ABOUT

The Sfogato Music & Arts Festival

The Sfogato International Music and Arts Festival is the only cyclical festival event in Krakow for which the music and creative personality of Fryderyk Chopin is the main inspiration. It is included in the name of the event – “Sfogato” – an Italian word first used by Fryderyk Chopin as a musical term to describe a fragment of the Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op. 60. Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz interpreted the sfogato fragment, described by Chopin with the adjective dolce, as a moment that brings catharsis, ecstasy and mental cleansing. In this way, he referred to the function that art, and music, played in ancient times and still plays to this day. The festival is also the only event of this type that holistically addresses the issue of the impact of music and art on humans and their health.

The festival is organized by the Sfogato Musical and Arts Society, which was established in the Chopin Year 2010 on the initiative of pianist Marta Polańska – the Artistic Director of the festival.