29th Jan Stanienda "Evenings at the Arsenal" Chamber Music Festival in Wrocław

Early summer is the perfect time for open-air concerts amidst greenery and birdsong, in the beautiful courtyard of the historic Wrocław Arsenal. In 2026, the 29th Jan Stanienda "Evenings at the Arsenal" Chamber Music Festival will run from June 26 to July 5. During eight concerts, chamber music from various eras will resound, performed by wonderful soloists accompanied by the Wratislavia Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Roksana Kwaśnikowska.

A rich program awaits us, encompassing music from the Baroque to the latest Polish contemporary music, as well as jazz standards in star-studded performances.

David Khrikuli—a finalist of the 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition—will perform the solo part in Fryderyk Chopin's Piano Concerto in F minor, Op. 21 (version for piano and string orchestra). Additionally, the program will feature works exclusively by Polish composers (including Henryk Mikołaj Górecki and Mikołaj Piotr Górecki), including the world premiere of a piece commissioned by the Festival—Ignacy Zalewski's Serenata disinvolta for string orchestra.

Three of the festival's concerts will be dedicated exclusively to chamber music. On Saturday, June 27, the Royal String Quartet will perform alongside composer and soprano Agata Zubel; a beautiful program will be presented, including Karol Szymanowski’s Kurpian Songs (arranged by the Royal String Quartet) and Mahler’s famous Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen [Songs of a Wayfarer] (arranged by Paulina Czarny). On June 29, the Tansman Trio will perform for the first time in the Arsenal courtyard, playing Aleksander Tansman’s Suite - Divertissement accompanied by pianist Tomasz Ritter. The ensemble's interpretation will also feature Françaix's String Trio, Tansman’s Serenade No. 2 and Weiner's String Trio. On July 1, pianist Krzysztof Stanienda, flutist Marianna Julia Żołnacz, and cellist Antoni Wrona will present a stylistically diverse program, including Mieczysław Weinberg’s Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes, arranged for cello and piano by Antoni Wrona and Bartosz Szymczyk.

To mark the 95th anniversary of Krzysztof Komeda's birth, a "Tribute to Komeda" concert will take place. Meanwhile, during the concert by the Polyphonics ensemble, works by Zbigniew Wodecki will be heard in arrangements by Paweł Głowiński.

The event combines a high artistic level with a program accessible to a wide audience, showcasing the immense richness of chamber music in the finest interpretations.

The festival is co-financed by the Municipality of Wrocław, the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund as part of the "Music" program implemented by the National Institute of Music and Dance, the budget of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship Self-Government, and the ZAW STOART Promotional Fund.

The media patron of the Festival is the Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.

Detailed program: https://www.wieczorywarsenale.eu/ 

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