2004 (31 March – 9 April)
Beethoven and the Music of the Nations of Europe
The first edition after the Festival moved from Kraków to Warsaw takes place just before Poland’s accession to the European Union (1 May). The opening concert features Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony conducted by James Conlon. Elżbieta Penderecka invites outstanding musicians, including Barry Douglas, Rudolf Buchbinder, Patrick Gallois, Grigory Zhislin, and Gidon Kremer with Kremerata Baltica. In Verdi’s Messa da Requiem, the soloists are Hasmik Papian and Violeta Urmana. The Warsaw audience are ushered into Easter with a fine performance of Dvořák’s Stabat Mater, with Krassimira Stoyanova, Agnieszka Rehlis, Christian Elsner, and Robert Holzer under Jacek Kaspszyk.
Poster by Andy Warhol
2005 (15–25 March)
Beethoven between the Music of North and South
Marcin Klejdysz’s Beethoven Academy Orchestra under the artistic patronage of Elżbieta Penderecka makes its Festival debut. Two concerts by the NDR Symphony Orchestra Hamburg conducted by Christoph von Dohnányi are a great success (Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major with Garrick Ohlsson, Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos 5 and 7, Bartók’s Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta). Recitals are given by Stephen Kovacevich, Cristina Ortiz, and Olga and Natalia Pasiecznik. Tadeusz Strugała celebrates 50 years of his artistic career. The Festival also hosts, for the first time in Poland, the remarkable cellist Claudio Bohórquez.
Poster by Andrzej Pągowski
2006 (1–15 April)
Beethoven: Heritage and Resonance
The Festival is held in six cities: Warsaw, Gdańsk, Kraków, Bydgoszcz, Szczecin, and Łódź. In Warsaw alone, audiences can attend more than thirty concerts, including fifteen symphonic performances. Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 – the “Symphony of a Thousand” – is performed. Rudolf Buchbinder sets a remarkable record, performing all five of Beethoven’s piano concertos with Sinfonietta Cracovia in a single day (Sunday, 9 April) and gives a recital featuring the 33 Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli already on the next day. Bach’s piano concertos are also performed, among others by Christoph Eschenbach, who also appears as Narrator in Schoenberg’s A Survivor from Warsaw.
Poster by Marianna Sztyma
2007 (25 March – 6 April)
Beethoven, Music and Literature
Andrzej Giza, Director of the Ludwig van Beethoven Association, initiates the custom of commissioning leading Polish painters of the younger and middle generations with designing Festival posters, aiming to revive the Polish school of poster art. Having previously invited Marianna Sztyma, he now commissions a design from Wilhelm Sasnal. A remarkable performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 by the hr-Sinfonieorchester under Paavo Järvi prompts reflection on life and death. The Festival also features the Bamberg Symphony, the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, Camerata Salzburg, the violinists Nigel Kennedy and Christian Tetzlaff, the pianists Elisabeth Leonskaja, Rudolf Buchbinder, and Nelson Freire, and the conductors Lawrence Foster and Christopher Hogwood. The first masterclasses at the Easter Festival are given by Ileana Cotrubaș (soprano).
Poster by Wilhelm Sasnal
2008 (9–22 March)
Beethoven and his Vienna
The Forgotten Operas series opens with a performance of Cherubini’s Lodoïska (1791) conducted by Łukasz Borowicz. The Festival offers a veritable cornucopia of outstanding concerts: the Munich and Lahti symphony orchestras, the Münchener Kammerorchester under Alexander Liebreich, and chamber concerts with the exceptional clarinettist Sharon Kam and the Leipzig String Quartet. At the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera, Jacek Kaspszyk conducts Schoenberg’s monumental cantata Gurre-Lieder, with Christa Ludwig as Narrator. The legendary Trevor Pinnock demonstrates his virtuoso mastery in interpreting Haydn and Mozart.
