The Warsaw Autumn Contemporary Music Festival is held in the Polish capital for the 51st time.

Michał Kubicki reports

It was in 1956 that the Warsaw Autumn was launched as an event promoting new music and serving as a meeting place for composers from the East and West. It has been held every year since, with the only break in 1982 caused by the imposition of martial law.

As journalist Jerzy Kisielewski says, the role of the Warsaw Autumn cannot be overestimated, primarily for Eastern European composers who for years had been deprived of contact with the West: ‘It was important for Polish composers, for young composers but especially for Russian and Lithuanian composers, the composers from the Soviet Union who did not have the possibility to travel abroad, to Paris or London to hear music, but were authorized to come to Warsaw. The Warsaw Autumn was a particular place of the meeting for East and West.’
 
Composer Krzysztof Baculewski agrees that in its early days in particular  the festival played a highly significant role: ‘Warsaw Autumn was the unique place where composers from the Eastern part of Eurppe could meet composers from Germany, France or England. It was the unique place where these contacts were completely free. For  Eastern Europe under Soviet domination it was a very important place.’
 
It is very much thanks to the Warsaw Autumn that  a sizeable group of Polish composers, such as Lutosławski, Penderecki and Gorecki achieved world-wide fame. It is also thanks to the Warsaw Autumn that Polish music lovers have been kept up to date with the latest developments in new music round the world. 

This year’s Warsaw Autumn is the 51th edition of the event.  As in previous years, the nine day marathon in Warsaw gives excellent insights into all trends in contemporary music. Works by the so-called classics of 20th century music – such as Elliot Carter, Olivier Messiaen and Luciano Berio are featured alongside those by the youngest generation of composers. Warsaw Autumn director Tadeusz Wielecki: ‘In addition to its main goal of presenting a cross section of trends in new music, the Warsaw Autumn serves an educational purpose. We want to bring new music closer to the people and promote the idea that this type of music can be accessible.’

The festival has two main themes: ‘Karlheinz Stockhausen and Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American music. It is fresh, exciting and attractive, as it draws a lot on the non-European tradition, including Arabic music’.
 
It is a pity perhaps that the Warsaw Autumn has ignored the 75th birthdays of the Polish composers Krzysztof Penderecki and Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki.

What is important, the first three days of the festival proved that  – contrary to what many people claim - contemporary music is not only for a narrow circle of connoisseurs. All the concerts were very well attended, mostly by the young audience.