The "Warsaw Autumn" International Festival of Contemporary Music has been organised by the Polish Composers' Union since 1956. It is a festival of a non-governmental association, but it is international and organised pro publico bono. Each edition has its main theme and all elements of the event gather around it. The theme of this year's Festival, which will run from 18 to 26 September 2020, is "Music and Language".
Music is a language, but language carries its own music. In the Festival’s programme, these two elements will intertwine in various ways, touching upon issues such as: the role of words in music; words embedded in music and music embedded in words; the language of music, the music of language; common elements between music and language; the specificity of structures; the grammar of music, the architecture of text; similar functions; music and information; communication through music; means of transmission; the “speech” of music from the social perspective; art of the time of the plague: home music.
The programme of this year’s Warsaw Autumn includes concerts, performances, sound theatre, various opera formulas, intermedia, improvisations, internet and radio forms (on the 95th anniversary of the Polish Radio), meetings, composer workshops – over 50 festival events. We will listen to music by 50 composers, including 22 making their Warsaw Autumn debut, with 18 world premieres, including Warsaw Autumn commissions. Five orchestras, one choir, ten ensembles, and soloists will perform in the main Festival lineup as well as Warsaw Autumn Hits the Club, Little Warsaw Autumn, Warsaw Autumn Contexts and fringe events.
Jerzy Kornowicz
More information at: http://www.warszawska-jesien.art.pl/