Year of Kujawsko-Pomorskie people of cinema: Helena Grossówna at the Young Music Festival in Toruń

The 6th Young Music Festival, organised by the Pomeranian Music Society, will take place from 17 September to 8 October 2026. This year’s edition is dedicated to the memory of Helena Grossówna – one of the best-known Polish film actresses of the pre-war era, as well as an outstanding dancer and a native of Toruń. Her life and career will provide the starting point for a musical journey through the history of Polish culture, cinema and song.

The festival programme has been divided into three themed weekends: “Helena Grossówna in the Leading Role”, “Toruń Masters in Memoriam” and “Pax Thorunensis”. Events will take place in Toruń, Chełmno and Zamek Bierzgłowski. Audiences will be able to attend symphonic, chamber, choral, organ, electroacoustic and carillon concerts, as well as meetings, lectures and educational events.

In reference to the Year of Film People, the first festival weekend has been entitled “Helena Grossówna in the Leading Role”. From 17 to 20 September, music, film, dance and the spoken word will evoke the memory of the artist, who was born and raised in Toruń before going on to achieve nationwide success on stage and screen.

Grossówna was one of the most popular stars of Polish cinema during the interwar period. She was not only an actress but also an accomplished dancer. Her talent, charm and stage energy made her one of the most distinctive figures of pre-war Polish popular culture.

On 17 September, the festival will open with a film-themed concert in the Burgher Hall of the Old Town Hall. Actress Magdalena Czerwińska will perform together with the Zielona Góra Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra conducted by Rafał Kłoczko. The evening will be hosted by Gabriela Ułanowska. The programme will feature some of the best-known songs and themes from Polish film music – from works by Henryk Wars and Jerzy Petersburski to the music of Wojciech Kilar. The audience will hear, among others, “Powróćmy jak za dawnych lat”, “Miłość ci wszystko wybaczy”, “Już taki jestem zimny drań”, “Umówiłem się z nią na dziewiątą” and “Walc Barbary” from the film Nights and Days. The music will be accompanied by excerpts from Helena Grossówna’s diaries and memoirs, interpreted by Magdalena Czerwińska. The concert will therefore be not only a presentation of hits from pre-war cinema but also a story about the artist herself. It is worth noting that both Magdalena Czerwińska and Rafał Kłoczko took their first artistic steps in Toruń, beginning their education at the local music school. Today, both are recognised representatives of their generation. Magdalena Czerwińska is a recipient of the Pola Negri Film Award of the Marshal of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship.

On 18 September, the Old Town Market Square will host the “Dance of the Bells” concert featuring the “Gdańsk” mobile carillon, performed by Magdalena Cynk. The carillon consists of 48 bells and is one of only a few concert instruments of its kind in Europe. The programme refers to one of Helena Grossówna’s greatest passions – dance. Alongside dance-inspired works such as kujawiaks, mazurkas and Astor Piazzolla’s Libertango, the programme will also include melodies associated with pre-war cinema, including music from the film Forgotten Melody, in which Grossówna appeared.

On 19 September, the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Music Theatre will resound with the greatest hits of the interwar period during the concert “Forgotten Melody”. Young vocalists Maria Cynk-Mikołajewska, Marta Cynk-Mikołajewska, Asia Czajkowska and Jakub Jarema Adamczak will revive songs by Henryk Wars, Jerzy Petersburski and Henryk Gold. The concert will transport the audience into the world of pre-war cabaret and cinema. It will be accompanied by a lecture by Marek Teler, historian and journalist and author of the biography Helena Grossówna. To Be an Optimist.

On 20 September, the first festival weekend will move to the Helena Grossówna House. At 3 p.m., there will be a screening of the 1938 film Forgotten Melody, directed by Konrad Tom. It is one of the best-known films associated with Grossówna and offers an opportunity to see the actress in one of her memorable roles.

In the evening, music will be combined with dance. The “Dance and Chamber Music” concert will feature Marta Zawadzka and the Toruń Symphony Orchestra String Quartet. The programme includes works by Grażyna Bacewicz, Joaquín Turina and Karol Szymanowski, as well as Magdalena Cynk’s Imaginations for String Quartet and arrangements of pre-war tangos, waltzes and foxtrots. Through movement, Marta Zawadzka’s choreography will present successive stages in Helena Grossówna’s life and career. Dance, one of the artist’s greatest passions, will thus become a language through which her story is told.

The day will conclude with a 1920s- and 1930s-style dance party at the European Youth Cooperation Centre. The “Ferajna Bydgoska” Street Band will invite the audience to dance to tangos, waltzes, foxtrots, songs and film hits from Grossówna’s era.

During the following festival days, the event will recall the legacy of Toruń composers Zygmunt Moczyński and Jan Michał Wieczorek and present new works by contemporary composers, including world premieres. Competitions, workshops, lectures and meetings with artists aimed at children, young people and adults will also remain an important part of the programme.

The 6th Young Music Festival will run from 17 September to 8 October 2026. The detailed programme.

Paweł Jankowski
Promotion Department

16 September 2026