For its 30th edition, the Easter Festival of Ludwig van Beethoven returned to Warsaw’s National Philharmonic, Grand Theatre–National Opera and Royal Castle, presenting a cycle of 15 concerts organised by the Beethoven Association. More than 900 artists took part, including 41 soloists and 11 leading orchestras from Poland and abroad.
The theme of this anniversary edition was: Beethoven. The Time of the Classical and Romantic Breakthrough
Beethoven’s music formed the backbone of the festival, with particular emphasis on those works seen as impulses for the emergence of Romanticism, alongside others firmly aligned with classical aesthetics.
This sense of duality between formal discipline and emotional expansion was echoed in works by Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Anton Bruckner and Gustav Mahler.
Leading Polish orchestras featured prominently. The National Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Jacek Kaspszyk, performed Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with soprano Olga Bezsmertna. The Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, under Kirill Karabits, presented Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with a distinguished trio of soloists. Sinfonia Varsovia, led by Sergey Smbatyan, performed Brahms’s Violin Concerto in D major with violinist Vadim Gluzman.
The festival concluded on Good Friday with St Luke Passion by Krzysztof Penderecki, performed to mark the 60th anniversary of its world premiere—a work that helped secure the composer’s international standing.
The 31st Easter Festival of Ludwig van Beethoven will take place in Warsaw from 18 to 27 March 2027.
You are warmly invited.
Photographs: Bruno Fidrych