About the Festival
“There are festivals that arise from fashion, and there are those that grow out of tradition!”
History of the Festival
In 1993 in Wrocław, Maestro Jan Ślęk founded a unique music festival, the only one of its kind in the world: the International Festival of Viennese Music “From Joseph Lanner to Robert Stolz”. From the very beginning it enjoyed great popularity with audiences and received many favourable reviews in the musical world. The festival programme was filled with 19th-century dance music – swirling waltzes, wild polkas, spirited marches, lively quadrilles, singing csárdáses, operetta works – all by the Viennese masters. Jan Ślęk’s main aim was to present beautiful music of high artistic quality and to promote young, talented singers and instrumentalists. For the needs of the festival he founded the Wrocław Johann Strauss Festival Orchestra, whose core was the excellent string ensemble “Ricordanza”, whose artistic director and founder is the outstanding violinist Wiktor Kuźniecow. For 25 years the festival covered not only Wrocław but also other cities in Poland, including Jan Ślęk’s hometown of Ostrzeszów. Maestro Ślęk was the only conductor who, in his more than 50-year conducting career, most frequently included waltzes – especially those by Viennese composers – in his concert programmes. He continually explored the interpretive secrets of this difficult musical form. After the jubilee 25th edition, the festival fell silent for several years due to the Master’s advanced age. Then came the pandemic period. And unfortunately, in April 2022, Mr Jan left us. Today we, as the musical heirs of his great artistic legacy, direct his festival and watch over its further development.
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Maestro Jan Ślęk (1928–2022)
Maestro Jan Ślęk (1928–2022) belonged to the most outstanding Polish conductors and pedagogues, and at the same time to the group of the most persistent ambassadors of Viennese musical culture in Poland. For more than sixty years of artistic activity he popularised symphonic, operatic and operetta music with extraordinary passion, leaving a lasting mark on the musical life of Wrocław and the whole country. He was born on 23 November 1928 in Ostrzeszów. He studied vocal-instrumental conducting and symphonic-operatic conducting at the State Higher School of Music in Wrocław, and perfected his skills during artistic internships in Austria, Great Britain and Germany. Already as a young conductor he became associated with the State Opera in Wrocław, where he conducted opera, operetta and ballet performances, while simultaneously collaborating with numerous symphony orchestras in Poland and abroad. A special place in his activity was occupied by Viennese music. The interpretation of the Viennese waltz became his artistic passion, to which he devoted decades of work. In 1993 he founded the International Festival of Viennese Music “From Joseph Lanner to Robert Stolz”, creating one of the most important artistic events dedicated to Viennese musical culture in Central Europe. Four years later he founded the Wrocław Johann Strauss Festival Orchestra, with which for many years he performed the greatest works of the Strauss family, Franz Lehár, Emmerich Kálmán and the masters of Viennese operetta. Under his baton an exceptional recording of Viennese operetta overtures was also made – the first after the Second World War realised in Wrocław by a local ensemble and conductor. As a conductor he was valued for the elegance of his orchestral leadership, his extraordinary sense of style and his ability to draw from the music the lightness, brilliance and dance character that constitute the essence of the Viennese tradition. He was also an outstanding pedagogue and educator of many generations of musicians, passing on to them not only knowledge but also respect for the highest values of European musical culture. For his artistic activity he was honoured with numerous distinctions, among which a special place is occupied by the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, awarded by the President of the Republic of Austria for outstanding services to the development of culture and the popularisation of Austrian music. He was also a laureate of the Musical Award of the City of Wrocław and many other decorations and distinctions for his artistic and pedagogical activity.
The legacy of Maestro Jan Ślęk remains a lasting part of Polish musical culture. The festivals, orchestras and artistic initiatives he created continue to this day, and his name remains a symbol of passion, elegance and fidelity to the Viennese musical tradition.