At the BESKID CLASSICS FESTIVAL, for the seventh time we will invite audiences on an extraordinary journey through the music, culture and landscapes of the Beskids. This year’s edition, however, will take us even farther – from Greece and Spain, through Africa, the Alps and the Żywiec Beskids, to the partner cities of Bielsko-Biała in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.

We live in a world in which more and more things divide us. Borders are once again becoming an important subject, and with them comes the increasingly frequent question of how to build understanding between people, nations and cultures. All the more reason to remind ourselves that culture has always been able to build bridges. Music needs no translator. It can bring together people who speak different languages, have different experiences and come from different parts of Europe and the world.

That is why this year’s Beskid Classics will be a festival of encounters. In Międzybrodzie Bialskie, we will begin with a musical journey in the footsteps of Iberian culture – from Spain to Cuba, Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela. In Skoczów, live music will accompany the legendary Nosferatu – A Symphony of Horror. Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau’s film was made in 1922, and some of its footage was shot at Orava Castle. One of the first international masterpieces of cinema was therefore created right here in our mountains. More than a century later, it will return to the Beskids, this time with live music.

At the Czeczów Palace in Kozy, we will explore the love story of Wisława Szymborska and Kornel Filipowicz, told through letters, poetry and music. At Bator Art Gallery in Szczyrk, we will travel to sunny Greece, while in Wisła, the musical tradition of the Żywiec Beskids will once again meet an orchestra. This has already become a tradition of our festival. The “Żywioły” [Elements] by PoPieronie will be heard in special, premiere arrangements for ensemble and orchestra.

In Bielsko-Biała, more extraordinary encounters await us. At Villa Sixta, Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations will intertwine with the personal story of Bogdan Frymorgen, who wrote about them in a book of the same title. At Kossakówka in Górki Wielkie, the world premiere of Beskid Fantasy by Michel Rosset – composer and grandson of Zofia Kossak – will take place. It will be performed by the Swiss Alp’Penta Brass ensemble, whose member is the writer’s great-grandson, Pascal Rosset. It will be a symbolic musical journey from the Alps to the Beskids.

In the concert hall of the Stanisław Moniuszko Primary and Secondary Music School Complex in Bielsko-Biała, David Fanshawe’s monumental African Sanctus will resound – an extraordinary work combining the European choral tradition with authentic recordings of African music. Performers from Poland and Slovakia will create a spectacle bringing together different cultures, traditions and musical worlds.

The festival will not stop at Poland’s borders. In the year when Bielsko-Biała became the first city in Poland to hold the title of Polish Capital of Culture, it will be particularly important to recall our international relationships. Concerts in Žilina, Slovakia, and Szolnok, Hungary, will be part of the “Four Cities. One Harmony” project, bringing together young artists from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. It will be a musical symbol of the fact that European cooperation does not have to begin in great capitals. It can begin right here – between Bielsko-Biała, Žilina, Frýdek-Místek and Szolnok.

Perhaps this is precisely what we need most from culture today: a space where we can meet across borders. Beskid Classics wants to be such a space – a place where classical music meets tradition, literature, film and contemporary culture, and where the Beskids become a natural meeting place for the different cultures of Europe.

I wish you that during the seventh edition of Beskid Classics you will find many such encounters – and many unforgettable experiences!

dr Paweł Kotla
Festival Director