Poster by Grupa Twożywo
2009 (29 March – 10 April)
Beethoven: Nature and Culture (The Year of Handel, Haydn and Mendelssohn)
The Festival opens with gusto, presenting a recital of songs by Schumann, Beethoven, Karłowicz, and Ravel performed by Mariusz Kwiecień and Howard Watkins, as well as a performance of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major by Anne-Sophie Mutter under the baton of Krzysztof Penderecki. Distinguished chamber orchestras appear, including Wiener Akademie, the English Chamber Orchestra, and Wiener Kammerorchester with the double bassist Jurek Dybał. The French harpist Xavier de Maistre proves a sensation. Two operas are presented: Puccini’s Manon Lescaut conducted by Miguel Gómez-Martínez and the “forgotten” Der Berggeist by Louis Spohr. The Festival concludes with Handel’s Brockes Passion (Collegium Vocale Gent and Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin under Marcus Creed). The first issue of Beethoven Magazine, edited by Anna S. Dębowska, is published; its cover, designed by Witold Siemaszkiewicz, soon receives the Grand Front award in the national press category.
Poster by Bartek Materka
2010 (21 March – 3 April)
Beethoven, Music, and the Phenomenon of the Piano. The Year of Chopin and Schumann
A highlight of the Festival is the performance of Beethoven’s all nine symphonies by the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen under Paavo Järvi. The programme includes a strong presence of Schumann in celebration of the bicentenary of the composer’s birth. Outstanding orchestras appear: the Festival opens with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 7 in E minor, performed by the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin under Ingo Metzmacher wins great acclaim. A charming chamber concert by Ivan Monighetti and Pavel Gililov.
Poster by Marcin Maciejowski
2011 (9–22 April)
Beethoven and Eternal Femininity
The Festival welcomes orchestras from Dresden, Lahti, and Baden-Württemberg (with Mahler’s songs in programmes), as well as the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin under Marek Janowski. Rudolf Buchbinder performs Beethoven’s five piano concertos in just two days, directing the Sinfonietta Cracovia from the keyboard. Łukasz Borowicz presents the rarely performed opera Maria Padilla by Gaetano Donizetti, which he prepared with graduates of the Yale School of Music’s Vocal and Opera Program, invited by Elżbieta Penderecka. Performed are no fewer than three Passions: Bach’s St Matthew Passion and St John Passion, and Penderecki’s St Luke Passion.
Poster by Jakub Julian Ziółkowski
2012 (25 March – 6 April)
Beethoven: War and Peace
An unforgettable concert by the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester under David Afkham and a captivating performance of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7. Performers include winners of prizes at the 14th International Tchaikovsky Competition perform: Daniil Trifonov, Sergey Dogadin, and Narek Hakhnazaryan. Audiences are once again thrilled by Paavo Järvi – the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen performs Robert Schumann’s all symphonies. In the Forgotten Operas series, Łukasz Borowicz conducts Italo Montemezzi’s L’amore dei tre re.
Poster by Honza Zamojski
2013 (17–29 March)
Beethoven: Sublimity and Enthusiasm
The Polish debut by Rafael Payare, one of the most promising conductors of the younger generation and a product of Venezuela’s renowned El Sistema. The outstanding British Belcea Quartet presents a selection of Beethoven’s string quartets. The Tokyo String Quartet and the Artis Quartet also perform. At the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera, Act II of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde is presented in concert, featuring the distinguished German Wagnerian singers Evelyn Herlitzius (Isolde) and Michelle Breedt (Brangäne). A jazz concert, Lutosławski’s Folk Roots, with Grażyna Auguścik coincides with a personal tragedy for the artist – the sudden death of her husband – yet the singer decides not to cancel her performance. Łukasz Borowicz conducts Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra.
