Pomerania has always been a crossroads of various cultures and traditions, including the world of music. In addition, over the centuries, there have been many centres here that, in different periods, have accumulated compositional and performing activity that was important for the region, and sometimes exceeded local significance. Much of this heritage from the period of the First Republic is preserved in local libraries, of which the Gdańsk Library of the Polish Academy of Sciences is the main source of knowledge on this subject. For many years, the Trinitas Artis Foundation has been engaged in extracting this heritage from the ‘unconsciousness’ of society and has presented the effects of these activities in the form of concerts and recordings that have gained international acclaim, proved by multiple nominations for music awards in Poland and abroad, and the Opus Klassik award – one of the most important distinctions in the world of classical music. The public presentations of the GBE ensemble so far have been focused on contemporary cultural centres (in Pomerania – in Gdańsk), however, we want to reach places with live concert music where this type of artistic activity has not been presented so far. We have decided to change this and present the achievements of Polish artists throughout the region. The current project is a pilot project, and its commencement in Malbork is not accidental.

The small town of Malbork is currently associated with a unique tourist attraction, the Teutonic Castle – the largest historical architectural object of this type in Europe with a worldwide reputation. It currently functions as a museum, a place to visit or a place of outdoor events, but over the centuries it has also been a place of cultural activities in the field of music at a very high level. Until the beginning of the twentieth century, regular concerts were held there and music bands and composers worked there. It was a very strong tradition that is currently being rediscovered and it is partially preserved in several archives and libraries in Pomerania in the form of musical manuscripts and historical records. Our project wants to directly refer to the tradition of presenting classical music in this place. Additionally, performed following the old performance tradition and on historic instruments in accordance with the time of its creation, which the Goldberg Baroque Ensemble has been doing successfully for 15 years. Our goal is to bring this novel phenomenon of early music concerts, performed on period instruments, to Malbork Castle and the town of Malbork, serving as a means of promoting regional artistic output.

For the launch of this initiative, we selected Johann Daniel Pucklitz (1705–1774), one of the most remarkable and original musicians from this region, whose works are part of the GBE ensemble’s extensive repertoire. Although his music is now capturing the attention of international critics through the GBE’s recordings, it remains largely unrecognized, and often entirely unknown, here in Malbork and throughout Pomerania. The ideal opportunity to start a broad promotion of his legacy is the 320^th anniversary of the composer’s birth, which we celebrate in 2025.