64th Bydgoszcz Music Festival – Music Full of Contrasts
Outstanding artists, acclaimed orchestras, musical discoveries and extraordinary encounters between different traditions, styles and eras. The 64th Bydgoszcz Music Festival – Contrasts promises a month of intense musical experiences, ranging from operatic artistry and early music to monumental symphonic works and rock classics in powerful orchestral arrangements. The festival opens next week, on 18 September.
“The Bydgoszcz Music Festival will be a journey through eras, styles, places and emotions. From the intimacy of the human voice to the power of a full orchestra, from Byzantium to classic rock, from tradition to cutting-edge sound technology. I invite all lovers of good music to join us on this journey,” says Marshal Piotr Całbecki.
The festival will open on 18 September with a performance by Aleksandra Kurzak, one of Poland’s most acclaimed opera singers, renowned on the international stage.
Audiences will also have the opportunity to experience immersive sound during the concert. This technology, which surrounds listeners with sound, creates a multidimensional acoustic environment and allows them to become even more fully immersed in the music.
Due to the ongoing comprehensive modernisation of the Pomeranian Philharmonic, the opening concert will take place at the Bydgoszcz Exhibition and Convention Centre.
See: A major investment gets underway at the Pomeranian Philharmonic
Over the following weeks, Bydgoszcz will become a meeting place for artists, ensembles and musical traditions from different eras and across Europe.
Audiences will hear the remarkable vocal precision and expressiveness of Art’n’Voices, explore the fascinating world of 18th-century opera, and, during the “Unfinished…” concert, encounter one of the most intriguing themes in the history of music.
The Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Łukasz Borowicz, will also perform in Bydgoszcz, with acclaimed pianist Lukáš Vondráček at the keyboard. The programme will bring together Bacewicz, Liszt and Szymanowski – three distinctive musical personalities and three very different sound worlds.
The festival will also highlight the legacy of Musica Antiqua Europae Orientalis, a landmark initiative in the history of the Pomeranian Philharmonic. At Bydgoszcz Cathedral, Cyprus’s Romanos Choir will perform Byzantine hymns, evoking the idea of dialogue between Eastern and Western cultures that for decades has been one of Bydgoszcz’s defining cultural traditions.
Early music enthusiasts can look forward to a performance by the outstanding Freiburger Barockorchester, while lovers of monumental symphonic repertoire will be treated to Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 3.
There will also be something for the whole family. “Mr Blot in Space” will bring back music that has been part of the soundtrack of childhood for generations of listeners, while the grand finale, “Symphony of Rock”, will combine the power of a symphony orchestra with the energy of some of the greatest rock hits.
This year’s festival will be exceptional not only because of its programme, but also because of the venues in which the music will be performed. Due to the ongoing modernisation of the Pomeranian Philharmonic building, concerts will take place at as many as five locations. The festival will thus move beyond its traditional home, with its diverse venues becoming an additional element of the musical CONTRASTS.
The festival runs until 16 October.
Pomeranian Philharmonic
10 September 2026