FESTIVALS-KRAKOW/ETNO Over 200 musicians serenade EtnoKrakow festival with international ethnic music

Record ID: 147896

  • Title: FESTIVALS-KRAKOW/ETNO Over 200 musicians serenade EtnoKrakow festival with international ethnic music
  • Date: 10th July 2015
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) LEADER OF THE "PUNGNYUJIAK" GROUP, HANG YOON LEE, SAYING: "We came here to Poland specially to present our traditional Korean music. We want the Polish audience to have a chance to meet us and get to know our culture and music."
  • Embargoed: 25th July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Poland
  • Country: Poland
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA1XMFIGS98Z1XSZNS7TZT2VRHD
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Over 200 musicians from around the world have been showcasing their talents for international ethnic music at the seven-day "EtnoKrakow" festival in Poland.
    Two international events have combined to create the festival: the Euroradio Folk Festival and the Rozstaje/Crossroads Festival Krakow.
    The programme includes a global range of participants, welcoming performances of ethnic music from Europe, South America, Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, as well as dancing and workshops.
    Korean group "Pungnyujiak" brought a show to the festival which incorporated traditional court, folk, pansori, shamanic, sinawi and sanjo music. The group's leader, Hang Yoon Lee, said that they had come to Poland specifically to share their country's traditional songs.
    "We want the Polish audience to have a chance to meet us and get to know our culture and music," he said.
    Polish band "Kroke" also took to the stage to offer innovative new interpretations of traditional klezmer music, adding motifs from Balkan, Middle Eastern and improvised music to refresh a traditional genre with their own modern twist.
    Tomasz Kukurba, who plays the viola, percussion, flute and sings for the band, said that ethnic music was not appreciated in Poland, especially during the communist era where any cultural ventures beyond fellow communist bloc countries were frowned upon by authorities. Today, more and more artists have been reaching for the musical inspiration from different cultures and regions of the country.
    "I think until 1989 it was not favourable for prominent communist party members that, for example, young Polish people who want to study ethnic music from different parts of the world or connect or play with other people," he said.
    For many artists from all over the world, the festival is also an opportunity to exchange experiences, and for the public this is an opportunity to learn more about different cultures from different continents.
    "This is just fantastic, you do not have to move far away, and you can hear the whole world in one place and get to know new cultures. It is an amazing experience for sure," a resident of Gorlice, Anna Szymanska, said.
    One of "EtnoKrakow"'s organisers, Robert Piaskowski, admitted it was not easy to gather such a large number of musicians in one place and one time but he said that Krakow - at some point a mediaeval capital of Poland - has always attracted and inspired people for art and culture from both the East and West.
    "I think there is something in the 21st century that we are looking for authenticity and looking for something that will take us for a while to different parts of the world to recognize certain common values, some common archetypes that are stuck in this music. And most of all, what we see in Krakow, it's a big surprise for the audience," Piaskowski said.
    The festival is set to run until July 11.
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