival. The repertoire will include, among others, works of the patron of the Foundation – Ignacy Jan Paderewski.

Detailed programme at: http://www.festival.vitismusicsfera.pl/ 

On August 11, 2018 at 8.30 p.m. in the historical heart of Rome – Teatro di Marcello, Polish pianist Jakub Dera will perform a piano recital as part of the Festival Musicale delle Nazion. The programme will consist of works by W. A. ​​Mozart, L. van Beethoven, F. Chopin, F. Liszt and A. Schönberg.

This will be the third appearance of this musician during the Roman festival. His last year's recital received excellent reviews, which emphasized enormous individuality, imagination and musical intelligence, virtuosity and emotional involvement during the performance. His interpretation of Liszt's Pilgrim Year was described as phenomenal.

Jakub Dera is a PhD student at the Academy of Music in Łódź, where his artistic supervisor is prof. dr hab. Maria Korecka-Soszkowska. In 2004 he received a full scholarship for the three years Artist Diploma studies at the Azusa Pacific University in Los Angeles, where he also worked as an assistant in the piano class of Roza Kostrzewska-Yoder. After returning to Poland, regular lessons with Irina Rumiancewa were an important element of his pianistic development. In 2015/16, he finished an annual master piano studies with the outstanding pianist Dina Yoffe in Brescia, Italy. He also perfected his piano skills during masterclasses with such pianists as: Janusz Olejniczak, Edward Wolanin, Dina Yoffe, Aleksander Slobodianik, Vitaly Margulis, Pavel Nersessian, Natalia Troull and many others.

More information at: www.polacywewloszech.com 

What connects avant-garde synth-pop, experimental and minimalist music, as well as beatbox and broadly understood design? The common denominator is the bold project of the Szczecin Philharmonic – MUSIC.DESIGN.FORM Festival. The first edition of the event will take place on September 19-23, 2018 in the award-winning Philharmonic building.

The MDF Festival is an event above divisions, combining various fields of art. During five days the audience will experience, among others: symphonic concerts, chamber concerts, exhibitions, workshops, discussion panels, happenings, as well as light and sound visualizations. The Philharmonic itself will become an artistic object, both inside and outside. On the façade of the building we will see colorful patches, minimalistic mirages or pulsating shapes – the Philharmonic bulding will be light up in this way for the first time. The lobby will be replaced by a mapping presentation of the installation, which in addition to aesthetic experiences will also convey valuable information to the festival guests.

The festival's programme and its range goes far beyond the boundaries set by the philharmonic walls as a standard. Undoubtedly, a big event will be the concert "An Evening of Chamber Music" by Philip Glass. For the needs of the festival, the first sound image of Szczecin will be created as part of the composers' commission. Sounds of Szczecin, which were recorded during a special car action, will become the foundation of the experimental work The Sound of Szczecin, whose authors are composers: Artur Cieślak, Magdalena Cynk, Olga Hans, Aleksandra Garbal, Alicja Gronau, Aleksandra Kościów, Artur Kroschel, Monika Kędziora, Sławomir Zamuszko, and Janusz Stalmierski. An interactive audiovisual installation by panGenerator is also promising. The spiral of the philharmonic staircase will be transformed into a well in which the voices of festival guests will take material and visual shape. The programme will also include workshops for children and adults, as well as lectures and discussions on issues of contemporary design.

Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

More information at: http://mdf.filharmonia.szczecin.pl/ 

The main theme of the 14th International Music Festival "Chopin and His Europe" is music "From Chopin to Paderewski". The Festival will start on 9th August 2018 and will last for the whole month.

Celebrations of the centenary of regaining independence defined the core of the programme of this year's edition, which focuses on two names: Fryderyk Chopin and Ignacy Jan Paderewski. Chopin, while it was difficult to expect the freedom for the country, developed in his work the most durable idiom of Polishness. Paderewski's activity contributed to the regaining of the free country status by Poland. During the Festival, their works of exceptional beauty and undeniable value will be presented.

In addition, the programme will include Polish music both from the period of partitions in the 19th century and from the 20th and 21st centuries. Out of over 120 works to be performed during the event, 60 are works by Polish composers: from song and instrumental miniatures, through known and unknown symphonic pieces and chamber music, to the opera preceding the year of Stanisław Moniuszko, and works of Roman Palester and Andrzej Panufnik. The new pieces for symphony orchestra, such as Polonaise by Krzysztof Penderecki and Fireworks by Agata Zubel, will be premiered at the Festival. Also, there will be monographic concerts of Mieczysław Karłowicz and Ignacy Jan Paderewski performed by the Russian National Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic from London.

Traditionally, great masters of piano and other instruments will perform, as well as numerous young musicians, e.g. participants of the Witold Lutosławski Cello Competition. The Festival will also feature the {oh!} Orchestra of History, the Beethoven Academy Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Kremerata Baltica, the National Philharmonic Orchestra and the Polish Amadeus Chamber Orchestra.

Detailed programme available at: http://pl.chopin.nifc.pl

The 11th edition of the Cracovia Sacra Night – the cycle of night exploration of Krakow, showing the religious phenomenon of the city, often called the second Rome – will take place on August 14 and 15, 2018. In its shape, character and programme richness, the event has no equivalent in Europe.

This year Cracovia Sacra Night will be held under the theme "Cracow's sacred heritage". The programme will include 13 concerts, 11 exhibitions and 2 theater performances. Also, 10 sacred buildings and museums will be available for sightseeing. The ceremonial inauguration will take place on August 14, 2018 at 4.00 p.m. in the House of Blessed Zofia Czeska (18 Szpitalna St.).

"Vespers for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross" by Sławomir Czarnecki will be premiered on August 15 in the Church of St. Mark. The 70-minute work with latin title "Vesperae in exaltatione Sanctae Crucis" will be performed by Sankt Barbara Kantorei Choir and the L'Estate Armonico orchestra conducted by Wiesław Delimat. As soloists we will hear: Przemysław Borys (tenor) and Dawid Biwo (bass).

On the same day in the Church of St. Thomas, the OCTAVA ensemble & Collegium Copernicus under the direction of Zygmunt Magiera will perform all the works of Bartłomiej Pękiel. The programme of the remaining concerts will include medieval music as well as arias and sacred songs of Polish composers. One of the most important events will be an open-air multimedia show "Saint of Wadowice – John Paul II", dedicated to the jubilee of the 40th anniversary of the election of Karol Wojtyła as Pope.

Detailed programme of the event available at: https://krakowskienoce.pl