Three days long meeting is mainly focused on people of from 15 to 30. There will be 12 organizations offering opportunities and programs to work and study across EU. Among those there institutions such as Slovak Youth institute, Ministry of Education, Research, Science and Sport, Thematic Youth Centre, Kosice, Europe Direct Kosice, EURES – The European Job Mobility Portal, Eurodesk Slovakia, SAIA – Slovak Academic Information Agency, ESN- Erasmus Student Network, Directorate- General of Interpretation, Pavol Jozef Safarik University in Kosice, Alliance Française, SAAIC – Slovak Academic Association for International Cooperation.

 „Erodesk is European information network and its main goal is to provide information and advises that concerns young people a all those, who work with them. During the event, all the visitors will have the chance to talk with foreign voluntaries that came and work in Slovakia about possibilities of European voluntary service,“ Izabela Széplaki from Košice Erodesk office explained.

This is also why SAAIC – Slovak Academic Association for International Cooperation became one of the organisations, that are active in the event. Its chief of executive Katarína Košťálová said, that association is dealing with the study and research international programs for students, university teachers and researchers for more than 23 years and therefore aims of EC initiative Youth on the move are vital part of their everyday work. „Our aim is to provide to the widest number of people interested in educational and research opportunities in abroad as well as in Slovakia with all available information. We also in many individual cases provide together with Ministry of education financial support for such stayings,“ said K. Košťálová.

Apart from exhibitors’ visitors may look forward to discussions with vice president of the European Commission Mr. Maroš Ševčovič, Mr. Jan Truszczynski Directorate General for Education, Training and Youth of the European Commission or Samuel Abraham and Katarína Brychtová- European Year of Citizens 2013’ Ambassadors in Slovakia.

Initiative Youth on the move took place for the first time in 2010, since then it visited more than 60 European cities. It came to Slovakia in the past, organizers prepared the event at known musical festival Pohoda in Trenčín in previous year.

Initiative of EU‘s Youth on the move is connected with the programs focused on fields of education and employment of young people in Europe. It is part of EU’s to enhance skills and employment in Europe.

On Sunday, June 23 2013 evening a crowd started to flow into the State Theatre in Košice. Everybody was eager to see a unique musical performance presented by the GuoGuang Opera Company from Taiwan in Košice this year as a part of their European tour. After successful performances in Poland, Hungary and Denmark, also Slovak people had the chance to see, for the first time ever, the unusual performance of traditional art from far Asia – the Monkey King.
The Monkey King opera presented by the Taiwanese ensemble filled the whole theatre. Elaborate make-up and colorful costumes, breathtaking acrobatics, martial arts and exotic music and singing have earned unceasing applause from the audience of Košice theatre at the end of the performance. Enthusiastic theatre-goers were talking in the theatre foyer for a long time after the show: “It was one of the most amazing performances I have seen in my life; great show, I am very glad I could be here; I’ve never seen anything similar before.” Also several members of the Slovak parliament, officials from the Košice region and foreign guests didn’t miss this spectacular performance.
“I am very glad that our art is well received in Slovakia, people really enjoyed it. I am happy that our national opera could present itself as a part of the European Capital of Culture 2013 and give local audience a unique opportunity to see this great performance which was presented in several continents so far,” said the Head of Taipei Representative Office, Bratislava Nan-Yang Lee.
GuoGuang Opera Company, established in 1995 in Taiwan, preserves the traditional Chinese drama for almost 20 years and presents it to the audience home and abroad. In addition to classical plays, their repertoire also includes new plays inspired by current social development, literature, history and folk legends.