Poster by Tymek Borowski
2014 (6–18 April)
Beethoven and the Idea of Freedom
A captivating concert by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Charles Dutoit. An emerging star of the conducting world, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, at the time Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, appears in Poland for the first time. Łukasz Borowicz conducts Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride. Appearances by two outstanding string quartets: the Emerson String Quartet and the Casals Quartet. The jury of the International Classical Music Awards, composed of editors from seventeen music journals, selects the Beethoven Festival as the venue for its awards gala. The recipients include Krzysztof Penderecki, Daniel Hope, Charles Dutoit, Andreas Staier, and the Signum Quartet.
Poster by Radek Szlaga
2015 (22 March – 3 April)
Beethoven – Brahms – Mahler
The Festival is graced by distinguished senior conductors: Leonard Slatkin and Jiří Bělohlávek (with the Czech Philharmonic). Opera plays a prominent role, with a digest of Pietro Mascagni’s works, while Borowicz conducts Britten’s The Turn of the Screw. There is also an extensive presentation of lesser-known choral-orchestral works by Mahler and Brahms. The excellent Hover State Chamber Choir from Armenia, conducted by Sona Hovhannisyan, offers an opportunity to reflect on the music of Komitas Vardapet. A special concert devoted to music of the region is given by the Baltic Sea Youth Philharmonic. Baroque returns into limelight: Monteverdi’s Vespers are performed by Boston Baroque.
Poster by Monika Zawadzki
2016 (12–25 March)
Beethoven and New Directions
The Festival’s star-strewn lineup includes the American baritone Thomas Hampson, the consummate Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich under Lionel Bringuier, and Daniel Müller-Schott performing Dvořák’s Cello Concerto with the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington under Christoph Eschenbach. The legendary Emerson String Quartet returns. The Prelude and selected scenes from Wagner’s music drama Parsifal are performed under Alexander Liebreich.
Poster by Agata Bogacka
2017 (2–14 April)
Beethoven and the Fine Arts
This year, major orchestras include the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie under Josep Pons and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony under Andrés Orozco-Estrada performing Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique in captivating manner. Smaller ensembles include the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. The Orchester Wiener Akademie presents Beethoven’s Egmont in its entirety, with the text delivered by the distinguished actor John Malkovich himself.
Poster by Ewa Juszkiewicz
2018 (16–30 March)
Beethoven and Great Anniversaries
Eighteen concerts in Warsaw and twelve in other Polish cities are attended by a total audience of around 100,000. The Festival star is Krystian Zimerman, who – with the National Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Jacek Kaspszyk – performs Bernstein’s Symphony No. 2, The Age of Anxiety, marking the centenary of the composer’s birth. Another bright star in this edition’s constellation is Anne-Sophie Mutter, performing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major. The Forgotten Operas series features Rimsky-Korsakov’s Kashchey the Deathless.
Poster by Mariusz Tarkawian
2019 (7–19 April)
Beethoven and the Songs of Romanticism
A major artistic event is the performance of The War Requiem by Benjamin Britten’s under Jacek Kaspszyk, as well as a recital by the baritone Christian Gerhaher, who, accompanied by Gerold Huber, presents a deeply moving interpretation of Schubert’s Winterreise. Outstanding orchestras appear: the Dresdner Philharmonie under Michael Sanderling with Beatrice Rana, and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra under Susanna Mälkki. Łukasz Borowicz presents Moniuszko’s exotic opera Paria.
Poster by Kinga Nowak
2020 (10–22 October)
Beethoven – the Great Inspirer
In the 250th anniversary year of Beethoven’s birth, the Festival takes place exceptionally in the autumn due to the spring lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Szymon Nehring appears twice, performing, among other works, one of Beethoven’s last piano sonatas, Op. 111, as well as his Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major. Łukasz Borowicz prepares excerpts from Faniska by Luigi Cherubini – one of Beethoven’s favourite composers, with Natalia Rubiś (soprano) in the lineup.
