october-2012

05
PRAGUE
Strings of Autumn,
Until 3 November
This five-week festival is known
for its eclectic programming.
Star sopranos share the bill
with big-name jazz ensembles
and polyphonic quartets, in
venues across the city: this
year’s highlights include
performances by sax-playing
legend Sonny Rollins, jazz
vocalist Gregory Porter (above),
and chamber music stars the
Brodsky Quartet performing
with multi-instrumentalist
Tunde Jegede.
strunypodzimu.cz
ANTALYA
International Antalya
Sand Sculpture Festival,
Until 29 October
Armed with 10,000 tons of
sand and infinite patience,
25 sand sculptors from 12
countries have created a
series of gigantic sculptures on
Antalya’s Lara beach. Taking
Hollywood as their theme,
the sculptures include a vast
dinosaur skeleton sprawled
in the sand (Jurassic Park)
a pneumatic Lara Croft (Tomb
Raider) and Bram Stoker’s
vampire (Dracula, above).
larasandland.com
06 07 08
ZARAGOZA
Fiestas del Pilar,
6-14 October
The annual festival for its
patron saint, the Virgen del
Pilar, is the highlight of the
city’s calendar. Thousands
of people lay blooms and
bouquets in the Plaza del
Pilar to mark the Offering of
the Flowers on 12 October.
Mime and trapeze artists,
stalls, musicians and stamping
flamenco dancers fill the
streets, and you can’t miss
the procession of gigantes y
cabezudos – huge, papiermâché
figures that loom
over the crowds.
fiestasdelpilar2012.es
ROME
Roma Jazz Festival,
12 October – 28 November
‘Visual jazz’ is the theme of
this year’s festival, and has
inspired some intriguing events.
A musical tribute to Stanley
Kubrick, an improvised piano
concert in the dark and a
rare solo piano concert from
the great Herbie Hancock all
feature on the line-up, along
with live accompaniments to
documentaries, cartoons,
video clips and classic films,
such as Il Sorpasso – The
Easy Life (1962) with Fabrizio
Bosso (above).
romajazzfestival.it