As an easy appetizer, the sold-out auditorium was served a composition by the Japanese author Kosaku Yamada (1886-1965). The short Overture in D major, in sound and form flirted with the European tradition of the imaginary intersection somewhere between Beethoven and Mendelssohn. With its classicist lines it excited and whetted the appetite of listeners for the main work of the evening. The first of these was the Violin Concerto in A minor, op.53 by Antonin Dvorak. The soloist performing was young Japanese violinist Sayaka Shoji. This phenomenally talented violinist, who won the Paganini competition at the age of 16 as the youngest participant in history, was noticed by famous conductor Zubin Mehta and their cooperation meant a great start of her great artistic career. Dvorak’s concerto in her interpretation was very robust, virtuoso and dramatic. Shoji has a beautiful tone, every detail of her playing is beautifully drawn and the sound of her Stradivarius playfully exceeded the orchestral tutti in tense areas, on the other hand, even the subtle pianissimo and flanger sounded resonant and plastic. The performance by the soloist and orchestra can not be described otherwise than as perfect. Possible controversy could be caused perhaps by the excess intensity of the of the soloist’s performance, somewhat depersonalised pursuit of perfectionism and commitment at the expense of tenderness and lyrical sensibility of the second part and the Finale, which did not rely too much on the character of Czech folk music and amusing danceability, but rather was marked by the monumental spirit of virtuosity, pathos and ferocity.

The highlight of the evening was undoubtedly Symphony No. 5 in E minor, op. 64 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Koizumi, who conducted the entire concert from memory, directed the flow of music with just fine movements of his hands outstretched in front of him and at that moment it was impossible not to think of the legendary Herbert von Karajan and the fact that Koizumi studied in Berlin. Perhaps also because the Tokyo orchestra sound evoked the dense, complete and deep accent of the sound of the Berlin Philharmonic in the Karajan era. Typical characteristics of the Tokyo orchestra were the strictly “European” sound, the perfect line of bows, the perfect harmony of the wind section, fantastic playing of the brass instruments, unique interplay, depth of expression and cooperation with the presented music, the plasticity of the lines and the enchanting musicality.

After the introductory part, full of resolute movement and painful stops, the second part of the symphony was of a particular interest. It was Andante cantabile, which was in excellent proportions, even in spite of the heavy sound of bows; the woodwinds came naturally to the fore whenever the music required it. The finale of the symphony meant the climax of the evening and the dramatic tension caused some less experienced audience to applaud even before the end of it. The deep emotional world, the tragic visions and feelings of despair on the verge of personal uncertainty of Tchaikovsky, found amazing fulfilment in the hands of the Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra. After an enthusiastic ovation from the audience, Koizumi spoke casually with the audience for a moment and as an encore the orchestra performed the polonaise from Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin. Koizumi at the same time performed like a showman in the style of the British “Last Night of the Proms”, when instead of conducting he jokingly made fun with the audience and orchestra members.

In any case, such bombastic music had probably never been heard in the Košice House of Art before. The dynamics of sound orchestra worked almost like at rock concert and even the ordinary string Pizzicatos literally vibrated the room of the building. Their acoustic opposite was the dreamy surface of the sonorous Tchaikovsky’s Cantilena. The systematic architectural structure of the work, the perfect discipline of the members of the orchestra and the flawless execution with immense musicality conveyed to viewers a living experience, for which we would normally have to travel really far. The concert by the Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra shifted awareness of the heights of the orchestral part of the world of performing arts to a reference level, with which we are now likely to compare all future musical events in the city and the region aspiring to the title of “exceptional”, for decades to come.

Peter Katina

In Košice we had a chance to see Japanese farce again after only a short time. Like the first performance, Friday can be summed up in one sentence. It was famous, surprised the eyes, made the ears happy, got the heart beating and amused the audience. The Small Kjógenu Theatre from Brno with its guest – master Motohiko Shigejam, of Kyoto’s professional actor of the traditional school, Okura in the main role and in his native language, presented three farces in the historic town hall: Voice at the Door, Tea Caddy and Large Clothing.

“European Heads in Japanese Costumes”

The descendent of Shimek Shigejam, patron of the unique-in-Europe Brno theatre and the grandson of Sensak Shigejam presented his inborn acting skills as the populariser of the Old Japanese genre which was performed as early as the 12^th to the 13^th century with breathtaking professionalism. Crystalline humour, which is characteristic for the theatre was able to keep the audience in a happy mood during the performances of the three episodes. The humorous presentation of the farce of everyday people’s lives was given the exotic touch of Japan by “European heads in Japanese costumes” as the Brno actors refer to themselves. They attacked this art and played and felt as if they were real natives from the land of the rising sun. Spectators could tell the difference only because they were talking them in Czech, but with melody and emotion of Japanese. Some dialogs were even performed in the language of their teacher.

