From 17 to 29 March, the National Philharmonic in Warsaw is inviting the public to the 28th Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival. This year’s event is held under the motto ‘Beethoven and Philosophers’.

During the 13 festival days, we will hear 11 symphonic concerts, 2 piano recitals and 2 chamber concerts, featuring many outstanding soloists, conductors, and ensembles, invited by Elżbieta Penderecka, the Festival’s General Director.

The programme of concerts is structured around the leading motto of this year’s event – ‘Beethoven and the Philosophers’. The 300th anniversary of Immanuel Kant’s birth, celebrated in 2024, provided the inspiration to trace the influence of philosophical thought on music. “For this reason, the concert programmes will include works by, among others, Richard Wagner, Richard Strauss, Karol Szymanowski, and in the Wiener Kammersymphonie concert, texts on music by Arthur Schopenhauer, recited by Franz Tscherny, will accompany compositions by the master from Bonn”, informs the National Philharmonic.

The festival will be inaugurated by Sinfonia Varsovia under the baton of Jacek Kaspszyk, with the participation of world-renowned violinist Arabella Steinbacher. In the final concert, the National Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir conducted by Andrzej Boreyka will perform Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem, Francis Poulenc’s Stabat Mater and Krzysztof Penderecki’s Stabat Mater.

Symphonic concerts will be given by such Polish ensembles as the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leopold Hager, the Jerzy Semkow Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra conducted by Jurek Dybał with cellist Claudio Bohórquez and flutist Stathis Karapanos, the NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra under the artistic direction of violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky, the Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw led by Michał Klauza with pianist Barry Douglas.

Adrian Andrzejewski