As part of the 10th music festival “TRZY-CZTE-RY. Contexts. Contrasts. Confrontations”, on 7 December 2025 at 7:00 PM in Studio S1 in Warsaw, a special concert will celebrate the 80th anniversary of Ruch Muzyczny – the oldest classical-music periodical in Poland. The program will include, among others, compositions by two of its former legendary editors-in-chief: Stefan Kisielewski and Zygmunt Mycielski. The music will be performed by two duos: Tomasz Konieczny with Lech Napierała, and Joanna Freszel with Bartłomiej Kominek.
On 1 October 1945, just a few months after the end of the Second World War, the publication of a biweekly magazine dedicated to musical life in Poland and around the world began in Cracow. The first editor-in-chief was Stefan Kisielewski, and the publisher was Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne. The new biweekly was meant to refer to a periodical that had been published in Warsaw from 1857 to 1861.
Since then, with only brief interruptions, Ruch Muzyczny has been published continuously, although its editors-in-chief and publishers have changed over the years.
In the program, the organizers wish to honor editors-in-chief who have distinguished themselves not only in the history of the magazine but also in Polish culture. The concert will feature, among other works, Mycielski’s Five Wedding Songs and a selection from Kisielewski’s Seven Songs to Words by K.I. Gałczyński.
In the first issue from 1945, the editorial team wrote: “In this work, let us be guided by the immortal oeuvre of Chopin and the great output of Szymanowski. These two composers, so distant from each other, are united by the fact that, while being thoroughly European in their work, they were at the same time thoroughly Polish.” Therefore, the concert program has also been supplemented with songs by Chopin and Szymanowski.
“There is no better way for readers, authors, and the editorial team of a music magazine to celebrate a birthday than through a shared concert experience,” says editor-in-chief Dr. Daniel Cichy. “A carefully curated repertoire, wonderful artists, an acoustically superb space, the opportunity to meet and talk, and – for those who cannot attend – a chance to listen to an extraordinary set of vocal lyric pieces on the airwaves of Radio Two are a great omen for at least the next 80 years! See you there! Hear you there!”
The 10th music festival “TRZY-CZTE-RY. Contexts. Contrasts. Confrontations” is organized by the Przypływ Kultury Foundation in cooperation with Program 2 of Polish Radio. It is co-funded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund under the “Music” program, carried out by the National Institute of Music and Dance. The project is co-financed by the City of Warsaw.
Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC
Press release
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