Krzysztof Baculewski "Subjective Annals 60 Editions of the Festival"

New works set against the backdrop of contemporary classics - or perhaps vice versa. is edition revived and repeated 'Warsaw Autumn' events from the Festival's history: Kazimierz Serocki's Symphonic Frescoes (1964), Krzysztof Penderecki's St Luke Passion (1966), three string quartets by Henryk Mikołaj Górecki - the 1st of 1991, the 2nd of 1993, and a premiere performance of the 3rd, as well as Witold Lutosławski's Piano Concerto of 1988. The other, more 'recent' face of the Festival was represented by the innovative spaceand-light solutions of José María Sánchez-Verdú's Libro de las estancias, Fabiàn Panisello's Libro del frio and the multimedia opera A Laugh to Cry by Michel Azguime - an attempt at a synthesis of speech and sound. Apart from well-known symphony orchestras, the Festival hosted: Ensemble Phoenix of Basel, the Experimental Studio des SWR, Ensemble Modern, the Silesian Quartet, and Kwartludium. The programme included premieres of large forms: the theatrical Machinae coelestes by Stanisław Krupowicz and Tam (There) for violin, voices and instruments, with a choir placed where the string orchestra would traditionally sit. The Festival closed with Thomas Adès's Totentanz, in memory of Danuta and Witold Lutosławski, which divided the audience into enthusiasts of the music and those opposed to the dedication. Debuts by Miłosz Pękala and Grzegorz Pieniek. The 'Little Warsaw Autumn' continued with new projects.