In the theatre there were also compatriots, interested to know how Japan sounds on the theatre boards in Europe. The audience included a whole delegation led by the ambassador and other guests who were welcomed to Košice as part of the EU Japan Fest, which is presenting Japanese culture in the European Capital of Culture Košice 2013. And not only did they overcome distance, but also the language barrier.

Without language barriers

Although Japanese has relatively simple grammar, it is generally considered to be the most difficult language in the world. In Japanese the exact word spoken is not so important, rather the emotional stirrings that it raises. That is very unusual for Europeans.

The impression left upon audience member Eva says it all: “At times I completely forgot that it is a piece performed in Japanese. It was so close to me and natural that I could understand it. About the Japanese it is said that they are totally different from us, they live on the other side of the globe, the structure of the language is based on completely different principles than Western languages, and yet they are the same and do the same things, they are just coming from the opposite direction. I mean humour. They laugh and have fun about the same things as we do. I really enjoyed their performance. I was pleasantly surprised that the audience also included guests from Japan and that they participated in something that was intended for foreigners. It was so beautifully international in the way that only culture can be. It was refreshing, fun and had deep thought.”

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of cooperation and good relations between the Slovak Republic and Japan, European Capital of Culture – Košice 2013, in cooperation with EU Japan Fest – Japanese company to support the dissemination of Japanese culture in Europe, prepared a number of interesting events presenting Japanese culture fort the weekend of 25^th – 26^th May 2013.

Exhibition of the best Slovak bonsai

25^th May 13:00 to 18:00, and 26^th May 11: 00 to 18:00, foyer of the House of Arts, Moyzes Street 66.

Exhibitors:

Milan Rozkoš, Vranov nad Topľou;

BONSAI SLOVAKIA, Vladimír Ondejčík and Alena Ondejčíková, Nitra

www.bonsai-slovakia.sk

In addition to admiring the seventy beautiful bonsai plants, visitors have a unique opportunity to learn a lot from these experienced bonsai-growers.

Special guest Mr. Takahiro Mori (Tokyo, Japan) gives a lecture on 26^th May at 15:00 to demonstrate the treatment of bonsai.

Go and shogi – traditional Japanese board games

Traditional Japanese go and shogi games presented by Slovak experts (Slovak Go Association, and Slovak Shogi Association, Adam Skalný and Lukáš Vyletel).

Presentation, game: as part of the CardboardCity near Urban’s Tower (26^th May 13:00 to 18:00).

Duel between the Japanese professional go player Murakami Akihide and a Slovak player.

25^th May 15:00 – foyer of the House of Arts, Moyzes Street 66.

What is go?

Go is a board game for two players with more than a 2.500-year history and tradition. Despite its simple rules, the game is very complex and has an incredibly large nuber of variations. Chess grand champion Emanuel Lasker said about go: “The rules of go are so elegant, organic and strictly logical, that if there are any intelligent life forms out there in the vast universe, they certainly play go.” Fans of go in Slovakia participate regularly in national and international go competitions, where they train and exercise their minds and spirits, and also strengthen friendly relations and raise awareness about the game in other people.

http://www.sago.sk

What is shogi?

Shogi is approximately 1.500 years old, and it is part of Japanese culture. It is a little known traditional art, recently performed only by a small group of professional players in Japan. This Japanese board game belongs to the same group of games as our chess, Chinese xiangqi, Thai makruk and ancient Indian chaturanga. All these games are derived from a common ancestor, therefore shogi shares with the other games the same goal in the game – to give checkmate to the opponent’s king. However, it differs from the rest in several aspects.

The shogi board has nine by nine boxes with twenty pieces on each side. Unlike chess, where a pawn can be exchanged for another piece only under certain circumstances, in shogi almost all pieces can be promoted and thus gain new freedom of movement. Undoubtedly the most interesting difference is adding. In shogi, disqualified pieces are imprisoned by the opponent, and he can later return them to the game as his own pieces. Mainly due to the adding, shogi became a dynamic game that rarely ends in a draw.

www.sogi.sk

Other events:

25^th May at 18:00 at the Historical Town Hall: Japanese farce back in Košice.

