Chamber Music Festival Krzyżowa-Music

Krzyżowa in the Polish region of Lower Silesia, the former estate of the von Moltke family, was the meeting place of the Kreisau Circle 80 years ago, which conspired in the midst of the war and risked their lives to create a pacified Germany embedded in a united Europe. Today, it is a memorial and meeting place for young people from all over Europe and serves the goals of understanding between the peoples of Europe and beyond. Since 2015, the chamber music workshop festival Krzyżowa-Music has been held there every summer under the patronage of the Polish and German foreign ministers. Modelled on Marlboro Music, which was founded by European musicians in exile in America, the festival invites musicians of all generations to study intensively together, engage in intellectual exchange and live together.

The respective programmes are based on thematic guidelines from the artistic director and suggestions from participants who wish to study certain works in greater depth. As a result, many rarely performed, forgotten or ostracised works are performed and contemporary compositions are also given ample space. So far, Christian Jost (2019), Olli Mustonen (2021), Konstantia Gourzi (2022) and Helena Winkelman (2023) have participated as composers in residence with their own works and have contributed commissioned works or updated compositions for Krzyżowa-Music.

For the 10th edition in 2024, Garth Knox will enrich the contemporary element of the festival as Composer in Residence. Through his participation as a violist last year, Garth Knox feels inspired by the symbolic meaning of the place Kreisau to compose a 15-minute string octet for Krzyżowa-Music and to activate the unifying power of music. The joint music-making of the participants from different nations and the intergenerational exchange is intended to exemplify the peaceful coexistence of peoples characterised by mutual tolerance and be reflected in the world premiere of his commissioned work. His works Satellites, Nothing but the truth and Wild Animals will also be performed. Garth Knox will offer two workshops on special playing techniques (using his own works & improvisations) for strings, providing further enrichment for the festival participants. The presence of the composer offers the musicians a broadening of their educational horizons and a deepening of their understanding of the works. The exchange is not only an important factor of the festival with regard to the musicians, but also with regard to the audience. The audience is invited to attend the rehearsals on the estate in Kreisau and experience the development of a work and the special communication process between the musicians.

The Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation supports the Krzyżowa-Music workshop chamber music festival.

Further information:
krzyzowa-music.eu

Dates

August 29 – September 6, 2024
Various locations in Świdnica, Krzyżowa, Szczawno-Zdrój & Jawor