VII BESKID CLASSICAL FESTIVAL
"BESKID CLASSICS"

August 26 - September 11, 2026

Bielsko-Biała, Górki Wielkie, Kozy,
Międzybrodzie Bialskie, Skoczów, Szczyrk,
Szolnok (HU), Wisła, Žilina (SK)

About the event

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

Programme

26 August 2026 (Wednesday)

In the picturesque surroundings of the “Verdi” complex, music full of sunshine, passion and southern colours will resound. Pianist Katarzyna Musiał, who currently lives in Canada but comes from our region, will take the audience on a fascinating journey from Spain to Cuba, Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela, showing how Iberian culture inspired composers on both sides of the Atlantic. The programme will include spirited dances, lyrical miniatures and virtuoso masterpieces by composers such as Manuel de Falla, Enrique Granados, Joaquín Turina and Manuel Ponce. It will be an exceptional evening in which the beauty of music and the charm of the Beskid landscape will create an atmosphere reminiscent of the gardens of Iberia.

7:00 p.m., “Verdi” Restaurant House, 130 Żywiecka Street, Międzybrodzie Bialskie
[free admission]

NIGHTS IN THE GARDENS OF IBERIA

Performers:
Katarzyna Musiał – piano

Programme:
Works by composers including: Manuel de Falla, Enrique Granados, Joaquín Turina, Manuel Ponce, Ernesto Nazareth, Heraclio Fernández.

2026-08-26 (Verdi) Katarzyna Musiał

27 August 2026 (Thursday)

The film Nosferatu – A Symphony of Horror, filmed partly at Orava Castle in the Beskids, was made in 1922, when the Electric Theatre in Skoczów had already been operating for nearly a decade as one of the oldest cinemas in Poland. It was in cinemas such as these that masterpieces of the emerging art of film were created. Live music will be performed by Krzysztof Baranowski, who collaborates with Poland’s oldest cinema – Kino Pionier 1907 in Szczecin. The legendary film will return to the screen with live music, restoring the darkness, tension and magic of silent cinema experienced by its first audiences more than a century ago.

7:00 p.m., Teatr Elektryczny, 3 Adama Mickiewicza Street, Skoczów
[free admission, limited seating]

NOSFERATU – A SYMPHONY OF HORROR (LIVE!)

Performer:
Krzysztof Baranowski – composition and performance

Programme:
Nosferatu – A Symphony of Horror, dir. Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau

28 August 2026 (Friday)

“Let’s Talk About Love” is an intimate encounter with the extraordinary love story of Wisława Szymborska and Kornel Filipowicz, told through their letters, poetry and music. Actor Rafał Sawicki of the Polish Theatre in Bielsko-Biała will perform, accompanied by Andrzej Pikul, Klaudia Kołata and Duo del Gesú, consisting of Arnaud Kaminski and Krzysztof Komendarek-Tymendorf. It will be an evening full of subtle emotion, humour and tenderness, revealing one of the most beautiful relationships in Polish literature.

7:00 p.m., Czeczów Palace, 5 Krakowska Street, Kozy
[free admission, reservations: ]

LET’S TALK ABOUT LOVE. SZYMBORSKA AND FILIPOWICZ – IN LETTERS, MUSIC AND POETRY

Performers:
Rafał Sawicki – spoken word

Duo del Gesú:

Arnaud Kaminski – violin (France)
Krzysztof Komendarek-Tymendorf – viola
Andrzej Pikul – piano
Klaudia Kołata – piano

Programme:
Works by composers including: Mieczysław Karłowicz, Henryk Wieniawski, Karol Szymanowski, Emil Młynarski.

29 August 2026 (Saturday)

Bator Art Gallery in Szczyrk – a venue known for exceptional exhibitions and festivals – will become a space for an encounter with the colours and rhythms of Greece. Performed by outstanding artists from Poland and Greece (Iwona Travlos-Glinka, Andreas Zafeiropoulos), the music will be inspired by the culture of Hellas – from traditional dances to contemporary compositions. The concert will transport listeners into a world of Mediterranean imagination, revealing the richness of Greek culture and its enduring inspiration for contemporary music. During the concert, visitors will also be able to see paintings by Bożena Formas-Mądry inspired by Greece.

7:00 p.m., Bator Art Gallery, 60 Myśliwska Street, Szczyrk
[free admission]

DANCES OF HELLAS

Performers:
Iwona Travlos-Glinka – flute (Greece)
Andreas Zafeiropoulos – piano (Greece)

Programme:
Treasures of Greek chamber music

30 August 2026 (Sunday)

“Żywioły” [Elements] is a musical story inspired by the forces of nature and the tradition of the Żywiec Beskids. The programme combines original compositions with motifs from highlander music and the cultural borderlands of Central Europe, taking listeners through the four elements: air, earth, fire and water. At Beskid Classics, we will hear selected works from the album Żywioły – Na żywo in premiere arrangements for the legendary PoPieronie ensemble and orchestra, specially prepared for the festival by Piotr Szczotka and Maciej Ormaniec.

4:00 p.m., Stanisław Hadyna Amphitheatre, Wisła
[free admission]

THE ELEMENTS – ORCHESTRAL

Performers:
PoPieronie ORCHESTRA
“Poliana” Choir
Paweł Kotla – conductor
Zabrze Philharmonic Players

Programme:
Arrangements of traditional melodies from the Żywiec Beskids and original compositions by PoPieronie, including: Góry moje góry, Łowce siew & Pastwisko, Siustany & Na Ugaju, Na skraju Lasu, Ognista Polka, Oddam sa ne oddam.

