About the festival
Baron Philippe de Rotshchild said that whatever you do with enthusiasm is generally successful. This incisive maxim was undoubtedly proved while founding the festival Sosnowiec Days of Known and Unknown Music. The idea of organizing a music festival in Jan Kiepura’s hometown was conceived, as it is often, spontaneously, in September of 2001 but the first edition was held in the spring of the following year. The initiator of the whole project was Michał Góral, director of the festival, who came up with its profile and established its initial program. The project could not be launched without support and help of numerous people and institutions. The festival takes pride of being embraced with honorary patronage of the Mayor of Sosnowiec and Bishop of Sosnowiec Diocese. From the very beginning the festival can count on the sustained support of the City Hall of Sosnowiec. From the logistic point of view the concerts take place thanks to generosity and kindness of the City Club of Jan Kiepura, the Sosnowiec Center of Art―Sielecki Castle and Sosnowiec parishes―St. Andrew Bobola Parish, St. Joachim Parish, and the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Holy Virgin Mary.
The festival is intended to satisfy sensitivity and musical expectations of every inhabitants of Sosnowiec who seeks ambitious artistic events realized at the highest level and with participation of the greatest artists from country and abroad. A list of leading orchestras and musicians that have so far appeared in Sosnowiec is long and proves a growing artistic rank of the festival in our region. The main programmatic objective of the festival―which is included in its name―is to present music belonging to a broad repertoire of major and significant concert halls throughout the world, music that enjoys enormous popularity among concert-goers. A role of the festival is also to popularize lesser-known compositions, frequently unfairly consigned to oblivion, which have not yet managed to reach a broad group of music lovers, and which deserve more attention. Such marvels of music have already been performed many times during the previous editions of the festival. Besides, every year there have been more and more concerts encompassing jazz, popular, flamenco, and gospel music. Our goal is to broaden the musical scope of the festival so that it could be more interesting and popular among the inhabitants of Sosnowiec.
The festival is organized for you, the inhabitants of Sosnowiec, and for all inhabitants of our region. It is your attendance, so large from the very beginning, which motivates us to act and fills us with satisfaction. Therefore, if you have suggestions, advice and comments, please contact us. This year the festival Sosnowiec Days of Known and Unknown Music debuts on Facebook. We hope this popular social network service causes the festival to be more popular and becomes a positive forum for exchanging comments.
Michał Góral
Artistic Director of the Festival