Open-air summer festival "Classics without borders" attracts to the parks of the twin city

Starting July 30, the open-air summer festival "Classics without Borders" attracts musical delights to the most beautiful parks of the double city Frankfurt (Oder)-Słubice. Over six weekends, guests can expect a crossover program of chamber music, contemporary interpretations and original arrangements, performed by international ensembles, with free admission. Also on the program is a children's opera, which invites on a journey through the world of classical music.

The highlight of the festival is the grand symphonic final concert "Rhapsody in Blue" on September 2 with the specially founded festival orchestra conducted by GMD Rafal Kłoczko. The German-Polish special project of the extra class is at the same time a bow to the classics of the jazz and musical scene. The musicians from the Brandenburg State Orchestra Frankfurt and the Zielona Góra Philharmonic Orchestra, together with the internationally acclaimed pianist Danee Dörken, will perform works by Leonard Bernstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber and George Gershwin. The accompanying culinary offer will tempt you to picnic in the countryside. The whole family can rediscover Anger, Kleist Park, Gertrauden Park, Lienau Park and Lenné Park.

Mayor René Wilke is enthusiastic: "Who once witnessed this spectacle of live music and stage magic, get-together and lightness, knows still long to tell about it. So be excited for a reason and plan the visit to "Classic without borders" necessarily."

Conceived and organized the cultural summer experience by the city marketing of the fair and event GmbH. Curator Tomasz Pilarski describes the concept of this year's festival: "The new edition of the festival fills the title-giving central idea with life: We want to dissolve the boundaries of musical genres. In addition to very classical programs, in which Mozart meets Haydn or the masters of bel canto, Rossini and Donizetti, we experience Viennese coffee house music and Argentinean tango as well as Balkan folk, klezmer, jazz and musical. What unites all ensembles, besides their great musical ability, is their unique stage performance, beyond standards."

The program will be led by well-known presenters from Antenne Brandenburg.

The organizers thanked especially the supporters and partners of "Klassik ohne Grenzen" without which it would not have been possible to offer such a high-quality and yet free program.

A foretaste of this upcoming open-air event was given by cellist Adele Bitter during the press conference on June 9. The Berlin-born cellist's interest in contemporary music as well as her commitment to the works of persecuted, ostracized and exiled composers is reflected in several of her publications. Together with the pianist Katarzyna Wasiak and the actor Dominique Horwitz, she will perform central works and survivors' memories by Szymon Laks on August 12. The Polish-Jewish composer, violinist and pianist Szymon Laks survived the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp only because he was the leader of the camp band.

The program at a glance

Sunday, July 30 · 11 am | Am Anger, Frankfurt (Oder)
Greetings from Copenhagen / Wind Quintet CARION (DK)
The current program of the Danish-Latvian successful ensemble CARION is a tribute to the Danish capital Copenhagen and commemorates the premiere of the famous wind quintet by Carl Nielsen in 1922. None other than Mozart inspired Nielsen to this epoch-making piece and so Mozart and Nielsen meet virtually on stage, accompanied by fresh and lively sounds of Jacques Ibert and Renate Stivrina. CARION's trademark is the unusual way in which it presents itself on stage, without music stands or chairs, but with ingenious choreographies that visualize musical structures and make the distribution of roles within the instruments visible. This lively mixture of innovation, quality and entertainment, rarely found in the classical music business, inspires and delights audiences and critics alike. The format is particularly attractive and successful with younger audiences.

Saturday, August 5 · 7 pm | pedestrian zone at the bridge, Słubice
Masters of bel canto/Aleksandra Kubas-Kruk, Patryk Rymanowski, Rafał Kowalczyk (PL)
Gioachino Rossini is considered one of the most important creators of opera buffa, and his "Barber of Seville" is the most important work of the genre. The brilliantly constructed intrigues, melodic richness and multicolored orchestration give this work its unique character. Two arias - by Rosina and by Bartolo - open the Promenade Concert program of arias and duets from four of Gioachino Rossini's most famous operas. The evening combines Rossini's music with the other great master of bel canto, Gaetano Donizetti, whose operas also belong to the canon of the most important works of opera buffa. Soprano Aleksandra Kubas-Kruk excels in over 30 operatic roles in renowned opera houses and concert halls worldwide. Bassist Patryk Rymanowski has performed with most Polish philharmonic orchestras. Multiple prize winner Rafał Kowalczyk completed his musical education on several instruments simultaneously: piano, French horn and harp. He collaborates with many orchestras, both as a pianist and a horn player.

