Inaugural concerts for the 73rd Old Town’s Birthday: Brass Federacja, Huragan x Helka Rząsa, Aleksander Dębicz

Trumpets, trombones, and a sousaphone will resound from the windows of tenement houses around the Old Town Market Square, while Brass Federacja connects the New Orleans tradition with a modern sound through a short, energetic opening. Their musical opening will take on the character of an urban call—a contemporary gesture of jointly starting the celebration and symbolically bringing the Old Town to life with sound. Next, Huragan, a collective formed by a young generation of artists, will appear on stage. Young creators associated with art schools operating in the Old Town area will present a contemporary interpretation of Warsaw’s turbulent history. Together with actress Helka Rząsa, through jazz fusion, improvisation, and text fragments, they will refer to the history of the city, filtering it through their own sensitivity and modern experiences. The founder of the collective is Tymon Gorski—the great-grandson of Stanisław Jankowski “Agaton”, co-creator of the reconstruction of Warsaw. In his work, he undertakes a kind of continuation of family heritage, reviving the memory of the city through musical arrangements. An important element of the project is also the presence of two young artists from Ukraine who settled in Warsaw in 2022—their perspective brings a personal dimension to the experience of migration and taking root in a new city. The concert is the result of a multi-month creative process based on workshop sessions and conversations about the memory of Warsaw and its reconstruction. The culmination of the evening will be a recital by Aleksander Dębicz—one of the most versatile Polish pianists and composers. For years, the artist has been creating his own recognizable language at the intersection of classical music, film music, and improvisation. His rich discography includes original albums (such as his debut Cinematic Piano, Invention, Magnolia) and valued collaborations, such as the multiple Fryderyk-nominated Bach Stories (recorded with Marcin Zdunik) and Adela (co-created with Jakub Józef Orliński, among others). Dębicz has won prestigious awards: he took 1st place in the simultaneous film improvisation contest Transatlantyk Instant Composition Contest (2013), won the international Bridgerton Scoring Competition (2022), and received the Dwa Teatry festival award for the music to the radio play Anna Karenina. Since 2024, he has been recording for the international label Warner Classics & Erato. The artist will present original compositions and a premiere piece prepared specially for this year’s Old Town Birthday—a musical interpretation of Warsaw as a city of phenomena, reconstruction, and constant transformation.