9th Sacrum Profanum Festival

Maxed-out Minimalism

America at your fingertips. Without a visa, but with a worthy guide in the form of Steve Reich - an icon of American minimalism. Between 11-17September, this unique journey is on offer from the 9th Sacrum Profanum Festival.

It is in Kraków that Steve Reich has decided to celebrate his 75th birthday. The figure of one of the greatest American composers of the 20th century will dominate this year's festival programme. Of particular note will be two concerts in the Nowa Huta ArcelorMittal Poland tinning plant.

Jubilee cruise with Reich
Steve Reich is one of the pioneers of minimalism in music. The two-time Grammy Award winner has been included by “The Guardian” among the few composers who have changed the course of music history. Starting from his early works with recordings of speech, through the digital video opera Three Tales (2002), created together with the artist Beryl Korot, the development in Reich’s work includes not only aspects of Western classical music, but also the influence of African and Far Eastern music, and jazz. Reich’s works became the inspiration for many popular artists (Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel, David Bowie).

The inaugural concert on 11 September will be striking evidence of the blurring of boundaries between contemporary classical music and pop. On one stage, together with the maestro, will be, among others, Jonny Greenwood – member of the British rock band Radiohead. Recognised by critics as one of the world’s top guitarists, he’ll perform Steve Reich’s work Electric Counterpoint. Specifically for Sacrum Profanum, Greenwood is preparing a backing tape in the studio for use during the Kraków premiere of the composition. In Music for 18 Musicians, Steve Reich himself will perform as a pianist (the composer will be accompanied by the Ensemble Modern). The concert will also include the startling work Daniel Variations, written in tribute to an American Jewish reporter, who died in 2002 at the hands of Islamic fundamentalists in Pakistan.

It’s also worth remembering that the first day of the festival coincides with the tenth anniversary of the attack on the WTC in New York. The presentation of Reich’s works on this special day is a very fitting artistic move – after all minimalism is a music that, thanks to its repetition, leads to hypnotic reverie, both muted and somewhat solemn.

The closing concert of the 9th Sacrum Profanum Festival will also be unique. On 17 September, as part of the Reich 75 project dedicated to the eminent composer, the ArcelorMittal Poland tinning plant will host a galaxy of stars of both Polish and international music. The finale promises to be the classy icing on the 75-year-old American composer’s birthday cake. Each of the invitees to this “party” would be a separate headliner at any major festival. Aphex Twin – one of the world’s most famous electronic music artists – knows the hall like the back of his hand: he performed two memorable concerts there at the 7th Sacrum Profanum. Adrian Utley – English jazz guitarist and music producer – is known primarily via his playing in the trip-hop band Portishead. There will also be Leszek Możdżer – Polish composer, jazz pianist and film music composer (for many years he has collaborated with Jan A.P. Kaczmarek and Zbigniew Preisner); he has also worked with such performers and groups as Marcus Miller, David Gilmour (Pink Floyd), Myslovitz, and even Behemoth (the “blackened death metal” band). Tom Verlaine – leader of the band Television, which in the 1970s co-founded New York's rock underground – is regarded by critics as one of the world’s most talented post-punk performers, and “Rolling Stone” placed him 56th on the list of 100 greatest guitarists of all time. The lineup continues with Will Gregory – British producer, keyboardist and saxophonist, who he has recorded and performed with Peter Gabriel, Tori Amos, The Cure, Tears For Fears, Portishead, and Paula Rae Gibson; since 1999 he has been running the synth-pop duo Goldfrapp, along with vocalist Alison Goldfrapp. Envee – Polish musician, DJ, co-founder of the DJ collective Niewinni Czarodzieje – has collaborated with Fisz, Maria Peszek, and Smolik. The 20-year-old jazz pianist Pianohooligan aka Piotr Orzechowski in July this year became the first Pole to win the competition at the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival.

“Reich 75 is a project that will change the face of the Sacrum Profanum Festival. From now on – in the finale – it will seek to host interesting, often surprising meetings between icons of contemporary classical music with representatives of the ambitious pop world. This is a project to be performed only once. It will never be repeated... The artists will meet Steve Reich on stage and perform new, incredible interpretations of iconic works such as Come Out, Different Trains, Pendulum Music, Electric Guitar Phase or Piano Phase. The Master of minimalism’s pieces will often only be a starting point for extremely free variations on them.” enthuses Filip Berkowicz, the festival’s artistic director.