Shigeyama Motohiko, Kyoto-based professional actor of the Okura school, ambassador of the Japanese Ministry of Culture in Europe in 2013, together with the ensemble of the Little Kyōgen Theatre Brno (Czech Rep.). perform 3 kyōgen farces (traditional Japanese theatre form):

Susugigawa (“Large linen”) – in Czech,

Yobikoe (“Voice behind the door”) – in Czech,

Chacubo (Tea vessel) – in Czech and Japanese.

25^th of May, at 21:30: Shut up, Play! / Original Tempo (JP), Hlavná Steet 20, yard (as part of the USE THE C!TY festival).

26^th of May, at 19:00: concert by the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, State Philharmonics, Košice, Moyzes Street 66.

The prestigious Japanese orchestra is on an exclusive Czech-Slovak tour. After a concert at the Prague Music Spring festival, the ensemble will perform in Košice, conducted by Kazuhiro Koizumi. Renowned musician Sayaka Shoji plays solo violin in Dvořák’s Violin Concerto. She has built a reputation on the international music scene after a triumph – taking First Prize at the prestigious Paganini Competition (1999), which won as the only Japanese and also the youngest female artist in history.

She has performed with the world’s leading conductors (Sir Colin Davis, Charles Dutoit, Mariss Jansons, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Antonio Pappano, etc.). She plays with world-class orchestras (Berliner Philharmoniker, Bayerischer Staatsorchester, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, etc.). Shoji will conjure the most beautiful tones playing a 1729 Recamier Stradivarius – a precious musical instrument kindly loaned to her magical hands by Ueno Fine Chemicals Industry Ltd.

The concert begins with Japanese contemporary music – composer Kosaku Yamada wrote a new composition on this occasion – Overture in D major. After Dvořák’s Violin Concerto, the evening will culminate in the spectacular Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony.        

The performance of the world’s elite artists guarantees that the evening will sound with classical music pleasing the ears and souls of even the most demanding admirers and lovers of quality music. Top artists visiting Košice – European Capital of Culture – are sure to deliver a spectacular rendition. The musicians bring with them a piece of the Sun, and thus we all can touch the musical sky.

Sayaka Shoji – violin

Violinist Sayaka Shoji from Japan conquered the international music scene at 16 when she took First Prize at the prestigious Paganini Competition in Genoa (1999), where she triumphed as the only Japanese and also the youngest female artist in history. Gramophone (July 2011) wrote about her: „ Shoji emerges as a formidable musician, able to draw on huge reserves of stamina and the unflinching equal of anything thrown at her. The world is her oyster.“

After the triumph, she immediately drew the attention of Zubin Mehta, who invited her a year later to record with him and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra her debut CD for prestigious label Deutsche Grammophon.

The violinist grew up in Italy since childhood, then she studied in Israel and Germany. Shoji plays a 1729 Recamier Stradivarius and performs with major orchestras and conductors of the world.

Now 30 years old, the artist was born into an artistic family. Her mother is a painter, grandmother a poet. Violin fascinated her since childhood while listening to music. She asked her mother to buy her a musical instrument. First, she attended piano lessons, but she did not like it much. For her, it was too complicated and inconvenient. Her instincts gravitated to violin.

She lived in Italy since kindergarten. The small town of Siena has great opportunities relating to music, says Sayaka. During her studies at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana, she understood how to become a good musician. She also learnt to sing there, and she enjoys singing with others even today. Germany was for her a country of students where she learnt theory and the language. At the age of fourteen, Shoji went to Israel, where she met with the willingness of Jews who helped her. There, she encountered violinist Shlom Mintz, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, and many people from the world of music.

Kazuhiro Koizumi – conductor

Japanese conductor Kazuhiro Koizumi has travelled as Guest Conductor throughout Europe and the United States. In his long and successful career, Kazuhiro has performed with such ensembles as the Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Century Orchestra Osaka, or  Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra.

