During this concert, symbolism plays a role that is just as important as exquisite music. The programme prepared for the 20th anniversary of Poland's accession to the European Union by the Kraków Philharmonic refers to the Polish ‘spiritual revolution’ and the universal concepts that underpinned the European community of nations – freedom, peace, solidarity and the steadfastness of the human will, including Beatus vir by Henryk Mikołaj Górecki – a composition commissioned by Karol Wojtyła for the 900th anniversary of the death of Poland's patron Saint Stanislaus, performed for the first time during John Paul II's pilgrimage to his homeland in 1979, as well as Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor, featuring the famous Ode to Joy in its finale. The soloists (including soprano Iwona Sobotka) and the Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir will be led by Alexander Humala.

Henryk Mikołaj Górecki Beatus vir Op. 38
Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 9 in D minor Op. 125

Iwona Sobotka - soprano
Anne-Lise Polchlopek - mezzo-soprano
Benjamin Bruns - tenor
Yuriy Yurchuk - bass-baritone
Mariusz Godlewski - baritone
Piotr Piwko - choirmaster
Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir
Alexander Humala - conductor