Poster by Norman Leto
2021 (20 March – 2 April)
Beethoven and Penderecki. The Sacred Realm
Due to a further lockdown, all concerts take place without an audience and are streamed online and broadcast by the Polish Radio Two (Dwójka). The organisational efficiency of the Ludwig van Beethoven Association receives recognition in the media (including the blog of Dorota Szwarcman). In the Forgotten Operas series, Łukasz Borowicz presents the one-act operas Sancta Susanna by Hindemith and Savitri by Holst, streamed from the Adam Mickiewicz University Hall in Poznań with the Poznań Philharmonic and the female members of the Poznań Chamber Choir. The 85-year-old Jerzy Maksymiuk conducts Sinfonia Varsovia in a captivating performance of Beethoven’s Eroica.
Poster by Zbigniew Rogalski
2022 (3–15 April)
Beethoven – the Father of Great Symphonism
The Łódź Philharmonic Orchestra, long absent from Warsaw, returns under Paweł Przytocki to a highly favourable welcome. There is also the Israel Camerata Jerusalem. The Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra is conducted by its new Artistic Director, Alexander Humala, with Tymoteusz Bies performing Szymanowski’s Symphony No. 4, “Symphonie concertante”. Łukasz Borowicz presents to audiences a precursor to Mozart’s Don Giovanni, the once popular opera of the same title by Giuseppe Gazzaniga.
Poster by Agata Kus
2023 (26 March – 7 April)
Beethoven – Between East and West
The Festival opens with the Korea National University of Arts Symphony Orchestra under Chi-Yong Chung. Michał Klauza conducts Weinberg’s Symphony No. 2, and the bevy of the Festival’s stars include the consummate Spanish pianist Martín García García, performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto in E flat major. Leading Polish symphony orchestras also appear. Łukasz Borowicz and the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra present Satie’s Socrate and Martinů’s Alexandre bis. The Festival concludes with Krzysztof Penderecki’s Seven Gates of Jerusalem, performed by the Orchestra and Choir of the National Philharmonic under Sergey Smbatyan.
Poster by Grzegorz Kozera
2024 (17–29 March)
Beethoven and Philosophers
Philosophers are invoked on the tricentenary of the birth of Immanuel Kant, whose works the Bonn master read. Beethoven’s compositions are accompanied by Arthur Schopenhauer’s thoughts on music. Beatrice Rana gives a fine performance of Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor. A French flavour is brought by the ballet chanté Salade and the opera Le pauvre matelot by Milhaud, as well as Fauré’s Requiem and Poulenc’s Stabat Mater.
Poster by Danuta Dąbrowska-Siemaszkiewicz
2025 (6–18 April)
Beethoven and Great Poetry
The Festival opens with Beethoven’s Ninth under Christoph Eschenbach and closes, after twelve days, with two settings of the Kaddish – by Penderecki and Bernstein – conducted by Christoph König. Poetry plays an important role, with song cycles by Beethoven and Schubert (Ian Bostridge and Saskia Giorgini), Polish composers (Izabela Matuła), Ives, Strauss, and Wagner (Tomasz Konieczny with Lech Napierała). Piano recitals are given by Ewa Pobłocka and Lucas Debargue, and the Forgotten Operas series includes a presentation of the eighteenth-century Werther by Johann Simon Mayr.
Poster by Julita Malinowska
2026 (22 March – 3 April)
Beethoven – The Time of the Classical and Romantic Breakthrough
The jubilee 30th edition was programmed by the late Elżbieta Penderecka, the Festival’s originator and founder of the Ludwig van Beethoven Association, who shaped it from the very beginning. Distinguished soloists and conductors, as well as leading orchestras from Poland and abroad, have been invited to take part. The Festival again opens with Beethoven’s Ninth, with the celebrated Ode to Joy in the finale, performed by the Orchestra and Choir of the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera under the baton of Maestra Marzena Diakun, one of the most distinguished Polish conductors of her generation on the European and international stage. The Festival concludes on Good Friday with Krzysztof Penderecki’s St Luke Passion.
Poster by Patrycja Piętka