Sunday, August 6 · 11 am | Gertraudenpark, Frankfurt (Oder)
Haydn and Mozart: A musical friendship
Chamber Orchestra of the Philharmonic Orchestra Gorzów and Anna Maria Staśkiewicz (PL)
Haydn and Mozart, despite their age difference of more than twenty years, were connected by a sincere and lasting friendship. Haydn, as the oldest of the Viennese classics, defined what Mozart brought to perfection - the great forms of the era such as symphonies, instrumental concertos and string quartets. The affinity between the two composers is evident not only in their documented appreciation for each other's work, but also in the fact that they inspired each other. The program of the concert, curated by the Gorzów Philharmonic, includes one of Haydn's best-known symphonies , No. 104 of the London Symphonies, and Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 5. Works that represent the quintessence of the style prevalent in 18th century Vienna. The Gorzów Philharmonic Orchestra is a young, international and ambitious ensemble. The musicians come from Poland, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Japan and China. The repertoire of the orchestra is very diverse and ranges from baroque to contemporary music. Violinist Anna Maria Staśkiewicz has been a soloist on the stages of many prestigious houses, including the Municipal Theater in Sao Paulo, the Kaisersaal in Frankfurt am Main and the National Philharmonic in Warsaw.

Saturday, August 12 · 7:30 pm | Lennépark, Frankfurt (Oder)
Music from another world, chamber music by Szymon Laks
Adele Bitter (D), Katarzyna Wasiak (PL), Dominique Horwitz (D), Frank Harders-Wuthenow (D)
Born in Warsaw in 1901, Polish-Jewish composer, violinist and pianist Szymon Laks settled in Paris in 1926. With the occupation of France in 1940, his successful career came to a brutal end. He survived because he was a musician, as a violinist and leader of the camp band in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Dominique Horwitz will read passages from Laks` survival memoirs about the power and powerlessness of music: Musique d'un autre monde - the title of the French first edition. Adele Bitter and Katarzyna Wasiak, both of whom have been working for years to rediscover Laks` ravishing music, will interpret key works by the composer from the period before and after World War II. Berlin-born Adele Bitter has played in the Ensemble Modern at festivals in Lucerne and Edinburgh, was first solo cellist in Karlsruhe, and is principal cellist in the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. Katarzyna Wasiak studied in Wroclaw, Vienna and Berlin. She won numerous international piano competitions and scholarships, made guest appearances at renowned festivals and participated in recordings for Polish, German and Austrian radio and various record labels. In March 2021, the CD with all the songs of Szymon Laks with soprano Ania Vegry was released, which was awarded the CD of the Month of September by BBC Music Magazine. German-French actor Dominique Horwitz is one of the most sought-after artists in the musical-literary genre due to his keen sense of music. He was involved in the highly acclaimed complete recording of Szymon Laks' songs by Deutschlandradio Kultur.

Sunday, August 13 · 11 am | Lennépark, Frankfurt (Oder)
Wanderlust / BOULANGER TRIO (D)
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many masterpieces based on folk music themes were created. The popularity of this genre was part of the fever that gripped people in the second half of the 19th century to travel the world and discover its most secret corners. The program "Wanderlust" perfectly captures the spirit of that time. The Boulanger Trio takes hold of the musical wandering stick, explores romantic emotional worlds and takes you into different soundscapes of works by Antonín Dvorák, Manuel de Falla, Edvard Grieg, Frank Martin and Johannes Brahms. The BOULANGER TRIO, based in Hamburg and Berlin, has earned an excellent reputation in the chamber music scene in a very short time. Die Welt called the ensemble "irresistible," and composer Wolfgang Rihm wrote in a letter: "To be interpreted like this is probably a dream for every composer." The trio delights audiences and press alike with their passionate playing and intelligent interpretations.

Saturday, August 19 · 4 pm | Lienaupark, Frankfurt (Oder)
The Little Midsummer Night's Dream / opera for children from 7
A production of Beeskow Castle as part of the Opera Oder Spree with Annabelle Kern, Mads Jacobsen and Insa Bernds (D)
The children's opera based on motifs from the great Shakespeare-Mendelssohn work enchants with a vocal duet and piano accompaniment. Imaginative and playful, it leads the young listeners through the fairy-tale (musical) worlds. The children's opera had its world premiere on May 21, 2023 as part of the Opera Oder Spree. Hermia and Lysander are to marry, but unfortunately not the person they love. At their weddings, they retreat to the garden and seek solace with each other and their cuddly toys, the mascots from their childhood. What if they just ran off together and left all this stupid adult life and "being sensible" behind and did what they wanted together? With that thought, they fall asleep exhausted, the night settles over them, and the nature of things takes its course.

