9th Kraków Film Music Festival

24 – 30 MAY 2016

The most famous themes from Roman Polański’s films, jazz deconstructions of Hollywood’s golden era, personal interpretations of film music in the Cinematic Piano series, ambient sounds, soundtracks making their world premieres, masters’ compositions for animated box office blockbusters, and the world premiere of the music for a cult computer game. Whatever you’re after in film music, you will surely find it at the Kraków Film Music Festival. Dedicated as ever to all film music lovers, in 2016 the festival will be held in the aura of adventure and multisensory experiences. This is all complemented with prestigious awards, competitions, master classes for young composers, and the presence of stars of the world’s film music and top-class cinema.

‘Kraków Film Music Festival – the FMF – is one of the most important film music festivals in the world, which for the past nine years we have successfully co-organised with RMF Classic radio,’ explains Izabela Helbin, Director of Kraków Festival Office. ‘Key to the uniqueness of our event is the exceptional combination of world-class interpretations of film music performed by leading musicians and orchestras with high-quality images. Every year, our loyal audiences are presented with monumental film and live music shows produced with a panache and at the highest artistic level. Another distinctive feature of the FMF is that every year sees the arrival of the most eminent artists and composers, ever keener to accept our invitation to Kraków. As are fans, who arrived at last year’s FMF in numbers exceeding 30,000. This inspires and motivates us to even greater effort, which is why we are continuously developing our festival. We want to reach all film music lovers, hence the programme of the 9th FMF includes something to cater for all lovers of beautiful sonic experiences, even the youngest ones. I’d like to take this early opportunity to invite you to Kraków in May 2016.’

In 2016, the festival’s exceptional events will last for a full week, promising amusement and new musical discoveries. This year’s FMF will open with the grand special concert Scoring4Polański, devoted to the film productions of one of the most outstanding Polish directors, Roman Polański – as well, quite naturally, as the music composed for them. It continues the tradition of special productions woven around the music accompanying films and dramas delivered on one night in Kraków and one in Katowice initiated by Scoring4Wajda, which honoured Andrzej Wajda, Poland’s only Oscar-winning film director, in 2015. This year’s instalment, Scoring4Polański, opens on 24 May 2016 at the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR) Concert Hall in Katowice, followed by the production at ICE Kraków Congress Centre on 25 May. The concerts are a co-production with the Katowice – City of Gardens Cultural Institution and the NOSPR.

The NOSPR will perform a programme composed of famous musical illustrations arranged especially for the Film Music Festival. In this way, we will hear not only classics by composers working for Roman Polański, but also world premieres of new arrangements of famous musical illustrations. We will be charmed by the jazzy melancholic bits by Krzysztof Komeda from Knife in the Water, Cul-de-sac, and Rosemary’s Baby, Wojciech Kilar’s memorable compositions for The Pianist and Death and the Maiden, and his beautiful vocalise to The Ninth Gate. They will be performed side-by-side with the impressive themes from Tess and The Tenant by Philippe Sarde, the unforgettable Frantic Theme by Ennio Morricone, Jerry Goldsmith’s love theme from Chinatown, and a consummate series of music designed by Alexandre Desplat as illustrations to Venus in Fur, The Ghost Writer, andCarnage. This will all be conducted by the musical director of the International Flanders Film Festival in Ghent, Dirk Brossé from Belgium.

‘The whole programme was brought together to portray the variety of styles and the peculiarities in the oeuvre of “the youngest 80-year-old in world cinema”, as Polański is often called. (…) To animate the cinematic emotions with captivating variety, the concert has been designed to span Polish, European, and American film and music culture, and its programme was put together in consultation with the director himself,’ said Robert Piaskowski, the Artistic Director of the Kraków Film Music Festival.

The inauguration concert in Katowice will include the Wojciech Kilar Prize Ceremony. This will be the second time the prize instituted by the mayors of Kraków and Katowice has been awarded. Its Honorary Jury, composed of Krzysztof Penderecki, Andrzej Wajda, Krzysztof Zanussi and Roman Polański himself, make sure that its recipient is a composer who operates – much like its patron used to – in the interdisciplinary world of cinema and television, at the same time standing guard over the ethos and tradition of the art of composition. In May 2015, the prestigious honour was bestowed on Oscar-winning American artist Elliot Goldenthal for the music to Frida, the film biography of Frida Kahlo, directed by Julie Taymor.

Thursday, 26 May will be the day of chamber concerts. The first will open Cinematic Piano: a new cycle with young pianists from Poland and abroad presenting their personal interpretations of film music. It will be inaugurated by ‘the wizard of the piano’ – Aleksander Dębicz – performing pieces from his début, yet already bestselling, Cinematic Piano album.

