1st September, St Peter and Paul’s Church The 1st day of September, which means the beginning of a new school year for many kids and teenagers, is usually associated all over the world, but especially in Poland, with the sad events of war. This year we will have the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the 2nd World War, which produced more casualties than any other military conflict.
On that special day over one hundred musicians from 70 orchestras representing 40 countries – among them from Japan, Kazakhstan, Brazil and Canada – will gather in Krakow. All of them will form a multicultural and multi-religious group which will unite its power and ability to show how important it is to promote world peace. This performance will agree with the idea contained in the Constitution Act of UNESCO “because wars are born in a human mind, in the same place the idea of peace protection should also ripen.” Being well-understood no matter languages or political systems, music has special properties which unite people and trigger positive actions.
World Orchestra for Peace was established in 1995 by sir Georg Solti, who died two years later (Solti’s position has been overtaken by genial Valery Gergiev, who managed to persuade violinists from Jordan and Israel to play together) Since then, the Orchestra has given only 13 concerts, the one in Krakow will be a unique event in Poland, so it is even more important to see it. The ones who will not be able to enter the church can watch the concert on a big screen set on the Market Square or on Polish TVP2. We will hear the world premiere of Prelude for Peace by Krzysztof Penderecki and the 5th Symphony by Gustav Mahler. Joanna Rzońca