The Czarnoleski Festival of Arts is a dynamically developing cultural event of national stature with an original formula for participating in culture developed by Festival Artistic Director Edward Wolanin. The festival combines various fields of art such as music, poetry, painting with a clear dominance of music. In each edition of the festival, the basis for artistic exploration is the heritage of Jan Kochanowski. However, it is not the overriding element, but is an inspiration, a favorable space for new artistic challenges.
Beginning with the first edition, the festival's program has traveled through various ideological areas. The subtitles of subsequent editions are: "drawing from the sources", "capturing the elusive", "the art of freedom", "eternal songs". They refer to various philosophical thoughts, important anniversaries, while touching on the metaphysical dimension of art, encouraging the reception of art in an unconventional way.
The festival has hosted such artists and ensembles as: Polish Royal Opera, J. J. Sinfonia Iuventus Polish Orchestra. Semkow, Włodek Pawlik, Marek Toporowski, Concerto Polacco, Andrzej Jagodziński, Agnieszka Wilczyńska, Robert Gierlach, Anna Radziejewska, Milena Lange, Marek Wroniszewski, Dawid Runtz, Barbara Zolnierczyk, Tomasz Radziszewski, Artur Jaroń, FLORIPARI Early Music Ensemble, IL TEMPO Early Music Ensemble, Jerzy Zelnik, Andrzej Krusiewicz, Boarte Piano Trio composed of: Konrad Skolarski, Karol Marianowski, Jarosław Nadrzycki, Jan Popis, Jerzy Kisielewski, Martyna Tarasiewicz, Art'n'Voices Vocal Octet, Ewa Leszczyńska, Dr. Temina Cadi Sulumuna.
The festival included concerts, literary meetings, thematic lectures, ballroom and baroque dance workshops. So far, three exhibitions of paintings and one exhibition of photographic works have taken place during the festivals. In 2021, the Blacknoles Festival Orchestra, directed by Rafal Janiak and consisting of the best students and graduates of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music, was established and has already performed twice during the subsequent editions.
Parallel to the Czarnolas Arts Festival, the Piano Master Workshops have been held since the first edition, conducted by prominent Polish pedagogues Edward Wolanin, PhD, and Radoslaw Sobczak, PhD. In addition to piano masterclasses in the past editions of the workshop, pianists had the opportunity to participate in lessons on early instruments with Prof. Marek Toporowski (virginal, harpsichord, clavichord) and Dorota Stawarska (harpsichord), ballroom dance workshops (Piotr Wilczynski), baroque dance (Edgar Lewandowski), could participate in all festival events and at the end of the day had the opportunity to meet with performing artists and ask them questions about their artistic work. On top of that, they could enjoy relaxation sessions, historical and natural history tours in the footsteps of Jan Kochanowski. All this makes the artistic development of young people richer and more complete with various experiences that provide a foundation for future creative activity of their own. The Master Workshops in Czarnoles set new trends in the artistic education of children and young people in Poland. Piano teachers also participate in the workshop, translating the knowledge and experience gained into school teaching.
Festival events will be held in localities closely associated with Jan Kochanowski: Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Abbey, Church of the Holy Trinity in Gródek, Church of St. Stephen in Policzna, Church of the Elevation of the Holy Cross in Zwoleń, J. Kochanowski Educational Complex in Policzna, as well as at the J. Kochanowski Public Elementary School in Czarnolas
Abbey, Gródek, Policzna, Zwoleń, Czarnolas are towns far from cultural centers with difficult access to high culture, so there is a special need for it here. The creators of the festival have not only developed their own original formula, but also created a special bond between the artists and the audience. The beauty of the surrounding nature and the history of the venues where the concerts are held further enhance the aesthetic experience of the art received. Since the festival receives the interest of both the local community and music lovers from all over Poland there are numerous meetings and conversations also between the audience itself. Public institutions, community centers, local government officials, entrepreneurs, people of culture and art, as well as representatives of authorities at the highest national level are involved in the festival.
Organizing successive editions of the Chernolesky Arts Festival every year, we often receive phone calls or messages from our audience full of emotion and memories of past concerts and events. The passage of a year or more does not diminish the intensity of the experience. We had one phone call from a lady who, after a year, recalled a concert by the Polish Royal Opera with Mozart's Requiem in the Church in Polovo. Despite the passage of time, her voice trembled at the thought of that concert, she said that the concert would remain in her memory for the rest of her life and that she was looking forward to future editions of the festival.
The Czarnoleski Festival of Arts is more than just excellent artists or fantastic concert programs. It is, above all, meetings, conversations, and a common experience of live art across all divides. The values and ideas conveyed by the works of Jan Kochanowski are universal and still relevant. As the creators of the festival, we rely on them and present them anew in contemporary reality, encouraging co-creation of Polish culture and active participation in it.
For more information, visit: www.czarnoleskifestiwalsztuk.pl
The 1st Festival "Warmia Piano & Art Days" in Lidzbark Warmiński took place from 10-18.08.2019. As many as 8 concerts of piano music were held at the Orangery of Culture. Performances were given by both masters - lecturers of the "Warmia Piano Workshop" Master Classes - Mr. Radoslaw Sobczak and Professor Edward Wolanin, as well as young, promising artists whom we had the opportunity to show to a wider audience: Łukasz Yoder, Kasper Yoder, Dominik Yoder, Bartłomiej Baranowski and Natalia Wolanin. Concerts by workshop participants were also very popular. A total of 15 pianists from South Korea, the USA and Poland came to the Warmia Piano Workshop. Most of them were in Poland for the first time. In Lidzbark Warmiński they had the opportunity to learn about Polish history, monuments, beautiful nature and Polish hospitality for the first time. From the reports of the foreigners, we know that they felt fantastic here and that they expressed their desire to come again to Lidzbark Warmiński for this event. The main organizer of the event is the EN River Foundation. The co-organizers of this event are the Municipal Pedagogical Library Orangery of Culture, the City Hall of Lidzbark Warmiński.
The 2nd edition of the Warmia Piano Art Days Festival in 2020 did not take place due to the COVID-19 virus pandemic. Borders were closed, so workshop participants from the US and Korea could not come. In 2021 we plan to resume the Warmia Piano & Art Days Festival in Lidzbark Warmiński.
"Polish Flowers" is a series of posts on the website: https://www.facebook.com/fundacjarzekaen featuring recordings of Poland's most talented young artists. We want these young artists to be able to be noticed and their recordings to reach the largest possible audience. As soon as it is possible, we will start a series of live concerts with the same title in Polish manors and palaces inviting those young artists whom we presented earlier on the Internet.
"Polish Flowers" series
Festiwal Warmia Piano & Art Days w Lidzbarku Warmińskim
Czarnolas Festival of Arts
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