Koizumi was born in Kyoto in 1949. He entered TokyoUniversity of the Arts, he studied conducting with Kazuo Yamada. After being awarded first prize in the second Min-On Concert Association of Japan Conducting Competition in 1970, he went on to become Assistant Conductor at the former Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, and was one of the conductors of the New Japan Philharmonic upon its founding in1972. Later that year, he began studying opera conducting at the Berlin Hochschule with professor Hans Martin Rabenstein.

In 1973, he was awarded First Prize at the 3rd Herbert von Karajan International Conducting Competition. Then he debuted in Berlin as a conductor with the Berlin Philharmonic. Koizumi conducted Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, performing with the legendary Anton Rubinstein and Mstislav Rostropovich. He was Music Director of Canada’s Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, and since 1988, he has been invited to conduct regularly by London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Since 2008, Kazuhiro has been a Resident Conductor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, and later he became Principal Conductor. He will become Music Director at Kyushu Symphony Orchestra from April 2013 too.

Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra

Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, also known as Tokio, is one of the representative symphony orchestras in Japan. It was formed in 1965, with Heinz Hofmann as its first Permanent Conductor, as a part of a cultural promotion project of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to mark the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Since then, the orchestra has grown to become one of Japan’s foremost professional orchestras under the music directorship of conductors such as Tadashi Mori, Akeo Watanabe, and Hiroshi Wakasugi. Gary Bertini, who assumed the position of the fourth Music Director in 1998, established a new era with high reputation. His successor James DePreist contributed also in educational and outreach programs with acclaimed achievements.

Presently Eliahu Inbal serves as Principal Conductor, Kazuhiro Koizumi as Resident Conductor, and Jakub Hrůša as Principal Guest Conductor. Gary Bertini is Laureate Conductor and Jean Fournet is Permanent Honorary Conductor.

Overseas concert tours of the orchestra include Europe, Russia, North America and Asia. Lovers of classical music can hear the orchestra in May in Prague and also in the European Capital of Culture – Košice.

Connection of Two Cities

The Košice 2013, n. o., and Marseille Provence 2013 organisations developed the concept of mutual cooperation, based on overlapping thematic sets of projects of both cities, as well as on their similarities. Cooperation highlights the fact that the two Capitals of Culture are shaped by its deep multicultural character and its geographic position at the crossroads of different cultures. These are the cities near multiple borders, including those with the European Union and the Schengen area. While Marseille is a mediator of cultural exchange in the north-south direction, Košice is a communication bridge between West and East.

The concept stresses the immense wealth coming from the combination of these two axes within the cooperation between the two European Capitals of Culture. This framework also makes room for a fascinating demonstration of European identities, interactions between Western and Eastern Europe, and cultural exchanges within and outside the borders of the European Union and the Schengen area, where both cities are located.

New environment, new opportunities

“Cooperation with Marseille is very interesting for us because it’s a completely new environment and we see it as an opportunity to introduce contemporary Slovak art not only in Košice, but also in France, and vice versa. We are gaining new friends, new partners, new members of the large European group of ECOCs – European Capitals of Culture. It’s an opportunity to get to know Marseille from within, not only from a tourist point of view, but also through cultural infrastructure with the aspect that it is a question of long-term cooperation and not just that of a single festival. Contacts and personal ties are very important for the development and persistence of links and bonds in the next five to ten years. We look at it with expectations,” said Vladimír Beskid, artistic director of Košice 2013, about the Marseille presentation.

He also said that we find a common platform and a common language in the fact that we are actually border cities of the European Union. They are symbolically seen as the gateway to the Mediterranean, we are the gateway to the East. “For both cities, it is important to build bridges across the Schengen border. The second level that we have actually built ourselves is the Second Cities. Marseille and Košice are the second largest cities in their respective countries and we are in fact already working in the fields of theatre or photography. The third joint level is our shared interest in public spaces, something we do prefer. We want to disseminate culture in public areas, come out with it and reach wider audiences.”

The cities of Košice and Marseille are interested in creating a more diversified environment in culture. They want to engage all minority and religious communities in cultural life. For example, in both cities it is the Roma community. The festival in Marseille is for us like a springboard to the future, according to the ECOC’s artistic director. There are currently many common cultural activities underway, and many others are yet to come. We can look forward to a very diverse program.

