From 17 to 23 May 2017 Krakow is the world film music capital
Three Oscar winners, more than seventy premieres (including sixty world premieres), over six hundred guests from the world of music and film, eighteen concerts, nearly thirty panels, workshops and meetings, nineteen recording sessions and more than two hundred music pieces performed on six hundred instruments – all that makes up the jubilee edition of the Film Music Festival in Krakow to start this Wednesday (17 May), Throughout seven days we will hear the greatest film music hits, including Howard Shore’s The Lord of the Rings, John Williams’ Star Wars and Jan A.P. Kaczmarek’s Dreamer. On the programme there are also chamber film music concerts, a spectacular dance party led by the Italian composer and DJ Giorgio Moroder, the Polish premiere of Matt Schrader’s Score: A Film Music Documentary, and two superproduction with live music– Wolfgang Petersen’s The Neverending Story and multiple-Oscar-winning James Cameron’s Titanic. The 10th FMF will continue until 23 May 2017.
For a good start we will listen to film music composed by Abel Korzeniowski – a Krakow-born composer, tied with Hollywood, and twice Golden Globe nominee (for Tom Ford’s A Single Man and Madonna’s W.E.). On 17 May, in the ICE Kraków Auditorium Hall, we will hear his music to Carlo Carlei’s Romeo and Juliet, Randy Moore’s Escape From Tomorrow and the most recent scores to the TV series Penny Dreadful and Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals (nomination for BAFTA 2016). Korzeniowski will host at the FMF for the second time – in 2013 his music was played at the RMF Classic Birthday Gala. On Wednesday he will conduct the Beethoven Academy Orchestra. We well also hear his music on Saturday at All is Film Music Jubilee Gala in TAURON Arena Kraków. That night will belong to the greatest stars of music and film, a colourful kaleidoscope of the best known small and large screen music hits. We will hear John Williams’ Star Wars”, Jan A.P. Kaczmarek’s Dreamer, Justin Hurwitz’s La La Land, Hans Zimmer’s Inception and Brian Tyler’s score for iconic productions, such as The Fate of the Furious and video game Assasin’s Creed. All is Film Music will take us on a tour of all film music genres, from somewhat late-romantic in style Hollywood Classical Film Score, through film songs, to the soundtracks from TV series and video games. The first decade of the FMF will be symbolically closed by Howard Shore, who will remind us the festival’s beginnings in 2008 with Peter Jackson’s legendary suite from The Lord of the Rings. Live music to the film adaptation of Tolkien’s trilogy resounded on Krakow’s Błonia meadow, for the first time in Poland. Atanas Valkov’s, Maciek Zieliński’s, Sean Callery’s, Jeff Russo’s and Trevor Morris’ compositions will also be performed at this year’s Gala.
But the Film Music Festival is not only great symphonic music. ”Throughout the ten years of the festival we managed to create an extraordinary platform for understanding between film creators and the audience. The FMF’s culture-forming role and the importance for the industry are unquestionable. In my opinion FMF’s invaluable contribution to the global appreciation of film music as a full-fledged art form with its own language, one of the world’s most beautiful multi-disciplinary experiences. I consider simultaneous film shows with live music as a special achievement, as such shows have now become more and more often important points on film music festivals all over the world. In a way we have marketed this idea as the forerunners” – says Robert Piaskowski, FMF Artistic Director. On the festival’s tenth anniversary two superproductions with live music will be given: Wolfgang Petersen’s The Neverending Story with Klaus Doldingers’ soundtrack and Giorgio Moroder’s iconic song Neverending Story (Thursday, 18 May 2017) , and James Cameron’s eleven- times-Oscar-winning Titanic with the score created by James Horne. It will be a symbolic tribute to the composer by the organisers and creators of the Film Music Festival(Sunday, 21 May 2017). The simultaneous show of Titanic will also be available to the audience using audio description (the technique that enables persons with visual impairment to listen to the film description using headphones). Last year, fifty listeners benefited from that opportunity.
The regular event: FMF Youth Orchestra – the ensemble that was created specially for the Festival and consists of the most talented pupils of Krakow’s music schools – will also be on the programme of this year’s festival. On Sunday afternoon (21 May 2017) young musicians conducted by Monika Bachowska will perform John Williams’s suites from George Lucas’ legendary saga Star Wars. There is also something in store for lovers of atmospheric chamber music – on Friday (19 May 2017) we invite you to the second edition of the Cinematic Piano series, this time performed by the French pianist and film music composer Jean-Michel Bernard. And one more festival’ novelty – Dance2 Cinema: Midnight Express Party, a spectacular show on the square by the Railway Station in Krakow, with the Italian master of the console, three-times Oscar-winning Oscar Giorgio Moroder, with the greatest hits on the border of electronic music, disco music and film, including Top Gun, Midnight Express, Scarface and the iconic Neverending Story.
More than six hundred artists will take part in the 10th Film Music Festival. We will hear the brightest stars of the Polish stage (Edyta Górniak, Natasza Urbańska), the legendary masters of the baton (Diego Navarro, Ludwig Wicki, Christian Schumann), and acclaimed Polish orchestras and choirs (Sinfonietta Cracovia, Beethoven Academy Orchestra, Pro Musica Mundi Choir, Cracow Singers). Concerts and film shows will be graced with the presence of leading figures in the film music world, including three Oscar winners: Howard Shore, Jan A.P. Kaczmarek and Giorgio Moroder, along with Klaus Doldinger, Abel Korzeniowski, Trevor Morris and Brian Tyler. Following the annual tradition, three prestigious awards will be granted: the Wojciech Kilar Award founded by the Mayors of Krakow and Katowice, the statuette of FMF Ambassador, and the Young Talent Award for a young artist. The Festival audience will also be offered a variety of accompanying events, under the new round of the Audiovisual Forum – the Polish premiere of Matt Schrader’s feature-length Score: A Film Music Documentary, a get-together with representatives of the renowned Varèse Sarabande record label, many workshops and discussion panels with famous soundtrack creators and representatives of the film industry. The 5th edition of the Audiovisual Forum – ranked among the most prestigious European courses training functional music composers will be part of the FMF.
