The music of the future will once again resound in Bydgoszcz from 12 to 14 December 2025 during the 8th Christmas Festival “ART Mintaka.” All events will take place at the District Museum, the Festival’s partner. The concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. each day, and the Sunday debate starts at 6:00 p.m. Admission is free.
This year’s edition promises to be exceptional – three leading new-music ensembles in Poland will arrive in the city: Spółdzielnia Muzyczna, NeoQuartet, and proMODERN, the vocal ensemble for which the most eminent composers have written, including Krzysztof Penderecki.
The Festival’s programme also includes a premiere of particular significance. Krzysztof Knittel – co-founder of the legendary Experimental Studio of Polish Radio and for many years the director of the “Warsaw Autumn” Festival – has accepted a commission from ART Mintaka. The Festival will host the world premiere of his composition Painted with Light.
Further world premieres will include Concerto for Cello and Electronics by Jakub Gucik, Breath by Aleksandra Slyż, ajsem tibiti by Wojciech Glądys, and Liście obracały się za lotem kolibra and All my friends has gone by Rafał Gorzycki.
The concerts will be accompanied by multimedia presentations of works by Grzegorz Pleszyński. The programme will also feature the final of the “New Constellations” composition competition and a discussion panel devoted to the challenges of contemporary culture. It is a perfect opportunity to see how artistic ideas intersect with various areas of social life and technology.
“Time flies unnoticed. When we started, I never imagined that the Festival would become a permanent fixture in Bydgoszcz’s cultural calendar. I am immensely pleased that for the eighth time we can invite the audience to discover new music performed at the highest level,” says Rafał Gorzycki, President of the ART Mintaka Chamber Music Foundation.
The ART Mintaka Christmas Festival is not only for connoisseurs of contemporary music. The organizers assure: all it takes is openness and a touch of curiosity to experience something entirely new—music that inspires, moves, and surprises.
The project is financed under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (KPO) with funds from the European Union – NextGenerationEU as part of Investment A2.5.1: “Programme supporting the activities of cultural and creative sector entities to stimulate their development.”
The project is carried out with funds from the City of Bydgoszcz and the Marshal’s Office of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. The undertaking is co-funded by the ZAIKS Fund for the Promotion of Creativity.
The publisher of Krzysztof Knittel’s sheet music is the Polish Music Publishing House PWM.
Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC
Full programme: https://artmintaka.com/swiateczny-festiwal-art-mintaka-2025/