We are preparing a rich cultural menu for the French

Both cities share the same features – they lie on the border, have numerous public spaces, and support civic participation. Slovak culture is presented in France this year through a number of events. A major event is the Slovak week at the Toursky Theatre, commencing on 14^th May, with the participation of distinguished guests. It will also include an exhibition “Urban Interventions”. It is a testimony of the fact that even small interventions can become large. Architects, artists and citizens offered particular proposals and solutions to beautify the city of Košice, many of which will improve the quality of urban life. On the opening day, Jozef Hromjak, Sous-Chef of the Olive Tree Double Tree by Hilton Košice restaurant, will present Slovak cuisine. He is last year’s winner of the national competition of culinary and pastry arts Danubius Gastro Cup 2012.

The highlights of the Slovak offer to impress the partner city include a jazz concert by PaCoRa Trio & Bashavel. The band of experienced instrumentalists is a world-class Slovak jazz gem. Their work is based on the crossover of jazz and folklore music, coloured by elements of classical music.

History and Drama

Another cultural contribution to the programme is the Slovak documentary film Paper Heads, which is one of the most notable films directed by Dušan Hanák. The significant director tells the history of our society in the years 1945-1989 in a mosaic of authentic archival materials, testimonies and stylized motion sequences. The document gives evidence on the relationship of the individual and the society, marked by a political regime.

The Štúdio tanca dance theatre from Banská Bystrica will perform their rendition of “Merriments of the Past”, inspired by the English Renaissance dance of the 17^th century – Parson’s Farewell. It is about two worlds – the past in the form of reconstructing historical dance and a portrait of today, the relationship between a dancer and his breathing. The State Theatre Košice will perform their bizarre story “The Beauty Queen of Leenane”. It is full of violence, black humour and strange characters. Its author Martin McDonagh is considered by critics to be the first great dramatist of the 21^st century. London theatres staged four of his plays at the same time, something that only Shakespeare managed to experience before McDonagh.

Cities through the lens

Marseille will be flooded by accompanying events such as literary evenings with writer Jana Beňová’s “Café Hyena”. Beňová won the European Union Prize for Literature in 2012. Editor in Chief Richard Kitta and Slovak poet Ján Gavura will introduce the Košice journal of contemporary literature and arts “ENTER”. Slovakia will be represented also by an exhibition of photographs – a project of the Košice PhotoART Centre by Pavol Mária Smejkal. He applied the Second Cities format on the partnership for the European Capitals of Culture – Marseille and Košice. Photographs reflect both cities through the eyes of photographers from the partner cities, Marseille through the eyes of Košice residents, and vice versa.

Similarly, Slovak illustrators of the Bratislava Biennial 1967-2011 event are planning their trip to Marseille. The “Le Pont” exhibition by the contemporary Slovak artist Roman Ondák, and the “Slovak folk art – tradition and modernity” event are coming to France as well.

Travelling City stops in Marseille for a week 

The two European Capitals of Culture 2013 – Košice and Marseille-Provence – are different in many aspects, but also have a lot in common. Both cultural hearts of Europe lie on the border of the Schengen Area, but on opposite sides. Non-profit organization Košice 2013 pays great attention to the visibility of Košice and the entire region of eastern Slovakia abroad. Through the TravellingCity concept, it is trying to draw attention to the local art scene and export it abroad. A series of promotional and cultural activities is on the brink of a long-term partnership. What does Ján Sudzina, director of the Košice 2013 non-profit organisation, have to say?

Košice will be introduced in Marseille through the Slovak Culture Week event to be held there in May. How do we want to attract the audience.

Košice has always been included on the cultural map of Europe. We are trying to raise the profile and strengthen the city’s position. The Slovak Culture Week in Marseille is one of the key projects of the TravellingCity series, through which we want to present Košice as a self-confident cultural city that definitely belongs to the European area. We want to spread Slovak art abroad and, of course, talk about our project to convince people that Košice is an interesting tourist destination, worthwhile visiting and getting to know.

Despite the geographical distance, and different priorities and projects, both cities are now closer to each other. What unites them?