Sunday, August 20 · 11 am | Lienaupark, Frankfurt (Oder)
On to Argentina / BANDONEGRO (PL)
"We are the tango!" - you might think that's a bold claim, but if you listen to the playing of the four Polish musicians, then there is definitely something to it. BANDONEGRO, this is an orchestra that has grown together, that has its own distinctive musical style and in whose blood flows the tango. The band is considered one of the most fascinating and well-known performers of this genre. BANDONEGRO presents both traditional Argentine tango and tango nuevo, creating their own compositions with elements of jazz and classical music. With their extraordinary passion for music, coupled with fresh sounds, their own musical idea and, last but not least, their excellent sensitivity for tango as a dance, the Poles are conquering the hearts of their audiences worldwide and are praised as the best tango ensemble of the young generation.

Saturday, August 26 · 7 p.m. | Pedestrian zone by the bridge, Słubice
Let's dance! / DANCE OF FIRE QUARTETT (PL)
The sound of the clarinet, or more precisely, the sounds of four clarinets, lead this evening through the rich meanderings of Balkan and Klezmer music. Starting with well-known melodies such as Aide Jano and ending with the original compositions of the founders of the group - each piece inspires with its unique color and energy that leaves no one indifferent. Get up and dance along is expressly desired!

Sunday, August 27 · 11 am | Kleistpark, Frankfurt (Oder)
"Where is the sky as blue as in Vienna?" / Salon Orchestra CAPPUCCINO (DE)
"The sun is laughing and the sky is blue, geh' ma Tauben vergiften im Park ...", so once poetized the Austrian chansonier Georg Kreisler in one of his famous wicked couplets. The melange of charm and Schmäh fascinates and disturbs in equal measure, and paired with a bit of mawkishness as well as a dash of self-irony, it becomes what makes Viennese music so distinctive. Experience a deep bow to the Viennese sounds with the Leipzig salon orchestra CAPPUCCINO. The members of the salon orchestra mostly belong to renowned orchestras such as the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and the Staatskapelle Halle or are professors at the music academies of Cologne, Bremen and Leipzig. Particularly formative for the ensemble is its pianist and arranger Horst Singer, who was a member of the best-known East German big band under Fips Fleischer for more than 25 years and made musical excursions into swing and musicals possible in the first place. But the real face of CAPPUCCINO is its stand-up violinist and emcee Albrecht Winter, who, in addition to the violinistic finesse of his performance, also shines with vocal antics and a profound knowledge of the stories of the musical salon.

Saturday, September 2 · 7 pm | Anger, Frankfurt (Oder)
Great final concert "Rhapsody in Blue"
Festival Orchestra conducted by Rafał Kłoczko
Brandenburg State Orchestra Frankfurt (DE), Philharmonic Orchestra Zielona Góra (PL) and Danae Dörken (piano) (DE/GR)
A German-Polish special project of the extra class forms the conclusion of the summer festival "Classic without borders" and is at the same time a bow to the classics of the jazz and musical scene. Together with pianist Danee Dörken, the specially assembled festival orchestra will perform works by Leonard Bernstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber and George Gershwin in a symphonic format. The history of the Brandenburg State Orchestra Frankfurt dates back to 1842. After reunification, it established itself as a symphony orchestra with an impact far beyond the borders of Brandenburg. This is reflected in the orchestra's busy guest performance schedule, which takes it on concert tours throughout Germany, Europe and Japan. The repertoire of the Zielona Góra Philharmonic Orchestra includes oratorios and symphonies as well as popular compositions. Many works by contemporary Polish composers, including pieces by Zielona Góra citizens, have been premiered here. The orchestra cooperates with the most important international soloists and conductors. "Is the young pianist the discovery of the year?" asked the classical music magazine crescendo - and answered in the affirmative. "On the way to the very top" is also how the reviewers of concerti magazine see her. The German-Greek pianist Danae Dörken belongs to the elite of internationally sought-after artists of a new generation, who shine with breathtaking technique, extraordinary stage presence and musical depth.