Monthly music and theatre performances related to the composers of Romanticism. In fact they will be social gatherings taking place in the Royal Castle in Warsaw (Kubicki Arcades). Performers from abroad will also participate. The two hour meetings will start in February and end in November, 2011. They will be held at noon on Saturdays or Sundays and consist of lectures, concerts, performances and workshops for children.

The music of Chopin shown in a non standard way and its influence on other composers is the main aim of these meetings. That is why artists from Norway, Hungary, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain are also invited.

Each meeting will be devoted to a different country and culture. We will try to find more or less evident connection between the works of a given composer and Chopin. Thus we will present the music of Europe as one cultural heritage which came into being thanks to mixing of trends, experiences and inspirations.

Chopin anniversary is also the anniversary of his peers: Robert Schumann, Ole Bull, Isaac Albéniz. We will also introduce his friends: Ferenc Liszt, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Vincenzo Bellini and Hector Berlioz.

SCHEDULE:

February: Ole Bulle
March: Ferenc Liszt
April: Robert Schumann
May: Vincenzo Bellini
June: Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
September: Isaac Albéniz
October: Hector Berlioz
November: Résumé – Frédéric Chopin
 

ORGANIZATION

a/ Children’s workshops

We will begin each meeting with musical,  theatrical and art workshops for children. Participants will acquaint themselves with some characteristic elements of other cultures. A concert of the meeting’s patron and Frédéric Chopin will end the activities conducted by pedagogues, musicologists and historians from the Royal Castle.

b/ Lectures

We will talk about the main relations between the two composers. The differences and similarities of their styles and some biographical curiosities will also be discussed. The lectures will be given by music critics and lecturers from the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music as well as employees of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute.

c/ Music and theatre performances

This will be a concert enriched by a theatre and multimedia performance inspired by the works of the composers presented. The Fryderyk Chopin University of Music will take the artistic leadership over the music part while the theatre part will be the responsibility of the ATLANTIS Theatre.

Besides the Royal Castle and the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music we have invited national institutes, embassies and associations promoting their culture in Poland to participate.
We are convinced that music is a medium enabling us to get acquainted with a foreign culture the easiest. CHOPIN AND FRIENDS is to show how national cultures permeate one another and to point to the role of Frédéric Chopin in this process.

The music and theatre performance will be in Polish and English.
The admission to all the events is free.