Faces of Culture
Guests of our festivals and events. Great artists, real specialists and fantastic people.
Audience during Wianki - Music Festival (2017) by Wojciech WandzelKBF - Krakow Festival Office
Kraków is, without any doubt, one of the world’s greatest cultural centres.
The city hosts numerous festivals of early, classical and film music, acclaimed at home and abroad. It brings together authors and poets from all over the globe. Take a look to see who we’ve had the pleasure of hosting in Kraków at some of our events!
John Powell during Krakow Film Music FestivalKBF - Krakow Festival Office
John Powell
John Powell is a British composer famous for his soundtracks to animations, including Shrek and Kung Fu Panda, and action films such as The Bourne Identity, X-Men: The Last Stand and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. We’ve had the pleasure of hosting him during the Krakow Film Music Festival
Olga Tokarczuk
Olga Tokarczuk is an author, essayist, poet and playwright, as well as being a winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2018. In June 2022, she met book lovers at the ICE Kraków Congress Centre following the launch of her latest novel Empuzjon.
Professor Jerzy Bralczyk during the Megabit Bomb Festival (2021) by Joanna GałuszkaKBF - Krakow Festival Office
Jerzy Bralczyk
Linguist, prescriptivist grammarian, expert in language used in the media, advertising and politics. Guest of the 2nd Megabit Bomb Festival, co-organised by KBF.
Conductor during the Misteria Paschalia Festival (2022) by Joanna GałuszkaKBF - Krakow Festival Office
Leonardo García Alarcón
One of the most acclaimed conductors specialising in Baroque music, performing regularly with some of the finest music institutions such as Opéra national de Paris and Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid. Guest of the Misteria Paschalia Festival in 2022.
Meeting with Oksana Zabużko (2022) by Magdalena RymarzKBF - Krakow Festival Office
Oksana Zabużko
Ukrainian author, poet and essayist, she is best known for her 1996 novel Fieldwork in Ukrainian Sex. In February 2022, she released her essay collection Planet Wormood. Two months later, Zabuzhko visited the Potocki Palace in Kraków.
Krzysztof Penderecki at Krakow Film Music FestivalKBF - Krakow Festival Office
Krzysztof Penderecki
One of Poland’s most famous and acclaimed composers and conductors, linked with Kraków since 1951. His St. Luke Passion earned him acclaim all over the globe, followed by his 1970s and 1980s compositions such as Te Deum and Polish Requiem.
His music has been used in over 120 productions such as stage, puppetry and television theatre, animated and feature films and documentaries. Kraków continues to celebrate the great musician in the wake of his passing in 2020.
Diego Navarro
Multi-award winning Spanish composer of film music and founder and director of the Fimucité Tenerife International Film Music Festival. He is a regular collaborator of the Film Music Festival in Kraków where he conducts numerous concerts.
Elīna Garanča at ICE Classic concertKBF - Krakow Festival Office
Elīna Garanča
The Latvian opera singer started her career on the stages of the Südthüringisches Staatstheater in Meiningen and the Frankfurt Opera.
Ever since her performance in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito at the Salzburger Festspiele in 2003, she has been acclaimed as one of the greatest stars of the genre, performing with the finest operatic and symphonic orchestras. Pictured during the concert held as part of the ICE Classic cycle.
Hans Zimmer
The acclaimed composer has written music for over a hundred blockbuster films. Hans Zimmer is a winner of an Oscar, two Golden Globes and four Grammys. Pictured at the Film Music Festival in Kraków in 2014.
Andrzej Wajda at Krakow Film Music FestivalKBF - Krakow Festival Office
Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Wajda (1926-2916) was one of the greatest filmmakers and an outstanding theatre director. He received four Oscar nominations and was awarded the Honorary Oscar in 2000, as well as being a five-time winner at the International Film Festival in Cannes. Our guest in 2015.
Meeting with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie during Conrad FestivalKBF - Krakow Festival Office
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Multi-award winning Nigerian prosaist and dramatist, she debuted with the novel Purple Hibiscus. Her novel Americanah was selected as one of the 10 Best Books of 2013 by the New York Times. She was a guest of the Conrad Festival in 2019.
Jan A.P. Kaczmarek
Author of dozens of film soundtracks and director of the Transatlantyk Festival. Winner of an Oscar for Finding Neverland and nominee for the Golden Globes and BAFTAs. Guest of the Film Music Festival in Kraków in 2017.
Jakub Józef Orliński during ICE Classic concertKBF - Krakow Festival Office
Jakub Józef Orliński
Countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński is one of the greatest rising classical music stars of recent years. He has performed in Kraków at the Opera Rara and Misteria Paschalia festivals. Pictured during the concert held as part of the ICE Classic cycle in 2021.
Serhiy Zhadan
Ukrainian author, poet and translator from German, and winner of the Angelus Central European Literature Award in 2015 for his novel Mesopotamia and the Conrad Prize. His books have been translated into sixteen languages.
Abel Korzeniowski at Krakow Film Music FestivalKBF - Krakow Festival Office
Abel Korzeniowski
The Cracovian composer has won a BAFTA and been nominated for a Golden Globe and an Emmy. Composer of soundtracks to films including A Single Man, Nocturnal Animals and Romeo & Julia.
Dan Brown
Author of several bestselling novels including The Da Vinci Code and Inferno. His books have been published in 56 languages and sold over 200 million copies. Guest of the Conrad Festival in 2017.
David Arnold at Krakow Film Music FestivalKBF - Krakow Festival Office
David Arnold
British composer and author of soundtracks for several James Bond films. Pictured during the Casino Royale Live in Concert performance held as part of the Film Music Festival in Kraków in 2018.
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