In December, Film Fest Gent presents the Sinfonietta Cracovia Orchestra to the Belgian audience thanks to the Peace Concert, a four-day concert series featuring film and concert music by internationally renowned Polish composer Wojciech Kilar, American composer and pianist Philip Glass and composer, conductor and Film Fest Gent music director Dirk Brossé. The concert is part of the international 'Kilar 90' tour.
Following the success of the Kilar | Glass concert at the Kraków Film Music Festival and the warm reception at the opening of the film music festival Fimucité in Tenerife, the Sinfonietta Cracovia Orchestra this year once again draws attention to the film and concert music of Wojciech Kilar. This time the orchestra will visit Belgium in the form of four concerts under the direction of Dirk Brossé, conductor, composer and musical director of The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and Film Fest Gent, who has also been appointed this past year to the Artistic and Programming Board of the Orchestra, established by orchestra director Agata Grabowiecka.
An additional dimension is added to the concert programme through the idea of freedom expressed in the work of the Belgian composer, inspired by the masterpiece of Ludwig van Beethoven. Ode an die Freude – recomposed is a contemporary variation on the finale of the 9th symphony of the Viennese classical master. The idea of freedom resonates not only with the war situation in Ukraine, but also with the commemoration of the courage of Polish soldiers in Belgium during World War II. Therefore, one of the concerts will bear the title Concert on the occasion of the Year of the Three Generals. The Year of the Three Generals commemorates Stanisław Maczek, Stanisław Sosabowski and Władysław Anders, generals of the Polish Armed Forces who contributed to the Allied victory over the Third Reich during World War II. In 2022, their 130th birthday is commemorated.
In addition, compositions by Wojciech Kilar will be heard, who wrote music for some masterpieces of Polish cinema, but also for films by Jane Campion (The Portrait of a Lady) and Francis Ford Coppola (Dracula). The Kilar '90 project takes its name from the composer's 90th birthday, who succeeded like no other in connecting two different worlds: autonomous music and film music, classical and also avant-garde sounds.
Finally, the Sinfonietta Cracovia Orchestra will also perform music by the three-time Oscar-nominated American composer Philip Glass (nominations for Notes on a Scandal, The Hours, and Kundun).
During the concerts, Aleksander Dębicz (piano) and Joanna Radziszewska (soprano) perform as soloists.
Practical Information
The concerts are realised in cooperation with the Polish Institute in Brussels and the tour is co-financed by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. Partner of the orchestra is the music publisher PWM Edition and the Belgian partner of the tour is Film Fest Gent and its World Soundtrack Awards.
The concerts are scheduled from 18 to 21 December in Gent, Bornem, Roeselare and Berlare.
18.12.22 - MIRY Concertzaal Gent - tickets
19.12.22 - Ter Dilft Bornem - tickets
20.12.22 - De Spil Roeselare - tickets
21.12.22 - De Stroming Berlare - tickets