Nostalgia comes in autumn. I would like to invite you, already for the sixth time, to share with us emotions, discussions and, above all, music, which – I am convinced – will rekindle memories and encourage you to take a journey. Where? This question is hidden in the word ‘nostalgia’. Music, just like film, opens – and I am using this term intentionally – our hearts. Every journey starts in our soul, feelings and thoughts.
This year we are coming back to the roots – the works of Andrei Tarkovsky. Once again, we will have an opportunity to see the famous scene when Gorchakov holding a lit candle tries to cross a Roman pool in such a way that the candle does not go out. It is a poignant image, full of tension. The film Nostalghia inspired the name of the Festival. Now is a special moment, because exactly thirty years ago, in 1983, the film had its worldwide premiere. During this year’s edition of the Festival, we will present a retrospective of Tarkovsky’s works, from his student films to The Sacrifice.
The subtle world of sounds, silence and colours in Tarkovsky’s films affects musical imagination in an exceptional way. In the austere interior of the Jesuit church we will listen to François Couturier’s soundscapes, which he will ‘paint’ together with other musicians of Tarkovsky Quartet.“Tarkovsky is my favourite director,” said the French pianist, who devoted three records to the master of cinema. The concert Hommage a Andriej Tarkovsky by l'Autunno Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Adam Banaszak, will take place in a baroque parish church. The compositions by Luigi Nono – under a meaningful title No haycaminos, hayquecaminar… (There are no roads, but we must go on…) – Beat Furrer, Wolfgang Rihm and Stevan Kovacs Tickmayer are a tribute to Tarkovsky.
The Russian composer of images inspired creators of site-specific art as well. For the first time at the Festival, we will perform an urban experiment, creating the atmosphere of Stalker’s ZONE in the centre of Poznań.
There would be neither faraway nor close journeys to the depths of music at Nostalgia without the ECM record label. I feel honoured that its founder, Manfred Eicher, will again be the guest of the Festival and will meet with our audience. For years, his music choices have been building the path which Nostalgia follows. This year they have led us to Argentina. On the first evening, we will listen to the piercing sounds of Dino Saluzzi’s bandoneon alongside the cello of Anja Lechner, who is already known to Nostalgia’s audience, and Felix Saluzzi’s saxophone and clarinet.
“My art is very simple: I speak to the viewer in my own language and can wish only to be understood,” said Tarkowsky. Thus, let us meet to fulfil the wish of the great master of cinema, returning to his films and listening to the music dedicated to him.
Michał Merczyński
Director of Nostalgia Festival Poznań