On the same night, ICE Kraków will resound with the premieres of musical deconstructions and decompositions of the forgotten music of Hollywood’s golden age composed by Bronisław Kaper and Henryk Wars. From the 1930s to the 1960s, over three decades, the two wrote soundtracks for more than 200 American productions. Although these Poles greatly contributed to the development of American film, their names are all but forgotten in Poland. The works of Hollywood soundtrack masters will be creatively and experimentally deconstructed by the talented Polish jazz pianist and improviser Paweł Kaczmarczyk and his Audiofeeling Trio.

Friday, 27th May will be marked by the alterFMF Gala: Drone Sounds – a palette of world premieres of arrangements of Hollywood’s new wave. Conducted by Anthony Weeden, a composer specialising in contemporary music, the AUKSO Orchestra will perform pieces by Joseph Trapanese (Allegiant and Insurgent from the Divergent series, Oblivion, and Tron: Legacy), known for his collaboration with electronic music veterans Daft Punk, which resulted in the soundtrack to Tron: Legacy, and with the electronic rock formation M83, which led to the music to Oblivion. The invitation to the FMF was also accepted by Cliff Martinez — the legend of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, consummate composer of electronic music, producer, and arranger, whose hypnotic and trance music perfectly defines the space and the noir- and anxiety-dominated aesthetics of the films by the directors who regularly work with Martinez. The programme includes minimalist, electronic symphonic arrangements for Nicolas Winding Refn’s cult works:Drive, Only God Forgives, and The Neon Demon. Another star of the night will be the music of one of the greatest contemporary composers, Jóhann Jóhannsson, with its hallmark drone sounds, powerful mass of sound, and countless contrasts. The world premiere of the Oscar-nominated soundtrack to The Theory of Everything will be complemented with the suites to Sicario and Prisoners. The constellation of the alterFMF Gala stars will be augmented by the presentation of the soundtrack to HBO Poland’s latest series – Pakt / The Pact, by the Polish composer Łukasz Targosz.

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‘We make sure that the weekend concerts on 28th and 29th of May are addressed to the broadest audience,’ explains Izabela Helbin. ‘Of all our festivals, the FMF is the most focused on the family, which is why we sought projects that we could address to audiences of all ages. We decided to dedicate our annual Film Music Gala to all-time favourite animations. That’s why next year we will be captivated and moved by the themes from our favourite children’s stories, including The Lion King, How to Train Your Dragon, Shrek, and Ice Age 2: The Meltdown,’ Helbin adds.

The responsibility for making the sound of the Gala enjoyable for young and adult audiences alike lies with the Beethoven Academy Orchestra and the Polish Radio Choir, conducted by one of the most recognised film music conductors – Maestro Frank Strobel. The invitation to the monumental space of Tauron Kraków Arena has been accepted by giants of music illustrating animated pictures: John Powell (How to Train Your Dragon, Ice Age 2: The Meltdown) and Harry Gregson-Williams (Shrek, Narnia, Arthur Christmas). The two composers, who used to be members of Hans Zimmer’s Remote Control Productions, frequently collaborate with each other, resulting in the soundtracks to Shrek, Chicken Run, and Antz. The concert will also be the day of the premiere of a music suite composed by the FMF’s long-term friend Diego Navarro for Capture The Flag. The film will see its Polish premier on 29 January 2016.

Opened on 28 May, the kingdom of the animated film will continue into the following day, when at high noon we will play a concert from the FMF Youth Orchestra: Animations series performed by the FMF Youth Orchestra. The ensemble formed by the Kraków Film Music Festival is composed of the most talented students of Kraków music schools; conducted by Monika Bachowska, they will perform for the third time in a full symphonic line-up. This time, young musicians will perform original compositions to the most famous animated productions of the of the Warner Bros studio:Batman, Scooby-Doo, and Justice League. Besides these, they will also play the world premiere of the Superman suite, commissioned from Lolita Ritmanis, Michael McCuistion, and Kristopher Carter especially for the concert. All three Emmy-winning composers, members of the Dynamic Music Partners group of the Warner Brothers, have already confirmed their attendance in Kraków in May.

Sunday night will belong to Steven Spielberg’s winner of four Academy Awards: Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark. As is customary at the FMF, the music to the superproduction, which earned John Williams another Oscar nomination, will be performed live by Sinfonietta Cracovia orchestra conducted by a Swiss director very well known to FMF patrons: Ludwig Wicki. The concert performed in Kraków will mark the 35th anniversary of the first film devoted to the adventures of Indiana Jones. The composer John Williams needs no introduction, yet it is worth emphasising that he has garnered nearly 50 Academy Award nominations and claimed five Oscars. The Raiders March opening the soundtrack is second only to that of Star Wars among the most recognisable film tunes of all time.

