Which concert, and how to book
Klezmer concert in Kraków: what to book
What the 50-minute klezmer concert on Sławkowska Street covers, who plays, how booking works and how the concert compares with other klezmer options in the city.
Reserve a seat for the concert ↗Quick answer
Choose this concert for a short, seated evening of live klezmer and Yiddish song in a historic Old Town house. It has one ticket type, which covers the concert only, and the booking calendar gives each date's start time. Cancellation is free until 24 hours before, and you can reserve without paying today. Pick another format if you need a meal, step-free access or a set line-up.
Three ways to hear klezmer in Kraków
| This concert | Culture festival | Museum events | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Ticketed 50-minute concert | Annual festival of concerts | Occasional events |
| Plannable | Yes, by calendar date | Once a year, early summer | Check its programme |
| Where | Old Town, Sławkowska | Kazimierz | Kazimierz |
| Best for | A short evening of music | Visiting in festival week | Music plus history |
What the ticket covers
The ticket is for a live concert at Sławkowska 14 in the Old Town of Kraków. The booking page calls it a one-hour concert, while the running time is listed as 50 minutes, so plan for about fifty minutes of music. The hall is on the second floor of a historic tenement house. The organiser describes the programme as lively instrumental klezmer pieces and songs in Yiddish, played by musicians who trained at a conservatory. The ticket covers the concert itself. The organiser's own page lists food and drinks as not included, so plan dinner separately, before or after the music.
Klezmer in one paragraph
Klezmer is the instrumental music of Ashkenazi Jewish communities in Central and Eastern Europe. It grew up around weddings and other social occasions, and it mixes dance tunes, ritual melodies and showy improvisation. It also borrowed from Ottoman, Romanian, Greek, German and Slavic music, which is why a single set can sound by turns Jewish, Balkan and Slavic. Songs in Yiddish belong to a neighbouring tradition, and the concert sets the two side by side. If you want the longer version, with the dances and the instruments, read the guide below before you go. Wikipedia traces the term itself to a Kraków council record of 1595, so the city has a direct link to the word.
Read next: What is klezmer? Tunes, dances and history
What the programme is like
The organiser says the repertoire draws on Polish, Romanian, Ukrainian, Greek and Turkish influences, and that it mixes lively instrumental pieces with songs in Yiddish. The ensemble chooses the order on the night, so there is no printed set list to rely on. One reviewer praises a mix of musical styles and pace, which fits a repertoire built from both fast dances and slow pieces, so expect the mood to move between joyful and wistful. These are the kinds of music it is built from, and a fifty-minute set has room for several of them:
- Dance tunes such as the freylekhs and the bulgar
- Slow, improvised pieces for listening
- Virtuoso solos in an Ottoman style
- Songs sung in Yiddish
Who plays
The organiser says the ensemble has performed together for over twenty years and that each member is a conservatory graduate. It also warns that the musicians and instruments may change with availability, and that the photos on the booking page are illustrative. Reviewers of past evenings describe a duo on accordion and flute in some cases and praise the skill of the players in all of them. Book for the music and the room, and treat any single player as a bonus rather than the reason to come, because the line-up is the one thing the organiser does not fix.
The room
A historic tenement house, which the organiser dates to the fifteenth century, holds the concert, and the organiser calls the setting intimate. You climb a staircase to the second-floor hall. Reviewers describe a friendly, intimate space, which suits a short concert for a small audience. For a large stage and a big band, look at the festival in Kazimierz. The venue guide on this site covers the street, the door and the stairs, so read it before you set out for the first time.
Read next: Sławkowska 14: finding the klezmer hall
Choosing a date
Only the dates in the booking calendar are on sale, and each carries its own start time. Check the time again on the day, because slots can change, and keep your confirmation to hand. One traveller's review mentions a start moved earlier at short notice. Because you can reserve now and pay later, you can hold a date while the rest of your Kraków plans settle. Arrive at least ten minutes before the start, so there is time to climb to the hall and find a seat. The concert is short, so it fits between an afternoon out and dinner.
What travellers say
Travellers rate the concert 4.5 out of 5 from 223 reviews. The praise is for the skill of the musicians and the variety of the music, and some call it good value. The complaints are practical. A few visitors mention a start time changed at short notice, and others wished the musicians had been introduced, or the introduction given in English as well as Polish. The review summary scores the guide at 4.4 and value for money at 4.6 out of 5. None of this concerns the music itself, so the checklist is simple: confirm the time, arrive early and read up on the tunes beforehand.
Booking here or with the organiser
This site is an independent guide, and its buttons lead to GetYourGuide for the booking and payment. There the ticket carries free cancellation until 24 hours before the concert, with a full refund; you can reserve first and pay later; and language and currency are your choice on the booking page. The organiser, Cracow Concerts, also sells the concert directly under its own terms, so weigh the cancellation rules of each. The concert and the venue are identical either way.
Other ways to hear klezmer
A concert is the simplest way to hear klezmer in Kraków, but it is not the only one. The Jewish Culture Festival, held in Kazimierz since 1988, ends with an outdoor closing concert on Szeroka Street, on a Saturday night, which fills the plaza in front of the Old Synagogue with more than ten thousand people. The Galicia Jewish Museum lists cultural events and concerts alongside its exhibition. Their dates and formats are their own, so the concert in the Old Town is the one to plan an evening around, with the festival and the museum as extras if your dates line up.
Read next: Klezmer in Poland today
A note on “Jewish-style”
The booking page calls this a Jewish-style klezmer concert. Read that as a description of the music: a concert in the klezmer tradition, performed in a historic building by conservatory-trained musicians. It is not a religious service, a community event or a tour of Jewish Kraków. To learn the history, spend time in Kazimierz and at its museums and memorials, which the Kazimierz guide on this site lists with sources. A concert and a museum visit answer different questions, and each is better for the other.
Read next: Kazimierz: Kraków's Jewish quarter in brief
Who this isn't for
Pass on this concert if you use a wheelchair or push a stroller. The hall is up on the second floor, and the organiser's page says the venue suits neither. It is also the wrong choice if you want dinner with the music, a guaranteed English introduction or a fixed line-up. And if you came to Kraków to learn about the Holocaust, keep the concert as a separate evening and give the history its own day, with the museums and memorials in Kazimierz and Podgórze.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the klezmer concert in Kraków?
Roughly 50 minutes, though the booking page describes a one-hour concert. Each date in the calendar shows its own start time, and the organiser wants you there at least ten minutes ahead.
Is it a concert or a tour?
It is a concert. You sit in a historic hall and listen to klezmer tunes and Yiddish songs. It is not a walking tour of Kazimierz, so pair it with a separate visit if you want the history.
Can I cancel the booking?
Yes. With the GetYourGuide ticket, cancelling up to 24 hours before the concert returns your money in full. You may also reserve now and pay later, which holds a date while plans settle.
Will I hear a song I know?
Possibly, but the ensemble chooses the programme on the night, so no piece is promised. The organiser's description says there will be one or two songs you will recognise, and the guides on this site name a few likely candidates.
Are drinks or food part of the ticket?
Treat them as separate. The organiser's page lists food and drinks as not included in the concert ticket, so plan dinner before or after the music.
Is it the same as klezmer in Kazimierz?
No. This concert is in the Old Town, at Sławkowska 14. Kazimierz is the historic Jewish quarter, south of the Old Town, and it has its own museums, synagogues and festival.
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