Adventure Time

The sheer volume and diversity of the 9th Film Music Festival can seem overwhelming. One thing is certain: between 24 and 30 May, there will be plenty of gems for everyone.
“The 8th FMF was attended by around 30,000 people. This inspires and motivates us to keep developing our festival. We want to reach all fans of film music, so the programme of the 9th FMF includes events for kids as well as concerts for more mature lovers of beautiful sounds,” promises Izabela Helbin, director of the Krakow Festival Office, organiser of the FMF.

Masterly opening
It seems that festival organisers were inspired by Hitchcock himself, since they are starting this year’s event with a powerful hit. The guest star of the opening will be Roman Polański. On 24 and 25 May, first at the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra venue in Katowice and then at ICE Kraków, a musical cocktail of works by the noted director awaits. During the exclusive gala Scoring4Polański, we will hear jazzy, melancholy beats by Krzysztof Komeda from Knife in the Water, Cul-de-sac and Rosemary’s Baby, Wojciech Kilar’s music from The Pianist and Death and the Maiden, and the beautiful vocals from The Ninth Gate. We will hear Philippe Sarde’s familiar themes from Tess and The Tenant, Jerry Goldsmith’s love motif from Chinatown, and Alexandre Desplat’s outstanding series of musical illustrations to Venus in Furs, The Ghost Writer and Carnage.
“We want to showcase the diversity of styles and the distinctive, explorative style of Roman Polański’s filmmaking. The concert brings together Polish, European and American cultures of music and film, and we worked with the director himself on preparing the programme,” promises Robert Piaskowski, the festival’s artistic director.
Performers during the monographic concert include the trumpet virtuoso Tomasz Stańko, last year’s double winner of the “Frederick” statuette, pianist Dominik Wania, and the saxophonist Maciej Obara. The orchestra will be led by Dirk Brossé, the Belgian conductor and musical director of Film Fest Gent. The project prepared jointly by Kraków and Katowice culminates with the ceremony presenting the Wojciech Kilar Prize, awarded for the second time.

Magicians of the piano
This year’s festival introduces a brand new cycle Cinematic Piano, presenting original interpretations of film music performed by young pianists from Poland and abroad. The first concert features Aleksander Dębicz. And it’s no coincidence – this piano virtuoso from Wrocław is equally at home playing classical and pop music. However, film soundtracks are his greatest passion, and his debut album is entitled… Cinematic Piano. On 26 May at ICE Kraków we will hear A Letter to Mr. Desplat, Prometheus and The Island from the bestselling album by this magician of the piano.

You won’t forget me
Polish films made during the interwar period were filled with numerous songs which have since become indelibly woven into our culture. Many fans also remember such cinematic classics as Mutiny on the Bounty, The Brothers Karamazov, Lord Jim and The Dirty Dozen. Authors of music for all these films were Henryk Wars and Bronisław Kaper, both of whom were adored on both sides of the Atlantic. Wars and Kaper wrote the music to over 200 American productions. Bronisław Kaper was nominated for an Oscar four times, and in 1954 he was the first Pole in history to lift up the statuette for the soundtrack to the musical Lili. The slightly forgotten repertoire of these masters of Hollywood music is being revived by Paweł Kaczmarczyk. The concert Wars and Kaper: Decomposition, prepared by this jazz pianist and improviser, aims to deconstruct the body of work of these composers. On 26 May at ICE Kraków, Kaczmarczyk will be accompanied by musicians from his Audiofeeling Trio.

Another dimension
For composers, the synthesiser – invented in the 1960s by the American engineer Robert A. Moog – opened the doors to new realms of possibilities. The new musical trend quickly gained popularity in cinematography. Who doesn’t remember the distinctive electronic motifs by John Carpenter or Giorgio Moroder? On 27 May, ICE Kraków resounds with premiere arrangements of themes by a more recent generation of composers bringing electronic sounds to Hollywood. We will hear soundtracks from Oblivion, Tron: Uprising, Insurgent, Allegiant from the Divergent Series, The Theory of Everything, Sicario, Labyrinth, Drive, Only God Forgives and The Neon Demon. Electronic, symphonic, pop music… During the Gala alterFMF: Drone Sounds we will be able to meet the authors of these original, difficult to categorise sounds. Kraków welcomes giants of alternative film music: Jóhann Jóhannsson, Cliff Martinez and Joseph Trapanese. This esteemed group will be joined by the Polish composer Łukasz Targosz. The concert presents his suite for the HBO Poland production Pact and cinematic hits Pitbull and Służby specjalne. We will see Jóhann Jóhannsson, the vocalist Anna Karwan and the AUKSO Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Anthony Weeden, conductor and arranger of film music best known from the BBC drama Sherlock. Hypnosis, trance, space…

