Open-air summer festival "Klassik ohne Grenzen" attracts visitors to the parks of the twin city

Starting on August 4, the open-air summer festival "Klassik ohne Grenzen" (Classical Music without Borders) attracts visitors to the most beautiful parks in the twin city of Frankfurt (Oder)-Słubice for musical delights. Under the open sky and with free admission, the festival offers a total of nine concerts over five weekends. Guests can expect a crossover program of chamber music, contemporary interpretations and original arrangements. At the children's concert, the youngest members of the audience will experience how cool classical music can be.

The highlight of the festival is the grand symphonic closing concert by the specially founded festival orchestra. The German-Polish special project is also a tribute to the old masters of classical music and the discovery of their impact by the masters of the art of film. The musicians from the Brandenburg State Orchestra Frankfurt and the Gorzów Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Mark Rohde, will perform works by Peter Tchaikovsky, Sergei Rachmaninov, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner and Johannes Brahms together with Ukrainian pianist Kateryna Titova.

The accompanying culinary offerings will tempt you to picnic in the countryside. Professional park tours invite you to rediscover Anger, Gertrauden, Lienau and Lenné Park. A new festival venue on the Polish side is the atrium in the Collegium Polonicum.

Mayor René Wilke is delighted: "Anyone who has ever experienced the special mix of family outing and cultural enjoyment in this summery atmosphere will become a fan of the festival and feel this positive feeling of an extraordinary experience resonate. I speak from experience here. 'Klassik ohne Grenzen' offers people - on and in front of the stage - the space for encounters and lightness. Knowing that these open-air events, arranged with great attention to detail, are now an established part of the dual-city summer program can really fill us with joy. Curious to find out more? Then be sure to drop by."

The cultural summer experience was conceived and organized by Messe und Veranstaltungs GmbH. Curator Tomasz Pilarski describes the concept of this year's festival: "This edition of the festival also brings the main idea behind the title to life: We want to dissolve the boundaries of musical genres and at the same time embark on a journey of discovery. How can the harp be brought out of its niche existence? What does it take for unusual combinations of instruments to harmonize with each other? How can you be both a string quartet and a jazz band? How do 88 keys and four hands become an entire orchestra? And how does the magic violin get through the jungle?"
What unites all the ensembles, apart from their great musical skills, is their unique, fresh stage performance and their joy in experimentation."

The program is hosted by well-known presenters from Antenne Brandenburg.

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

The concerts will also take place in bad weather, but then in the medieval gem of the twin city, St. Mary's Church, or on the Polish side in the Collegium Polonicum.

Marimba virtuoso Kamil Karmelita gave a foretaste of this upcoming open-air event during the press conference on 19 June.

The program at a glance

Sunday, 4. August – 11:00 a.m. | Due to the uncertain weather forecast, the first concert in the series will not take place on the Anger but within the protective walls of St. Marienkirche in Frankfurt (Oder).
The magic of harp sounds
Joel von Lerber and the String Orchestra of the Zielona Gora Philharmonic
The harp is considered one of the oldest musical instruments in the world and yet it is rarely heard as a solo voice. Here it is heard twice as the leading instrument with orchestral accompaniment and shows its very different facets in the music of François-Adrien Boieldieu and Claude Debussy. The program is complemented by two "hit pieces" for the string orchestra: the "Orawa" inspired by the High Tatras and the suite "From Holberg's Time".

Works by François-Adrien Boieldieu, Claude Debussy, Eduard Grieg and Wojciech Kilar
Rafał Kłoczko – Conductor, Joel von Lerber – Harp
String orchestra of the Tadeusz Baird Philharmonic Zielona Gora

Saturday, 10. August – 7:00 p.m. | Lennépark, Frankfurt (Oder)
Classic meets jazz
Atom String Quartet
The program includes works by Polish composers from different eras, arranged by the musicians of the Atom String Quartet for an improvising string quartet. Let yourself be surprised by the unique approach of these four thoroughbred musicians and experience how music can build bridges between genres. The Atom String Quartet is one of the most fascinating string quartets in the world and at the same time one of the best Polish jazz bands. The ensemble, which has existed since 2010, has a reputation for reinventing the string quartet and moving between genres. The band combines the possibilities of a classical string quartet with wide-ranging improvisation, drawing inspiration from Polish folk music, borrowings from many different cultures and the structures of contemporary music.

