In the face of new challenges facing the whole world, the artists invited to Kromer Festival Biecz agreed to change the formula of their performances. Their longing for concerts allows the Festival to experience musical emotions together with the audience in the times of social isolation, ensuring the safety of the audience at the same time. Therefore, we have planned an on-line transmissions of the concerts performed specially for us. This formula will be realised through the website and social media platforms available to Kromer Festival Biecz. It offers the possibility to participate in the concerts in real-time, but also to return to them as often as you please, as the audio-video recordings will remain in the festival’s archive.

The sixth edition of the Kromer Festival Biecz places the Festival back in the European culture communication network, on the level of both its repertoire and artists. With a significant participation of Polish artists who creatively present their native and European musical achievements, the festival will demonstrate the evolution of musical ideas and currents over the period from the 15th to the 18th century and their intensive propagation on the Old Continent, including Poland. The evolution and expanse of new musical forms have left a lasting impression on this art form development, making this mission of the Festival particularly significant.

Discovering this impression and presenting it in a contemporary context in the best artistic performances is the fundamental mission of the Kromer Festival Biecz. It has a chance to reach contemporary recipients, familiarising them with Polish and European heritage. This mission will be accomplished by the outstanding interpreters of early music and by the program that includes remarkable compositions of the past centuries following the evolution of musical thought. The selection of concerts and their schedule takes into account the performance context and skilfully juxtaposes it with the heritage of Biecz – a town in the Crown of the former Kingdom of Poland and an important social and musical centre.

The artists were selected according to their skills, position on the music market, and finally the repertoire as we attempted to present the great variety of forms and ideas in just ten concerts. This variety was achieved on several levels, thanks to the diversity of performers, repertoire and time of pieces’ creation. It undoubtedly adds to the allure of the early music allowing the audience to experience it without even the slightest traces of boredom or impatience.

Importantly, the program also attempts to juxtapose a new wave of artists – interpreters of the early music heritage with those who, although their position is already established, still constitute a reforming force. They all courageously open the eyes of music lovers and critics through their revolutionary or sophisticated interpretation of well-known pieces. As in any field of art, some works or artists are currently forgotten, often wrongly. We strive that Kromer Festival Biecz finds those fantastic yet little known musical experiences and opens its listeners to them. At the same time, the Festival strongly features Polish themes, in the sphere of both performance and repertoire, and compares them with the heritage from outside our borders thus emphasising the network connecting all European centres involved in the cultivation of tradition and performance of early music. This set allows us to show the strength and vitality of Polish artists and the musical legacy of our country.

The original formula of Kromer Festival Biecz emphasized the idea of dialogue on many levels, especially in music. Its new formula allows for an unprecedented phenomenon – a live dialogue between artists, organisers and audiences via digital media. Despite the distance, despite the lack of physical contact, despite the dangers of the pandemic. A revolution defined by dialogue – this idea in itself seems revolutionary!