4 September 2026 (Friday)

One of the most fascinating masterpieces in the history of music will meet an intensely personal story about memory, life and the power of art. At Villa Sixta, Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations will be performed in an exceptional arrangement for string trio by the outstanding Tansman Trio, with passages from Bogdan Frymorgen’s book and his personal reflections woven between the variations. Music and spoken word will create an intimate dialogue, presenting Bach’s masterpiece from the perspective of a journalist from Bielsko-Biała whose musical taste and sensitivity matured between Bielsko-Biała and the BBC studios in London.

7:00 p.m., Villa Sixta, 24 Adama Mickiewicza Street, Bielsko-Biała
[No seats available]

GOLDBERG VARIATIONS – A VERY PERSONAL STORY

Performers:
Bogdan Frymorgen – spoken word

Tansman Trio:
Roksana Kwaśnikowska – violin
Agnieszka Podłucka – viola
Zuzanna Sosnowska – cello

Programme:
Johann Sebastian Bach – Goldberg Variations

5 September 2026 (Saturday)

The centrepiece of a programme featuring many exceptional works for brass quintet will be the world premiere of Beskid Fantasy by Michel Rosset – grandson of Zofia Kossak. Inspired by the music of the Beskids, the composition will be performed at Kossakówka by the Swiss Alp’Penta Brass ensemble, whose member Pascal Rosset is the writer’s great-grandson. It will be an extraordinary musical journey from the Alps to the Beskids, combining the history of the Kossak family with the beauty of Beskid tradition. Before the concert, we invite you to a meeting with the writer’s grandson, who will talk about his inspirations, the work and the path that led him to work in one of Switzerland’s leading orchestras.

6:30 p.m.: meeting; 7:30 p.m.: concert, Educational and Cultural Centre “U Kossaków”, 12 Stary Dwór, Górki Wielkie
[ticketed admission]

BESKID FANTASY – ALPINE IMPRESSIONS OF THE BESKIDS

Performers:
Alp’Penta Brass
Jean-François Raymond, trumpet and flugelhorn
Alexandre Dutruel, trumpet and flugelhorn
Pascal Rosset, French horn
Vincent Harnois, trombone
Nicolas Salmon, tuba

Programme:
World premiere of Michel Rosset’s Beskid Fantasy, together with works by J. S. Bach, G. F. Handel, G. Gabrieli and arrangements of jazz and film music.

6 September 2026 (Sunday)

David Fanshawe’s monumental African Sanctus is one of the most extraordinary works of 20th-century choral music – a moving combination of traditional liturgy and authentic recordings of African music made by the composer during journeys along the Nile. This energetic and spiritually profound spectacle will be performed by the legendary Choir of the West Pomeranian University of Technology, musicians from Žilina and the exceptionally versatile vocalist Jola Szczepaniak, creating a unique encounter between cultures, traditions and musical imagination.

6:00 p.m., ZPSM Concert Hall, 5A Wyspiańskiego Street, Bielsko-Biała
[free admission, reservations: https://app.evenea.pl/event/africansanctus/]

AFRICAN SANCTUS

Performers:
Jola Szczepaniak – vocals
Paweł Kotla – conductor
Szymon Wyrzykowski – choir preparation
Prof. Jan Szyrocki Academic Choir of the West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin
Žilina Music Ensemble (Slovakia)

Programme:
David Fanshawe – African Sanctus

9 September 2026 (Wednesday), Bielsko-Biała

10 September 2026 (Thursday), Žilina (Slovakia)

11 September 2026 (Friday), Szolnok (Hungary)

22 October 2026 (Thursday), Frýdek-Místek (Czech Republic)

Four Cities. One Harmony will launch an international tour of Bielsko-Biała’s partner cities – Žilina (Slovakia), Frýdek-Místek (Czech Republic) and Szolnok (Hungary). The project is the result of cooperation between young artists from four countries, who will work as the Beskid Youth Ensemble under the direction of the outstanding guitarist Miriam Brullová. The concert will become a musical symbol of cross-border cooperation and the shared heritage of Central Europe, while its programme will also include works inspired by cultures from different parts of the world.

7:00 p.m., Historical Museum – Sułkowski Princes’ Castle, 16 Wzgórze Street, Bielsko-Biała
[ticketed admission – museum admission ticket; tickets: , tel. +48 33 811 1035]

FOUR CITIES. ONE HARMONY

Performers:
Miriam Rodriguez Brullova – guitar (Slovakia)
Beskid Youth Ensemble

Programme:
Works by, among others, M. Castelnuovo-Tedesco, L. Boccherini, S. Bodorová

Patronage

Organiser

Co-organizers

Partners

Media patrons

Contact

Festival Office
Temida Arts & Business Foundation

ul. Gałczyńskiego 39

43-300 Bielsko-Biała

KRS: 0000754893

NIP: 9372717839

+48 33 812 34 90

I consent to the processing of personal data in accordance with the Personal Data Protection Act in connection with sending an inquiry via the contact form. Providing data is voluntary, but necessary to process the inquiry. I have been informed that I have the right to access my data, the possibility of correcting it, and requesting the cessation of its processing. The administrator of personal data is the Temida Arts & Business foundation, ul. Konstantego Ildefonsa Gałczyńskiego 39, 43-300 Bielsko-Biała.
Skip to content