Commissions to Johannes Kalitzke & Helmut Zapf

Europe – Challenges Still Relevant is a multimedia concert exploring the current issues across Europe—rising nationalism, economic instability, and social inequality. The concert is centered around the 1931 film Europa by Polish visual artists Stefan and Franciszka Themerson, created during a time of political unrest and rediscovered decades later in a Berlin archive. German composer Johannes Kalitzke has been commissioned to write a 14-minute piece for string quartet and electronics to accompany the film. The project additionally includes a new composition by German composer Helmut Zapf: pressed Time in green Ice—his fifth string quartet.

Also featured on the concert program are works by Polish composers Rafał Ryterski and Anna Sowe alongside Arnold Schoenberg’s Ode to Napoleon Bonaparte. Each composition reflects the current turbulent situation of Europe, offering a reminder of how history can repeat itself. In response, Europe – Challenges Still Relevant promotes further collaboration between contemporary music artists from Germany and Poland.

The commissions for Johannes Kalitzke and Helmut Zapf are supported by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.

Further Information:
neoarte.pl

Dates

October 8, 2025
Old Town City Hall, Gdańsk (PL)

November15, 2025
Hevre, Krakow (PL)

December 14, 2025
Leon Wyczółkowski District Museum, Bydgoszcz (PL)

January 17, 2026
Jacqueline du Pré Music Building, Oxford (UK)