Meeting with the classics
Launched in American music in the 1960s, minimalism is – next to sonorism and aleatorism – one of the most important trends in the music of the second half of the twentieth century. As part of the Modern Classic project, you’ll be able to hear the greatest works of Reich and his friends. In addition to the opening and closing concerts, the works of the maestro himself can be heard during the other festival days in the Łaźnia Nowa Theatre (10pm). On 12 September, you’ll be able to hear and see the famous video opera Three Tales. This three-act work, prepared in collaboration with Beryl Korot (married to the artist and accompanying him during his Kraków visit), takes us on a journey through three major technological breakthroughs of the 20th century: Hindenburg relates to the fatal crash of the German airship that ended the career of airships in tourism and passenger transport; Bikini focuses on the story of the dozens of nuclear tests conducted by the United States at the famous reef; and Dolly talks about the hopes and fears associated with cloning, engineering genetic and artificial intelligence. In the documentary layer, the artists have used conversations with Kevin Warwick – the “first cyborg”, who implanted a microtransmitter under his skin – and with the famous evolutionist Richard Dawkins. On 13 September, however, it’s the turn of the railway. One of the pieces presented will be Different Trains (1988) – a work combining Reich’s childhood memories of rail travel between New York and Los Angeles with a reflection on the Holocaust when, at the same time, the trains transported victims to death camps in Europe. This is the first occasion when the composer used speech as a source of melodic material. At both concerts, the Ensemble Modern from Frankfurt will be supported by Synergy Vocals – currently the most respected contemporary music vocal group. The works of Steve Reich can also be heard on 14-15 September (respectively performed by the Ensemble Modern and the Bang on a Can All-Stars – the New York sextet founded in 1992, which freely crosses the boundaries between classical, jazz, rock, world music and experimental music).

And what else? On 12-13 September (7pm), the halls of the Museum of Municipal Engineering will be captured by the 20-strong group Alarm Will Sound. On the first day, the New York orchestra will perform works by John Adams – known, owing to the scale of his compositions, as the “maximal” minimalist. His operas are considered the most controversial, but also the most performed, stage works of the last two decades. And here’s an interesting fact: Adams is also an active conductor, cooperating with the Ensemble Modern, among others. The second evening in the tram depot on Św. Wawrzyńca Street will be spent with the music of David Lang – one of the most frequently performed American composers. The work The Little Match Girl Passion, which was created at the request of Carnegie Hall, gave the composer the 2008 Pulitzer Prize. 14 September (7pm) will belong to Julia Wolfe, whose main area of activity covers works for strings. Drawing inspiration from folk, classical and rock music, the American’s works will be showcased by the fusion of two outstanding Dutch ensembles Asko | Schönberg. For those who like to go to the roots and want to learn how minimalism was born, you should pop into Kazimierz on 15 September (7pm). That’s when Klangforum Wien will perform Terry Riley’s pioneering work In C. Short repetitive phrases, aleatory design – in 1964, with this work, Riley sent twentieth century classical music in new directions. Reich’s near contemporary is also known for his work with the magnificent Kronos Quartet. He is fascinated by the music and philosophy of the Orient. It is to him that the title of the cult Who song Baba O’Riley refers. Not to be missed! The series of concerts at the Museum of Municipal Engineering ends on 16 September (7pm) with a performance of music by Michael Gordon (husband of Julia Wolfe). “He embodies the violence of punk rock, the nervous brilliance of free jazz and an uncompromising classical modernism.” as “The New Yorker” magazine said of his work. During the last quarter century he has created a striking variety of works. A sample of this heterogeneity will be performed by the Bang on a Can All-Stars.

Polish accents
Like last year, the Modern Classic concert series will begin with a performance of a Polish work. On the occasion of the ongoing Year of Miłosz, five outstanding Polish composers of the younger generation accepted the invitation to write works inspired by selected texts. The Made in Poland – Miłosz Sounds section on 11-12 and 14-16 September will host unique compositions for their premiere by Paweł Mykietyn, Aleksandra Gryka, Wojciech Ziemowit Zych, Agata Zubel, and Jagoda Szmytka.

It’s also worth noting the innovative project Debuts, dedicated to young ensembles coming to public notice. On 16 September (10pm) at the Łaźnia Nowa Theatre, works by American minimalists will be performed by Amadrums – a percussion ensemble, founded on the initiative of Professor Jan Pilch at the Academy of Music in Kraków.


9th Sacrum Profanum Festival
11-17 September
Artistic Director: Filip Berkowicz
Organiser: Krakow Festival Office
www.sacrumprofanum.com