Classical music festival attracts visitors to the parks

From August 3 to 30, the "Klassik ohne Grenzen" festival offers a total of eight concerts in the most beautiful parks in the twin city of Frankfurt (Oder)-Słubice under the open sky and with free admission. The accompanying culinary offerings will tempt you to picnic in the countryside. Presenters from Antenne Brandenburg will guide you through the program. After the concerts, professional park guides will invite you to rediscover Anger, Gertrauden, Lienau and Lenné Park.

If the weather gods are not on your side, there will be a bad weather option for all concerts with St. Mary's Church. The decision will be made and announced on Friday afternoon.

The open-air summer festival "Klassik ohne Grenzen" will kick off its fifth edition with Mozart and Beethoven on Sunday, August 3 at 11 a.m. in Frankfurt's "Am Anger" park. "Classical, classical!" is the title of the opening concert and gets straight to the point. After all, Mozart and Beethoven were pioneers of classical music and their works had a lasting influence on subsequent generations of composers. To open the festival, the young Gorzów Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by its music director Przemysław Fiugajski, will perform Ludwig van Beethoven's penultimate symphony, which the composer himself called the "Little Symphony in F" because of its lightness and wit, as well as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Flute Concerto in G (KV 313). It is said that Mozart himself did not really like the flute as an instrument. Marianna Żołnacz, award-winning solo flutist with the Dresden Philharmonic, will demonstrate why his flute concertos are still among his most popular works today.

An overview of the rest of the program

Saturday, 9. August 2025 | 7:30 p.m. | Lennépark, Frankfurt (Oder)
"West Side Story"
Music from America for two pianos
The modern version of "Romeo and Juliet" was premiered in Washington in 1957 based on an idea by Jerome Robbins and with music by the genius of the century Leonard Bernstein. Since the Oscar-winning film adaptation four years later, the musical has become a pop icon in music history. Together with his friend Sid Ramin, Bernstein composed a version for two pianos that turned the work into a grandiose virtuoso piece.
Anna & Ines Walachowski – Piano

Sunday, 10. August 2025 | 11:00 a.m. | Lennépark, Frankfurt (Oder)
"Alle Menschen werden ... Schwestern"
Music from Fanny Mendelssohn to Alicia Keys – arranged for piano and cello
Until the pop era, women were not really able to assert themselves as composers. Against this background, the work and creations of emancipated female composers such as Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Clara Schumann and Nadia and Lili Boulanger are of particular importance. The music of these women and the inseparable bond between siblings in compositions provided the sisters Anouchka and Katharina Hack with a starting point for a very special program in which they express a spiritual kinship with their musical predecessors.
Anouchka Hack – Cello
Katharina Hack – Piano

Sunday, 17. August 2025 | 11:00 a.m. | Lienaupark, Frankfurt (Oder)
A morning with flamenco
Gypsy jazz for two or sometimes three guitars and a double bass
Born in Mönchengladbach, guitarist Joscho Stephan combines traditional gypsy jazz with influences from Latin, classical and pop to create an unmistakable style. His debut album "Swinging Strings" (1999) was named CD of the month by the American Guitar Player. In Frankfurt, he will not only be performing with his trio, but also with Polish star guitarist Krzysztof Pełech as a guest.
Joscho Stephan – Solo guitar
Sven Jungbeck – Rhythm guitar
Volker Kamp – Double bass
Krzysztof Pełech – Guitar

Saturday, 23. August 2025 | 4:00 p.m.| Gertraudenpark, Frankfurt (Oder)
Gruselige Bilder einer Ausstellung
Music program for children based on the music of Modest Mussorgsky
The TV presenter and speaker Malte Arkona was already a guest at "Klassik ohne Grenzen" and took the young festival audience on a journey through the world of the violin. This time he comes with a story of the "Scary Pictures at an Exhibition" based on motifs by Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky. His famous piano work describes paintings and drawings by his friend Viktor Hartmann.
Malte Arkona – Narrator
Katarzyna Wasiak – Piano

Saturday, 23. August 2025 | 7:30 p.m. | Plac Bohaterów, Słubice
Jazz without borders
From Polish folk music to classical music and jazz
The two exceptional talents met musically in the "Poetry" project – an album characterized by a Norwegian ECM-like sound, but still full of Slavic melancholy. The chemistry between Adam Bałdych's expressive violin playing and Helge Lien's transparent, lyrical piano playing is magical. They manage to merge chamber music and jazz – without ever losing themselves in virtuosity.
Adam Bałdych – Violin
Helge Lien – Piano

Sunday, 24. August 2025 | 11:00 a.m. | Gertraudenpark, Frankfurt (Oder)
Vivaldi, Grieg, Chopin and more ...
A dangerously good saxophone quartet!
The Whoop Group is a Polish saxophone quartet that has made a name for itself with its explosive mix of classical music, jazz and pop covers. The members – all classical saxophonists – show that a saxophone quartet has to be anything but stiff. The group became famous through their viral YouTube videos, for example with their wild version of Rossini's William Tell Overture or their own interpretations of Queen, Vivaldi and film soundtracks.
Jakub Muras – Soprano saxophone
Mateusz Dobosz – Alto saxophone
Krzysztof Koszowski – Tenor saxophone
Szymon Zawodny – Baritone saxophone

Sunday, 30. August 2025 | 7:00 p.m. | Anger, Frankfurt (Oder)
Final concert
Filmic and romantic
At the end of "Klassik ohne Grenzen", film music will be played in the magical atmosphere of Frankfurt's Anger – with the full power and splendor of the symphonic festival orchestra with musicians from the Brandenburg State Orchestra and the Zielona Góra Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Howard Griffiths. Lovers of classical music can look forward to a performance of Mieczysław Karłowicz's violin concerto with Polish soloist Maria Machowska. And fans of film music will also get their money's worth: with themes from Indiana Jones, E.T., Schindler's List, Interstellar and The Lion King.
As every year, the festival ends with the festive sounds of Edward Elgar's "Land of Hope and Glory" – with the support of the Frankfurt Singakademie, of course.
Howard Griffiths – Conductor
Maria Machowska – Violin
Brandenburg State Orchestra Frankfurt
Philharmonic Orchestra Zielona Góra
Singakademie Frankfurt (Oder)