Polish Cultural Monitor
2007-12-05
REKLAMA
What to do in Warsaw after hours? What events to pick in other Polish cities?
Which music festivals, concerts and exhibitions are worthy of a detour?
Maciek Proliński offers some tips for culture vultures.
The Polish film industry has reasons to be proud once again. This autumn has seen the release of several noticeable movies that could easily reach international audiences. Watch out for Tomasz Wiszniewski’s “Everything Will Be Fine” and Andrzej Jakimowski’s “Tricks”. The former, which won awards at the Polish film Festival in Gdynia for directing, Robert Więckiewicz’s main part and the music by Micha³ Lorenc, tells the story of a teenage boy who decides to run the course of a Roman Catholic pilgrimage to the Częstochowa shrine to pray for his dying mother. The other film is also about the faith of a young boy. He engineers a series of events to get closer to his father, who has abandoned his mother for another woman. “Tricks” is the winner of numerous awards at home and abroad, including most recently at the Sao Paolo International Film Festival. It has also won the Best Actor’s prize at the Tokyo festival, the special jury award in Mannheim-Heidelberg, the Golden Lions award in Gdynia, the Europa Cinema prize and the Laterna Magica in Venice.
The Jazz Jamboree 2007 festival is held in Warsaw throughout November. It features a new Warsaw-Kiev formula. According to the organisers, the idea is to build cultural ties between the two neighbouring nations, whose cultures have long overlapped, even though their relations have not always been friendly. The festival’s concerts are held in the Polish and Ukrainian capitals, which the organisers say is their contribution to a uniting Europe. Polish jazz fans have a chance to listen to the best Ukrainian musicians, including the world-famous Mansoud, and the other way round. Apart from that, the Warsaw event also sees a concert by the legendary Take 6 and the Manhattan Transfer. Jack De Johnette is also among the featured stars. For the lovers of James Brown music there is the Israeli Funk’n’stein and for guitar fans the real treat is Enver Izmailov. Polish celebrities including Zbigniew Namys³owski and Hanna Banaszak are also billed to appear. The event is organised by the Jazz Jamboree Foundation, the Polish Jazz Association and STX Jamboree.
The 10th Guitar 2007 Festival takes place in Wroc³aw until December 2. It ranks among top such events in Poland and abroad. The jubilee event sees performances by a number of stars, including the master of six strings Paco de Lucia. Recitals promoting young Wroc³aw artists are also scheduled. The concerts are held at the Centennial Hall, Wroc³aw Philharmonic, the Grand Hall of the Town Hall, C.S. Impart and the Music Academy.
The 20th Polish poster biennial is held at the Modern Art Gallery in Katowice until December 9. The event has a history that goes back 42 years. This year 699 posters by 211 artists were entered for the festival. 416 posters by 150 artists were selected to be put on show. The Grand Prix went to Tomasz Bogus³awski, the Gold Medal to Micha³ Jandura, the Silver Medal to Wies³aw Rosocha and the Bronze Medal to Ma³gorzata Gurowska.
The Vladimir Kontarev State Russian Chamber Choir arrives in Poland on December 9 to appear in the following cities: Toruń (Dwór Artusa, Dec. 9), Gdańsk (University Hall, Dec. 10), Kraków (St Joseph’s church, Rynek Podgórski, Dec.12), Lubin (Russian Orthodox Trinity Parish, Dec. 13), Warsaw (Royal Castle, Dec. 15) and Wroc³aw (Witold Lutos³awski Philharmonic, Dec. 18). This one of Russia’s finest choral ensembles has been set up to include graduates of the Tchaykovsky Moscow State Conservatory. The choir appears under artistic director and conductor Vladimir Kontarev, Professor of the Tchaykovsky Moscow State Conservatory.
Freddy “King” Cole gives the only Polish concert at Warsaw’s Kongresowa Hall on December 10, as part of the Jazz Era Christmas project. Jazz Era organizer Dionizy Pi¹tkowski has described Nat King Cole’s younger brother and Natalie Cole’s uncle as one of the foremost jazz vocalists and a genuine icon of American jazz. “I’m not my brother, I am me,” is how Freddy refers to his family tradition and the way his music is perceived as ‘the family Cole sound’.
Until the end of the year the National Museum in Warsaw plays host to an exhibition entitled “The Golden Age of Flemish Painting – Rubens, Van Dyck, Jordaens 1608-1678”. Works by Flemish masters on show in Warsaw come from the collections of the Kunsthistoriches Museum and Gemäldegalerie der Akademie in Vienna, Staatliche Museen in Kassel and four leading Polish museums. The exhibition features 83 works, including six paintings by Rubens, four by Van Dyck and four by Jordaens. They offer a rich panorama of Baroque Frelmish painting from the times of Rubens. On display are portraits, religious, mythological and allegorical paintings, landscapes and still life. Apart from a number of large-scale paintings clearly influenced by Rubens, there are a number of smaller cabinet paintings.