We focused more on Marseille for obvious reasons. It is also the European Capital of Culture. We are the interface between two different cultural worlds. But we have a lot of joint projects and also one-sided activities. We prepared the Slovak Culture Week event in the second largest city in France in cooperation with the Slovak Cultural Institute in Paris, Theatre TOURSKÝ and the city of Marseille. With the Marseille-Provence team, we are preparing, in addition to the May presentation, a number of joint events. These will for example include an exhibition of photographs and videos – Odyssey by photographer Antoine d’Agata in both cities. His photos capture migrants from five countries during their journey to Europe.

Košice and Marseille have a lot in common: they both are gates to the Schengen area, and they also solve issues regarding the Roma community. The ECOC projects address this largest ethnic minority in Europe through culture.

We have addressed this issue in the longer term, in joint community projects through SPOTs. We inspire each other and search for solutions for this target group. Our people involved in the project drew a lot of inspiration from France. They try to apply French approaches in our conditions. We want to provide space for dialogue on tolerance and mutual coexistence and cohabitation of the city majority and ethnic minorities through the multi-genre Diversity festival.

Both partners operate in different conditions, including financial terms. Where do you see the biggest difference compared to Marseille?

The differences in opportunities are sometimes abysmal, regarding the conditions, financing schemes, investment activities and projects. We have chosen the path of maximum yield from minimum resources. The basic difference between Marseille and Košice is in the amount and also the structure of resources. The French have a larger load of money for a project. It must also be said that a greater part of the project budget are private sources. This makes it much easier to manage the money. We are financed by public funds from the grant scheme of the Ministry of Culture, which is administratively difficult. They have less restrictions and easier procedures of decision-making. However, the above does not mean that they are under less control or criticism. On the contrary, any project that brings tremendous change and costs a lot is under public scrutiny and never go unopposed and easily. For example, the SPOTs project has been received negatively from its beginning, and it still has not found the understanding it deserves. Yet, it is one of the main themes, one of the leitmotifs for this environment.

What will be the future of the European Capital of Culture project?

The platform for longer-term cooperation is defined through the ECOC (European Capitals of Culture) association, which consists of former, current and future European Capitals of Culture working together. Projects leave heritage, outputs and deliverables that can be utilised by those institutions, which have implemented everything, but also by other cultural operators. Cooperation in the future will be further developed also between individual actors. Some projects will continue, some may expire, or something new might be created. For us, the 2013 programme is not the most essential issue. Crucial is to set the system so that it works in the future from public as well as other sources, at different levels among cultural operators.

Violinist Sayaka Shoji plays solo violin in Dvořák’s violin concerto. She became recognised by the international music scene after her triumphant success at prestigious Paganini Competition (1999), where she won as the only Japanese, and also the youngest female, violinist in history. She cooperates with big-name conductors (Sir Colin Davis, Charles Dutoit, Mariss Jansons, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Antonio Pappano, etc.), and plays with world-class orchestras (Berliner Philharmoniker, Bayerischer Staatsorchester, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, etc.)

The concert will begin with Japanese contemporary music – composer Kosaku Yamada – Overture in D major. After Dvořák’s violin concerto, the evening will culminate in the spectacular Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony.        

26th May: House of Arts, Moyzesova Street 66, Košice

Travelling City with Ján Mathé

Export of culture from Košice to Europe is unstoppable. Ján Mathé was one of the first Czechoslovak sculptors to present existentially insistent, yet then a taboo, motif of sculptural rendering of matter, the motif of pain, anxiety, containment in ourselves.

The TravellingCity project brings the creations of this unique sculptor to London for the first time. More than thirty sculptures made of marble, travertine, gypsum and wood prove the rich artistic treasure left by Ján Mathé. European Capital of Culture – Košice 2013, is publishing a book entitled 4 + 40 personalities (significant personalities of East Slovakia). One of the personalities is Ján Mathé, sculptor, with a devoted special medallion.

During the ECOC – Košice 2013 Opening Ceremony, a square in the Mier housing estate was named after the Košice sculptor. The square is dominated by a fountain with a monumental sculptural group, Resting Family. Mathé’s best works include Fruit of Life, Combing her Hair and many other sculptures located across the entire Košice. However, ján Mathé has not said his last word. There are more events associated with him coming soon.