The 29th edition of the Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival will take place in Warsaw from April 6 to 18, 2024. Over the course of 12 festival days, audiences will experience 8 symphonic concerts, 3 song recitals, 2 piano recitals, and 2 chamber concerts. Festival Director Elżbieta Penderecka has invited many outstanding soloists and conductors, as well as top national and international symphony orchestras, to participate in this prestigious event.
The theme of this year’s edition, “Beethoven and Great Poetry”, has shaped a program rich in vocal-instrumental works and compositions inspired by literature. The repertoire spans from Beethoven to Ferenc Liszt, Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Maurice Ravel, and Krzysztof Penderecki.
The festival will open with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, featuring Friedrich Schiller’s famous Ode to Joy in its finale. The National Forum of Music Orchestra, the Kraków Philharmonic Choir, and an exceptional quartet of soloists – Chen Reiss (soprano), Sarah Romberger (mezzo-soprano), Sung Min Song (tenor), and Jan Martiník (baritone) – will perform under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach. The final concert on Good Friday will present Kaddish by Krzysztof Penderecki and Kaddish by Leonard Bernstein. The National Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, the Alla Polacca Children’s and Youth Choir, Natalia Rubiś (soprano), Gerard Edery (cantor), and narrators Leah Pisar-Haas and Sławomir Holland will perform under the direction of Christoph König, the Principal Guest Conductor of the National Philharmonic.
The festival will feature leading Polish ensembles, including the Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Lawrence Foster, the Silesian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, led by Yaroslav Shemet, the Łódź Philharmonic Orchestra, under Paweł Przytocki, and the Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, conducted by Leonard Slatkin. For the first time, the Beethoven Orchestra from Bonn, led by its musical director Dirk Kaftan, will perform at the festival.
This year’s vocal recitals promise to be exceptional. Acclaimed Ian Bostridge, accompanied by pianist Saskia Giorgini, will perform Beethoven’s To the Distant Beloved cycle and Schubert’s Swan Song. Tomasz Konieczny, with pianist Lech Napierała, will present songs by Charles Ives, Richard Strauss, and Richard Wagner. Internationally acclaimed soprano Izabela Matuła, with pianist Krzysztof Książek, will perform songs by Chopin, Moniuszko, Karłowicz, and Szymanowski. Chamber music highlights include performances by the Australian Orava Quartet with pianist Łukasz Krupiński and violinist Viviane Hagner, alongside fellow musicians from the Krzyżowa Music Festival. Audiences are eagerly anticipating recitals by the renowned Polish pianist Ewa Pobłocka and French piano virtuoso Lucas Debargue.
As part of the festival’s Unknown Operas series, Łukasz Borowicz will conduct Johannes Mayr’s opera Werther (1794). The performance will feature the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra and a cast of rising vocal stars: Zuzanna Nalewajek, Katarzyna Drelich, Krystian Krzyszowiak, Krzysztof Lechman, Tomasz Kumięga, and Nazar Mykulyak.
In keeping with tradition, the festival will feature additional cultural and scholarly events, including the Exhibition of Musical Manuscripts at the Jagiellonian Library and the International Scientific Symposium. This year’s edition is visually announced by a poster designed by Julita Malinowska.
The 29th Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival is co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the City of Warsaw. It is held under the honorary patronage of President Andrzej Duda.