Family weekend
This year’s programme centres around animation. “FMF is the most family-oriented of our festivals, so we searched for projects aimed at viewers of all ages,” explains Izabela Helbin. Animated cinema can be described as multidimensional, diverse and – most of all – family-friendly, with music playing an especially important role. The first scores which went beyond being simply a background and actually provided dramatic support for the action were written for American cartoons in the 1930s. On 28 May, Tauron Arena Kraków presents themes from favourite fairytales including The Lion King, Pocahontas and Frozen. Special guests of the Film Music Gala: Animations are leading composers in this genre: John Powell (How to Train Your Dragon, Ice Age 2: The Meltdown, Kung Fu Panda), Harry Gregson-Williams (Shrek, The Chronicles of Narnia, Arthur Christmas) and Heitor Pereira (Smurfs, Despicable Me, Angry Birds). We will also hear a premiere of the latest production from Paramount Pictures, Raise the Flag, written by the popular composer Diego Navarro. The family favourites are performed by the Beethoven Academy Orchestra and the Polish Radio Choir, with the German conductor Frank Strobel stepping behind the pulpit. We are in for a fairytale evening!
Animated films will also star on the Sunday afternoon, with the FMF Youth Orchestra under the baton of Monika Bachowska performing at the Kraków Philharmonic on 29 May. During the concert Young Way into the Classics: Animations we will hear original compositions to some of the best animations from Warner Bros.: Batman, Scooby-Doo and Justice League. The young musicians perform the world premiere of the suite from Superman, commissioned especially for the concert from Lolita Ritmanis, Michael McCuistion and Kristopher Carter. They will be participating in the concert as guests of honour and conductors.

Impetus and exotics
Archaeologist, adventurer, explorer, terrified of creepy crawlies. He is never without his fedora, whip, leather jacket and revolver. Indiana Jones made his screen debut 35 years ago. To celebrate the anniversary, come along to Tauron Arena Kraków on 29 May for a simultaneous screening of one of the highest grossing films of the 1980s: Steven Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark. The film was groundbreaking: adventure cinema was never so popular in the past. Its cult status is compounded by its special effects, fast-flowing action, humour, Harrison Ford’s charismatic performance and the outstanding music by John Williams. The Raiders March by the composer and winner of five Oscars is one of the best known film themes of all times. The performance by the Sinfonietta Cracovia orchestra will be led by the Swiss conductor Ludwig Wicki, a favourite of FMF’s audiences. The event will feature audiodescription, making it accessible for people with visual impairments.

Magical finale
The final concert of this year’s FMF is a real treat for fans of videogames, music, and Andrzej Sapkowski’s saga. On 30 May, Tauron Arena Kraków hosts a concert featuring the soundtrack from the game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, winner of over 800 awards. Marcin Przybyłowicz from the CD Projekt Red studio, responsible for the musical setting of The Witcher, invited the folk-metal ensemble Percival to work on the soundtrack. Band members aren’t just fans of fantasy and Sapkowski – they are famous for their original arrangements of Slavic music using traditional folk instruments. As well as the composers, we will be taken into the world of elves, sorcerers and dragon by soloists, the Pro Musica Mundi Choir and the AUKSO Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Marek Moś. The closing concert promises to be fantastic – as does the whole festival.

And FMF is more than just spectacular concerts. The organisers are also hosting several accompanying events, including the free outdoor screening of the film Taxi 4 on 28 May at the square by ICE Kraków. (Artur Jackowski, Karnet magazine)