A summer of free classical concerts in Płock concludes with an evening where a young local trumpeter meets some of the repertoire's enduring masters.
The final concert of a festival can serve as both a conclusion and a point of reflection. In Płock, the 28th Summer Music Festival will end its 2026 edition with “Music of the Masters”, bringing the city's symphony orchestra, a young local soloist and three major works together inside the historic Fara church.
The concert takes place on Sunday, 30 August at 19:00 in Kościół Farny pw. św. Bartłomieja, known locally as the Fara, on ul. Kazimierza Wielkiego 1. Admission is free. The event is organised by the Płock Symphony Orchestra named after Witold Lutosławski, with the Roman Catholic Parish of St Bartholomew the Apostle as co-organiser.
“Music of the Masters” is the fourth and final concert of this year's Summer Music Festival. The 28th edition has presented four free concerts across several Płock locations, beginning on 21 August at the Kajetan Morykoń Auditorium, continuing at the Mazovian Museum and concluding at the Fara. A special programme for younger listeners was also included in the festival schedule.
That movement between venues has given the festival a varied character. Its closing concert brings the series into one of Płock's historic religious spaces, where the acoustics and setting provide a different context for the orchestra's final programme.
A local musician takes centre stage
At the heart of the evening is Amelia Kowalewska, the trumpet soloist and a graduate of the General Music School in Płock. Her appearance gives the finale a particularly local dimension: a musician educated in the city's own musical environment will perform as soloist alongside the Płock Symphony Orchestra.
She will perform under the direction of conductor Jakub Chrenowicz, with the orchestra named after Witold Lutosławski providing the larger ensemble setting.
The first half of the programme places the trumpet firmly at the centre. Oskar Böhme's Trumpet Concerto in F minor is followed by Joseph Haydn's Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major. The pairing brings together two composers from different periods of the classical tradition while keeping the trumpet as the connecting voice.
Böhme's concerto was written in the late Romantic period, while Haydn's work belongs to the Classical era and remains one of the best-known concertos in the trumpet repertoire. Heard together, the works offer an opportunity to experience how the instrument's role changed across musical periods while retaining its distinctive character.
The programme then expands from solo instrument to full symphonic scale.
From the trumpet to the Rhine
The second major part of the evening is Robert Schumann's Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 97, known as the “Rhenish” Symphony.
The work was inspired by Schumann's impressions of the Rhineland and was written in 1850. Its five-movement structure differs from the traditional four-movement symphonic format, giving the orchestra a broader canvas after the concentrated focus of the two trumpet concertos.
That change in scale is important to the shape of the Płock programme. The evening begins with the individual voice of the soloist, supported by the orchestra, before opening into a major symphonic work in which the full ensemble becomes the focus.
It also gives the final concert a sense of progression. Rather than presenting three unrelated works, the programme moves from the distinctive sound of the trumpet through two concertos and ultimately towards one of Schumann's best-known symphonies.
For Płock audiences, the setting adds another dimension. The Fara is one of the city's historic churches, and the concert places a major orchestral programme within a building that is part of Płock's architectural and cultural landscape.
The choice reflects the wider character of the Summer Music Festival, which has used different city spaces throughout its 28th edition rather than relying on a single concert hall. The opening concert took place in the Kajetan Morykoń Auditorium, while the third concert, “Broken Classics”, was held at the Art Déco room of the Mazovian Museum before the festival reaches the Fara for its finale.
There is therefore a local story running through “Music of the Masters” that extends beyond the repertoire. Płock's own orchestra is at the centre of the festival, a graduate of the city's music school appears as soloist, and a historic local church becomes the final setting for the series.
After four free concerts across the city, the festival closes not by looking away from Płock, but by bringing its musical institutions, young talent and historic spaces together. The masters may belong to the international classical canon, but their music will be heard through the musicians and places of Płock.
Visitor Information
Event: “Music of the Masters” (Muzyka Mistrzów)
Festival: 28th Summer Music Festival
Date: Sunday, 30 August 2026
Time: 19:00
Venue: Kościół Farny pw. św. Bartłomieja “Fara”
Address: ul. Kazimierza Wielkiego 1, Płock