Which music festivals, concerts and exhibitions are worthy of a detour?
Maciek Proliński offers some tips for culture vultures.
The Polish film industry has reasons to be proud once again. This autumn has seen the release of several noticeable movies that could easily reach international audiences. Watch out for Tomasz Wiszniewski’s “Everything Will Be Fine” and Andrzej Jakimowski’s “Tricks”. The former, which won awards at the Polish film Festival in Gdynia for directing, Robert Więckiewicz’s main part and the music by Micha³ Lorenc, tells the story of a teenage boy who decides to run the course of a Roman Catholic pilgrimage to the Częstochowa shrine to pray for his dying mother. The other film is also about the faith of a young boy. He engineers a series of events to get closer to his father, who has abandoned his mother for another woman. “Tricks” is the winner of numerous awards at home and abroad, including most recently at the Sao Paolo International Film Festival. It has also won the Best Actor’s prize at the Tokyo festival, the special jury award in Mannheim-Heidelberg, the Golden Lions award in Gdynia, the Europa Cinema prize and the Laterna Magica in Venice.
The Jazz Jamboree 2007 festival is held in Warsaw throughout November. It features a new Warsaw-Kiev formula. According to the organisers, the idea is to build cultural ties between the two neighbouring nations, whose cultures have long overlapped, even though their relations have not always been friendly. The festival’s concerts are held in the Polish and Ukrainian capitals, which the organisers say is their contribution to a uniting Europe. Polish jazz fans have a chance to listen to the best Ukrainian musicians, including the world-famous Mansoud, and the other way round. Apart from that, the Warsaw event also sees a concert by the legendary Take 6 and the Manhattan Transfer. Jack De Johnette is also among the featured stars. For the lovers of James Brown music there is the Israeli Funk’n’stein and for guitar fans the real treat is Enver Izmailov. Polish celebrities including Zbigniew Namys³owski and Hanna Banaszak are also billed to appear. The event is organised by the Jazz Jamboree Foundation, the Polish Jazz Association and STX Jamboree.
The 10th Guitar 2007 Festival takes place in Wroc³aw until December 2. It ranks among top such events in Poland and abroad. The jubilee event sees performances by a number of stars, including the master of six strings Paco de Lucia. Recitals promoting young Wroc³aw artists are also scheduled. The concerts are held at the Centennial Hall, Wroc³aw Philharmonic, the Grand Hall of the Town Hall, C.S. Impart and the Music Academy.
The 20th Polish poster biennial is held at the Modern Art Gallery in Katowice until December 9. The event has a history that goes back 42 years. This year 699 posters by 211 artists were entered for the festival. 416 posters by 150 artists were selected to be put on show. The Grand Prix went to Tomasz Bogus³awski, the Gold Medal to Micha³ Jandura, the Silver Medal to Wies³aw Rosocha and the Bronze Medal to Ma³gorzata Gurowska.
The Vladimir Kontarev State Russian Chamber Choir arrives in Poland on December 9 to appear in the following cities: Toruń (Dwór Artusa, Dec. 9), Gdańsk (University Hall, Dec. 10), Kraków (St Joseph’s church, Rynek Podgórski, Dec.12), Lubin (Russian Orthodox Trinity Parish, Dec. 13), Warsaw (Royal Castle, Dec. 15) and Wroc³aw (Witold Lutos³awski Philharmonic, Dec. 18). This one of Russia’s finest choral ensembles has been set up to include graduates of the Tchaykovsky Moscow State Conservatory. The choir appears under artistic director and conductor Vladimir Kontarev, Professor of the Tchaykovsky Moscow State Conservatory.
Freddy “King” Cole gives the only Polish concert at Warsaw’s Kongresowa Hall on December 10, as part of the Jazz Era Christmas project. Jazz Era organizer Dionizy Pi¹tkowski has described Nat King Cole’s younger brother and Natalie Cole’s uncle as one of the foremost jazz vocalists and a genuine icon of American jazz. “I’m not my brother, I am me,” is how Freddy refers to his family tradition and the way his music is perceived as ‘the family Cole sound’.
Until the end of the year the National Museum in Warsaw plays host to an exhibition entitled “The Golden Age of Flemish Painting – Rubens, Van Dyck, Jordaens 1608-1678”. Works by Flemish masters on show in Warsaw come from the collections of the Kunsthistoriches Museum and Gemäldegalerie der Akademie in Vienna, Staatliche Museen in Kassel and four leading Polish museums. The exhibition features 83 works, including six paintings by Rubens, four by Van Dyck and four by Jordaens. They offer a rich panorama of Baroque Frelmish painting from the times of Rubens. On display are portraits, religious, mythological and allegorical paintings, landscapes and still life. Apart from a number of large-scale paintings clearly influenced by Rubens, there are a number of smaller cabinet paintings.