Works by Fryderyk Chopin, Henryk Wieniawski, Mieczysław Karłowicz, Witold Lutosławski and Krzysztof Penderecki
Dawid Lubowicz – Violin, Mateusz Smoczyński – Violin, Michał Zaborski – Viola,
Krzysztof Lenczowski – Cello

Sunday, 11. August – 11:00 a.m. | Lennépark, Frankfurt (Oder)
Confluences
Piano trio Koga/Lomakov/Kurek
Join us on a musical journey from well-known chamber music classics to French nuances and an American discovery when the music of Ludwig van Beethoven, Gabriel Fauré and Charles Martin Loeffler is combined. The trio's light and airy sound with its unusual instrument combination of flute, cello and piano fits perfectly with the three chosen pieces, which represent the classical piano trio in a completely different way. Although all the members come from different corners and cultures of the world, they are keen to explore a repertoire originally intended for other ensembles in order to make music together in a formation into which fate has brought them together rather by chance.

Works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Gabriel Fauré and Charles Martin Loeffler
Atsuko Koga – Flute, Georgiy Lomakov – Cello, Radosław Kurek – Piano

Saturday, 17. August – 7:00 p.m. | Atrium Collegium Polonicum, Słubice
Tango with marimba
Duo Karmelita Pończocha
Let us take you on a journey through different musical styles, where determined rhythms mix with picturesque melodies, creating a world of colorful illustrations. The duo's concert is a unique combination of piano and marimba sounds, which allows the exceptionally virtuoso performers unusual forms of collaboration in terms of sound and articulation experiments.

Works by Camille Saint-Saëns, Darius Milhaud, Eric Sammut
Kamil Karmelita – Marimba, Monika Pończocha-Górna – Piano

Sunday, 18. August – 11:00 a.m. | Lienaupark, Frankfurt (Oder)
The best of Kroke
Kroke
Here the old and new worlds of klezmer, tradition and modernity, combine to create a first-class musical experience. The world-famous Polish klezmer trio takes you on a journey through the Jewish quarters of old Krakow, the Balkans and the Orient. The melodies heard on these journeys will appear in a new light. In addition to the traditional musical motifs, the program will also include new compositions by the trio in a modern klezmer style. Kroke (Yiddish: Kraków) was founded in 1992 by three friends: Tomasz Kukurba, Jerzy Bawoł and Tomasz Lato. As graduates of the Kraków Academy of Music, they were not afraid to experiment with jazz and contemporary music. The band, which was previously only associated with klezmer music, draws on inspiration from ethnic music and author improvisations in their current work. The result is a unique style that transcends borders, forms and times and is appreciated not only by audiences but also by artists all over the world. Inspired by a Kroke concert, Steven Spielberg invited the group to Jerusalem to perform at the Survivors Reunion. Thanks to Peter Gabriel, the group made it to the UK for the WOMAD Festival. The song The Secrets of The Life Tree, performed by Kroke, was featured on the soundtrack of David Lynch's film Inland Empire. Kroke's reunion with Nigel Kennedy culminated in their collaborative album East Meets East. Kroke has played at some of the world's most prestigious music festivals.

Own arrangements and adaptations of themes from Jewish folk music
Tomasz Kukurba – Viola, Jerzy Bawoł – Accordion, Tomasz Lato – Double bass

Saturday, 24. August – 4:00 p.m. | Gertraudenpark, Frankfurt (Oder)
With the magic violin through the jungle - not just for children
Malte Arkona and Mezzo, Tassilo Probst
A violin is a real adventurer. After all, it is made of the most amazing woods and knows the thickest jungle inside out. While tour guide Malte quickly loses his bearings and gets completely lost on the route, Tassilo can enchant dangerous animals with the magical power of the violin and even play in different animal languages. With an adventurous audience and the power of the four strings, even the most confused tour guide can get back on track. The classical music explorers: Malte Arkona and his lovable, cheeky friend Mezzo. Together they discover the world of classical music in our modern lives - and playfully and with a lot of humor, they get to the bottom of the most exciting questions about Beethoven, Mozart & Co. Malte shows Mezzo how cool classical music is on a variety of everyday adventures!

