The 35th "Musica Polonica Nova" Festival

This year’s 35th Musica Polonica Nova festival at the National Forum of Music, held on May 14-17, 2026 under "The Senses" motto, will showcase the latest trends in Polish contemporary music, and focus on how audiences listen to music today and how music can transcend traditional perception. The festival is co-organized by the Wrocław branch of the Polish Composers' Union.

Multidimensionality and Multi-Sensuality
During the festival, we will explore contemporary Polish art from the perspective of its multi-sensory reception. The projects we present expand the field of sound experience, inviting us to engage with sight, touch, movement, and spatiality. This is music that not only sounds – it has an impact.

Synthesis of the Arts – a Common Field of Action
The central theme will be a synthesis of the arts – a contemporary way of thinking about the integration of music with other creative forms. Intermedia, installations, theatre, performative and audiovisual activities will create a shared space where the boundaries between disciplines become blurred, and the audience experiences the work as a complex, multi-sensory entity.

Perception, Diversity, and Inclusivity
Our festival will also engage in creative discourse regarding diverse models of music perception:
– perception under sensory limitations,
– sensory compensation (“how do we hear when we cannot see?” “how do we experience music without sound?”).

It is a space for reflection on ways of listening that go beyond the norm, and on how contemporary art can incorporate and creatively develop these differences.

NFM (and Beyond) – Places of Dialogue and Experiment
During the festival, the NFM and other locations in Wrocław will become arenas for artistic experiments, meetings with artists, premieres, debates, and activities, redefining contemporary musicality. We will invite audiences to discover new aural perspectives – from intimate experiences to spectacular forms engaging the entire spectrum of the senses.

Paweł Hendrich, Artistic Director of the Musica Polonica Nova Festival

The works Wrzenie for 18 performers, movement, lights, and space by Jerzy Kornowicz; SoundLAB Music for solo percussion, chamber ensemble, electronics, and video by Marta Śniady; Muzyka (nie)doskonała – quasi piano concerto for keyboards, chamber orchestra, electronics, and video by Adam Porębski; and Symphony of the Senses for orchestra by Jagoda Szmytka were co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund as part of the "Composers' Commissions" program, implemented by the National Institute of Music and Dance.

Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC is the media patron of the 2025/2026 NFM concert season.

More information: https://www.nfm.wroclaw.pl/festiwale/musica-polonica-nova