In the era of transformations of the European community, young composers in search of common identity for all people living on our continent go back to fairy tales, old sagas and legends. The subject of these half-unreal stories has been taken from reality – these are stories about love, jealousy, help, brotherhood, competition, compassion, transformation and maturing of protagonists.

We listen to fairy tales as children and we do not even realise that they remain in us for life and shape our thinking about the world. These are stories about basic human needs that raise important issues of morality. Stories in which our ancestors tried to convey ethical principles and a vision of interpersonal relations. The tales of Hans Christian Andersen, stories by Astrid Lindgren, the history of Peer Gynt and the legends of the Kalevala collection became popular throughout Europe and shaped the cultural identity of our continent. Young composers from Poland, Sweden, Belgium and the Netherlands inspired by fairy tales created works for a vocal quartet and narrator, which will be performed by members of Swedish Radio Choir and Finnish actress Stina Ekblad. The concert as part of the Music Masters on Air project, promoting the musical creativity of the young generation, is a look towards the North during the edition of the festival entitled The South is an apt complement to this year’s Wratislavia Cantans programme.