Z GWIAZDAMI HOLLYWOOD
The first-ever film adaptation of Shakespeare’s work dates back to 1898. Since then, the dramas and comedies of the Bard of Stratford have been tackled by the most famous directors in cinema history, from Laurence Olivier and Orson Welles, through Franco Zeffirelli, Roman Polański, and Kenneth Branagh, to Julie Taymor and Baz Luhrmann. In total, over 410 feature and television films are based on Shakespeare’s works. With the Shakespeare Symphonically concert, FMF pays tribute to the composers of music for the most famous adaptations, graced by the presence of Jocelyn Pook, Oscar winner Stephen Warbeck, and the renowned Oscar-winning duo Julie Taymor and Elliot Goldenthal.
The program will feature recognizable themes by Nino Rota from “Romeo and Juliet” (1968) and Miklós Rózsa from “Julius Caesar” (1953), as well as fragments of Sergei Prokofiev’s ballet “Romeo and Juliet” and Ennio Morricone’s beautiful suite from “Hamlet” (1990). A major highlight will certainly be the Polish premiere of the suites from “Henry IV” (2012) and the Oscar-winning film “Shakespeare in Love” (1998). A special place in the concert program is also reserved for music created during the long-term collaboration between Scottish composer Patrick Doyle and the undisputed authority on Shakespearean theater, Kenneth Branagh. The concert will also guest Jocelyn Pook — a British composer and multi-instrumentalist known for her work with artists such as The Communards, Laurie Anderson, Massive Attack, Ryūichi Sakamoto, and Peter Gabriel, as well as with Stanley Kubrick on his final film “Eyes Wide Shut.” During the concert, we will hear the wonderful music for “The Merchant of Venice” (2004) — the first film adaptation of this Shakespearean drama starring Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons. The finale of the concert offers a true feast for film music fans — the world premiere of a grand symphonic work by Oscar winner Elliot Goldenthal. Goldenthal, who last year brought a crowd of nearly 4,000 to a standing ovation for several minutes with his “Grand Gothic Suite” (also performed by us, the Beethoven Academy Orchestra), will this time present a work based on themes from “Titus,” the “Othello” ballet, the dark and electronic “The Tempest,” and Julie Taymor’s latest film, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Appearing on the stage of the ICE Kraków Congress Centre: the Beethoven Academy Orchestra and the Kraków Philharmonic Choir under the baton of the excellent German conductor Christian Schumann.
W E C O R D I A L L Y I N V I T E Y O U ! ! ! !