Katherine and I absolutely adored all of the wonderful performing arts venues in Krakow.
The month of July has 2-5 venues happening every night.
Of course we took full advantage of all of these concerts and performances.
THE PERFORMING ARTS
Krakow Opera
We were elated to be able to see the closing performance of the Krakow Opera - "Ariadne Auf Naxos" by Richard Strauss. Strauss was a German composer. He was much loved by the Nazi's and was able to be productive during the Nazi occupation. He was born in Munich in 1864 - 1949. His more notable operas - "Der Rosenkavelier"," Don Quixote"," Elektra"and his "Sprach Zarathustra" based on Nietzsche's work was the music used for the opening scene of "2001, A Space Odessey".
The Royal Chamber Orchestra Ensemble
We attended in the Church of St. Adalbert The Royal Chamber Orchestra's ensemble of incredible string musicians. St Adalbert's is the small church in the Rynek, and only seats 30 people. The acoustics provide a musical feast. Schubert - "Ave Maria", Bach's double violin Concert in D Minor, Vivaldi's "Seasons",Tchaikovsky's "the Nutcraker", Gershwin's "Summertime", Rota's "The Godfather's Theme", Glenn Miller's "Moonlight Serenade", even A.L Webber's "Phantom of the Opera". The head violinist was so antimated that he would pick the bow of his violin to sound like a southern "hoe down".
St Peter and Paul's Church.
Chopin concert. The Orchestra of the City of Cracow. Baroque Music, and graduates of the Music Academy in Krakow. they have all recieved International acclaim in their separate fields. They also played Mozart,Dvorak, and Bach.
Jazz Festival
We heard a group from the Netherlands. Buzz Brother's Band. Funk - jazz quartet. Great muscians with original compositions in a climate of electro-acoustic sounding. We heard this group in an underground bar under the main maket square . Pod Baranami....wonderful sound.
Krakow Solo Piano Weekend.
At the Academy of Music. Peter Wylozot - for several years has been playing on the stages of Polish and International jazz with famous muscians - Smietana, Kennedy, Muniak. together with his trio he has recorded an excellent album and is still successfully touring. He teaches music at the Academy.
Alan Broadbent - American pianist. He played for the first time in Poland. He has won multiple Grammy awards, member of the Charlie Haden Band, and plays with Woody Herman and Chet Baker in the past.
The Krakow 22nd Annual Jewish Festival
Temple Synagogue. Uri Caine Ensemble (USA) Plays Mahler and Gershwin. Piano, trumpet, clarinet, violin,drums,bass. Radical Jewish music and his arrangements of the music of Gershwin and Mahler. Jazz ensemble, and a church kantor who intrepreted the jazz arrangements with a kantor from the Torah. Fabulous concert.
Krakow Singing Week.
The British Choir
The Taiwan Children's Choir
We attended this choir concert two evenings. The first evening we heard the Israeli choir, and then the Norwegian Choir. The second time we heard the Ely Consort from Great Britain and the Kaohsiung Children's Chrous from Taiwan. These events were held in St. Catherine's Church in the Kazimierz district.The singing and the arrangements were fabulous.
Warsaw
There was a Mozart festival in Warsaw. We were able to attend the Opera, "The Shepherd King". It was well sung by the members of the Warsaw Opera Ensemble
THE ARTISTS OF POLAND
The National Museum of Krakow.
I was astounded at the beauty and the intellectual approach to painting and sculpture that the Polish artists displayed in the eary 20th Century. The racovian artistic circles a special role was played by the Krakow Group who in 1950 decided to pursue the radical artistic program of the pre-war formation under the same name. Keep in mind this was during the Communist era and the artists were under constant scrutiny and censorship from the communist regime. The Krakow artists formed in 1957 the association of plastic artists, composers and creators from other discipines, including also art critics. They were some of the most creative individuals , keen on spreading avant-gardism, raising the rank of Polish art and carefully watching the topical artistic tendencies in Europe.
The Krakow Group formed an impressive group recognized world wide for their contribution to art. Tandeusz Kantor (1915-1990) painted "Emballage of the Prussian Tribute" whose idea was to "enwrap" the particular details of the era.
"I dared to make an emballage of the national sancity,. I wrapped up the proud figures of kings,knights and bishops in desperation and fear with reverene for eternit. Alive was left alon only the great Royal Jester Stanczyk. "
An important event in the history of Polish art was the exhibition of the Young Plastic Artists, organized under the slogan "Aganist War, Against Fascism" which was the first manifesto directed against socialist realism.
Alexander RODCHENKO - Revolution in Photography.
This is a display of black and white photos capturing the Soviet times in the 1950's and 1960's. Rodchenko lived and worked near Moscow. He was banned from any artistic community because of the subject matter of his photography. This exhibit is the first comprehensive of its kind in the world.
Palace of Bishop Erazm Ciolek.
This collection covers the first era of a panoramic overview of Polish art. This 16th century palace of canon, diplomat and arts patron Bishop Ciolek houses a gallery of Old Polish art between the 12th and 18th centuries, and other orthodox art. Viet Stoss (1445-1533) who carved the high altar at St Mary's Basilica,and works from the Renaissance and baroque periods are displayed here. The icons of Ruthenia,the Balkans and the 17th century Poland along with vibrant Byzantine images housed in this striking palace make this a very worthwhile museum.
Wawel Castle
Leonardo Da Vinci only painted three oil paintings in the world. "Lady with an Ermine" is in proud possion of Krakow, temporarily housed in Wawel Castle. Truly a magnificant piece.
Cricoteka Museum.
The former home of Tadeusz Kantor's groundbreaking Cricot 2. Kantor was Poland's greatest stage deginers of the 20th century. He also help organized the Krakow Group. He won an Academy Award and a Tony Award. "The Dead Class" and "Wielopole , Wielopole" were his two most famous plays.
Rynek Underground
This museum is under the town square. It opened in September 2010. "following the traces of European identity of Krakow" tourist route. The museum is an incredible feat. Visiting the exhibition you can get to feel the atmosphere of a medieval market. The exibition is enriched with interesting models and multimedia. There are 5 films that I particularly enjoyed that are all 20 minutes long. They trace the history of Krakow from 900AD until the present.
The Violin was created by the Polish people.
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849)
Chopin was born in Warsaw. He left in November of 1830 to perform in Vienna. He never returned. However his heart, literally, is in an urn in the Holy Cross Church in Warsaw.
Marie Curie (1867 - 1934)
Marie Curie was born in Warsaw. She was the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize. She won her first Nobel with her husband in 1902, and her second on her own in 1911. One was in Physics, the other in Chemistry. She invented radiation technology by isolating the isotopes of radium and polonium (she named after Poland). She was the only person to receive the Nobel Prize two times in two different fields.
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