The cherry topping the 9th FMF cake on 30 May 2016 and a present for the fans of video game music is the Video Game Show: Witcher 3: a joint project of the Kraków Festival Office and the CD Projekt RED, who released another instalment of a game based on Andrzej Sapkowski’s saga. Geralt the Witcher is one of the most recognisable figures in the contemporary video game scene, and the game is one of the highest grossing productions of the Polish games industry. The third instalment in the series alone boasted more than 1.5 million pre-orders, and the mark of 6 million copies sold was reached within six weeks of the game’s launch.

‘This concert is a special treat especially for gamers and fans of Sapkowski’s saga, as well as for all connoisseurs of music, especially that with folk roots,’ Robert Piaskowski emphasised, explaining the selection for this original closing of the FMF. ‘We will have an opportunity to listen to music that was written especially for the third part of the game that has captivated the hearts of players all over the world. Continuing the video games series at the FMF, we emphasise the fact that video games are an important strand in contemporary culture. It is games that put many young people in touch with the classic symphonic sound for the first time. This is a phenomenon worth serious consideration.’

The soundtrack to the third part of the game is by Marcin Przybyłowicz, a composer who, being the company’s music director, regularly works with CD Projekt RED. His numerous references to ethnic, Slavic music and Viking culture will transport the audience into the murky world of Sapkowski’s fantasy. The concert will be performed by Pro Musica Mundi, AUKSO orchestra conducted by Marek Moś, and the band known for The Witchersoundtrack, Percival, whose unique style will further reinforce the ethnic character of the concert.

The Krakow Film Music Festival – a joint event of the Krakow Festival Office and RMF Classic radio – has quickly won the hearts of the viewers and acclaim of the critics. What makes it stand out among other film events, is a combination of the best quality of film music interpretation, performed by leading musicians and orchestras, and the highest quality of motion pictures presented on the screen. All this takes place in the extraordinary scenery of the ArcelorMittal Poland tinning plant. Monumental film and music shows stand out with their élan of productions, innovative sound and image technology, the panache of performance, the highest artistic level, and – what is particularly important for viewers – the presence of the most outstanding artists and composers. Thanks to the scale of the festival, its promotion in Poland and abroad, but above all the presence of distinguished guests from the film industry and collaboration with film and production circles, the festival has quickly become a recognisable brand in Europe, the US and Canada. It was nominated twice to the Niptel Media Award for its innovative character, and was announced the Event of the Year by the industry portal Muzykafilmowa.pl six times in a row. It was also recognised by the journalists of the Hollywood magazine Variety, who put the FMF on a par with the Spanish Ubeda, Belgian Ghent Film Festival and the Film Music Festival in Tenerife. Read more:www.fmf.fm

RMF Classic Radio is a music radio station, present in nineteen biggest cities in Poland. Thanks to its careful programming, combining classical and film music, reliable news services, and thematic diversity of programmes, it attracts a circle of unique and loyal listeners. RMF Classic is an intriguing combination of music and good taste with the most recent information from the world of art, design and new technologies. The station often hosts on air the most outstanding personalities of Polish cultural life and many other interesting figures. It also organises the prestigious MocArty RMF Classic poll. Each day, 425,000 people in Poland listen to RMF Classic. The listeners of RMF Classic are a particularly attractive target group: representatives of prestigious professions, educated people, citizens of the biggest cities in Poland. 54.6% of RMF Classic listeners are representatives of the most prestigious professions (directors, presidents, freelance professions/experts, company owners). 52.5% of RMF Classic listeners are citizens of the biggest cities and city agglomerations (population over 500,000). 59.5% of them have higher education. Read more at: www.rmfclassic.pl Source: Radio Track MillwardBrown SMG/KRC; 01.2013–03.2013; daily reach; TG: all listeners; sample: 21053; listeners structure according to daily reach RMF Classic; 04.2012–03.2013; sample: 2183.

The Krakow Festival Office deals with the organisation and promotion of major cultural events of local, national, and international scope. The number of the events organised includes both the most prestigious musical events, which have been highly praised in international critics milieu – from the Misteria Paschalia Festival, that emphasises the atmosphere of Easter Week, via Sacrum Profanum with its avant-garde spirit, to the huge open-air spectacles that attract hundreds of thousands spectators, as well as innovative projects in the field of the contemporary arts (Art Boom), theatre (Divine comedy), and literature (Conrad Festival). The spectacular Film Music Festival attracts great directors and composers to the city; the Opera Rara project, established by the world’s foremost interpreters of early music, has become an important destination on the music lover’s travel map. Additionally, the Krakow Festival Office coordinates the programme Six Senses, which brings together all the major Krakow events. Read more www.en.biurofestiwalowe.pl