14th La Folle Journée de Varsovie “Origins” – “Get swept away by the element of sound”
27–29 September 2024

Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera (1 Teatralny Square)
Tent at Teatralny Square
Church of Art Societies (18b Senatorska Street)

Sinfonia Varsovia has announced the program of the fourteenth La Folle Journée de Varsovie (Szalone Dni Muzyki) “Origins” Festival. 3 days, 6 stages, 56 concerts. Polish premieres. Classical, traditional, jazz, film and early music. Symphonic and chamber concerts, recitals, as well as audience and family events. Performers will include, among others, Emmanuel Strosser, François Lazarevitch, Raphaël Feuillâtre, Valentine Michaud, Raphaël Sévère and Marcin Masecki, ensembles: Sinfonia Varsovia, Orchestra of the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera, Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien, Quatuor Hermès, Sirba Octet, Geister Duo and Paul Lay Trio. Ticket sales begin on September 1.

Theme: Origins
In keeping with the edition’s theme – Origins (French: Origines) – the festival program will direct the public’s imagination towards nature: to the murmur of gushing water and birdsong, ancient ways of human communication, primordial rhythm or traditional calling and singing. The repertoire will reach back to the great works of the classical canon, the “original” works of modern times, which are an inexhaustible mine of inspiration for generations to come. The audience will also have the opportunity to look at traditional instruments and folk inspirations in classical music and jazz. There will be plenty of premieres: Quatuor Hermès will perform the Polish premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s recently discovered Music for String Quartet, Paul Lay Trio will present the Rhapsody in Blue Extended 1924-2024 project for the first time in Poland, while albums Tsuzamen by Sirba Octet (2023) and Maciej Skrzeczkowski’s The Real John Bull (2024) will have their concert premiere in Poland.

The artists
The core of the festival constitutes Sinfonia Varsovia’s concerts, both in symphonic casts and in chamber ensembles; among others, as Sinfonia Varsovia Wind Quintet & Guests. In the opening and closing concerts, the ensemble will be conducted by Julien Masmondet, the orchestra will also be led by Jacek Kaspszyk, Aleksandar Marković, and in the family concerts by Grzegorz Wierus and Daniel Mieczkowski. Orchestra of the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera under the baton of Marta Kluczyńska and the Jerzy Semkow Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra under the direction of Alexander Humala will perform. Soloists for these concerts will include Valentine Michaud (saxophone), Raphaël Sévère (clarinet), Emmanuel Strosser (piano), Klara Min (piano), Marcel Markowski (cello), Aleksandra Orłowska (soprano) and Hubert Zapiór (baritone). Solo recitals will be given by François Lazarevitch (bagpipes), Raphaël Feuillâtre (guitar), Illia Ovcharenko (piano), Maciej Frąckiewicz (accordion) and Maciej Skrzeczkowski (harpsichord).

Chamber concerts will feature Quatuor Hermès, Geister Duo, Chopin University Percussion Ensemble, Valentine and Gabriel Michaud, Eva Zavaro, Raphaël Sévère and Emmanuel Strosser, early music will be unconventionally transformed by Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien, klezmer, Armenian and Roma music will be played by Sirba Octet. In addition, their own jazz history will be presented by Marcin Masecki, Chopin University Big Band and Paul Lay Trio, while an original blend of the genre with Polish folk music will be showcased by the combined line-ups of Kapela Maliszów and Suferi.

La Folle Journée de Varsovie is a one-of-a-kind festival of the best youth orchestras from all over Poland. In this year’s edition, Young Performers will take part in 15 concerts. A total of 10 ensembles selected by the Centre of Art Education will perform: 9 orchestras from Białystok, Bytom, Łódź, Olsztyn, Poznań, Radom, Warsaw, Sosnowiec and Żory, as well as a dance ensemble from the Warsaw Ballet School.

Educational program
The festival’s educational path will include two chamber programs of the Smykofonia series (0–2, 2–5 years), two symphonic concerts with Bazylek (3–8 years) and Panakota (7+ years), as well as audience participation events: About Clave and the Origins of Rhythm (9+ years) hosted by Jerzy Rogiewicz and Hubert Zemler, and Treasures from the Instrument Market (12+ years), during which traditional instruments will be introduced by their builders and musicians.

Names of the stages
Traditionally, each of the festival stages will be given a name that refers to the festival’s theme. This time they will be the names of the elements, in which Greek philosophers saw the sources of the reality around them, the original building blocks of the world. Fire will be the patron of Zascenie Hall, Air – Church of Art Societies, Water – Redutowe Hall, Earth – Chamber Hall, Aether will be the patron of the tent at Teatralny Square, while Moniuszko Hall will bear the name of Love, added to the list of ancient elements by the festival organizers.

About the festival
La Folle Journée de Varsovie is an annual festival that breaks down the barriers separating listeners from classical music. The 13 past editions have attracted a total of more than 400,000 listeners, more than 10,000 artists who have performed nearly 800 concerts. This is Sinfonia Varsovia’s crown event. It is non-commercial in nature. It presents music at the highest level at affordable ticket prices, and even for free, in the format of short concerts of about an hour, which take place over three days from morning to evening on six stages simultaneously.

The first edition of the prototype – La Folle Journée – was held in Nantes in 1995, but the idea of the festival quickly crossed French borders, and over the years it has become a truly international musical phenomenon.

Ticket sales
Tickets, priced PLN 25–35, go on sale on September 1 (Sunday) at 10:00 a.m. – online at szalonednimuzyki.pl and eventim.pl, and will be also available at the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera on September 1 between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

The concerts in the spaces of the tent at Teatralny Square and the Creative Communities Church are free of charge. For all 15 concerts taking place there, admission is free within the seating limit. For more information on the artists, program and ticket sales, visit szalonednimuzyki.pl, Facebook and Instagram.

 

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