Malte Arkona – Narrator, Tassilo Probst – Violin, Mezzo

Saturday, 24. August – 7:00 p.m. | Atrium Collegium Polonicum, Słubice
The Virtuoso and Margarete
Waldemar Malicki and Małgorzata Krzyżanowicz
"The Virtuoso and Margarete" is a program that presents the most beautiful classical themes for cello and piano in masterful sound. Virtuosity - a combination of technique, imagination, desperation and a willingness to take risks! Powerful piano sounds and romantic cello phrasing or perhaps vice versa?
Waldemar Malicki is one of the most versatile Polish pianists: known as a soloist, chamber musician and improviser. He became known to a wide audience as a co-creator of the successful program "Philharmonic of Humor", whose concerts are broadcast on television with great interest.
At "Classics without Borders" he is accompanied by the versatile cellist Małgorzata Krzyżanowicz.

Works by Giacomo Puccini, Carl Orff, Edvard Grieg, Emanuele Silvestri and others
Waldemar Malicki – Piano, Małgorzata Krzyżanowicz – Cello

Sunday, 25. August – 11:00 a.m. | Gertraudenpark, Frankfurt (Oder)
Apollo & Dionysus
Danae and Kiveli Dörken
Four hands, 88 keys and a very personal selection of music that result in intimate piano psychograms from Olympus.
With "Apollo & Dionysus", the German-Greek sisters Danae and Kiveli Dörken now present their first joint piano duo album after successful solo and ensemble recordings: a studio debut of conceptual sophistication and breathtaking virtuosity. Two sisters, one instrument. Each an exceptional pianist with her own temperament, together an inseparable unit with identical musical DNA. Kiveli and Danae Dörken, an "orchestra of four hands" (Thüringische Landeszeitung), have been setting standards as a piano duo for years, both with their pianistic performance (Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger: "a miracle of lightness, charm and feeling") and with their extraordinary programs. The fact that the two are a born duo in every respect is also regularly demonstrated in their witty and informative podcast "The Sister Trill", joint educational projects ("Rhapsody in School" and "Klassik hautnah" or "MoToKey"/Tonali) as well as at the "Molyvos International Music Festival" on the island of Lesbos, which they founded in 2015.

Works by Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms, Maurice Ravel and Manuel De Falla
Danae Dörken – Piano, Kiveli Dörken – Piano

Saturday, 31. August – 7:00 p.m. | Anger, Frankfurt (Oder)
Final concert
Music of the cosmos, passion and love
Festival orchestra conducted by Mark Rohde
Created in the vastness of the past, the masterpieces of classical composers seem to have been made for the screen, even though they were written before the era of film. This timeless connection between music and moving images is no coincidence. Rather, it is the result of a deep affinity between music and theater that allows music to convey emotions and stories in a way that transcends the visual. Since the earliest days of film, directors and producers have recognized the powerful impact of the music of classical composers as an essential component of their works. The musical masterpieces lend the images an additional dimension that enriches and deepens them.
In this spirit, the closing concert of this year's "Classics without Borders" festival presents a multifaceted potpourri of themes from the classical music scene that have found a second life in the world of film. Immerse yourself in the magical symbiosis of music and film and discover how the timeless sounds of the past enrich the stories of the present in a fascinating way.

Works by, among others. Peter Tchaikovsky, Sergei Rachmaninov, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner and Johannes Brahms
Katerina Titova – Piano, Mark Rohde – Conductor, Brandenburg State Orchestra Frankfurt (Oder), Gorzow Philharmonic Orchestra

Kateryna Titova - the Ukrainian-born pianist, who is recognized throughout Europe, has won prizes at twenty international piano competitions. MDR described Kateryna Titova's playing on the release of her debut CD with works by Rachmaninov: "She is a revolutionary: technically brilliant, brushed against the grain; not a punk of classical music, but not quite a fine lady either. An artist who tells stories with her hands..."'

Hamburg-born Mark Rohde has been General Music Director of the Mecklenburg State Theater Schwerin and the Mecklenburg State Orchestra since 2020. His work focuses on further developing the sound of the orchestra, which is steeped in tradition. In addition to the great Romantic orchestral literature, the program also includes works of classical modernism.

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. Guest performances have taken the orchestra on concert tours across Germany, Europe and Japan.

The Gorzow Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the youngest symphonic ensembles in Poland. Not only the orchestra itself, which was founded in 2010, but also its musicians are very young. This is reflected in the fresh and very precise sound of the musical body.