The 69th International Festival of Contemporary Music Warsaw Autumn takes place from 16 to 27 September 2026, bringing new music, premieres, electronic works and experimental performances to venues across the capital.
This year's festival is presented under the theme “Signs”, exploring the meanings and structures beneath the sounds and images that surround us. The programme moves between music responding to contemporary life and works that turn away from current affairs to focus on sound, structure and artistic expression.
Among the highlights are three new works: Krzysztof Knittel's forMIA for improvised violin, percussion, electronics and chamber orchestra, Mateusz Śmigasiewicz's strefa zaniku for orchestra and electronics, and Adam Porębski's Postmuzyka for chamber orchestra and electronics. All three receive their world premieres at the festival.
The programme also includes the Polish premiere of Annesley Black's A sound, a narrow, a channel, an inlet, the straits, the barrens, the stretch of a neck, performed by a large orchestra arranged spatially around the audience.
Alongside the main concerts, Warsaw Autumn features performances, multimedia projects, installations, artist meetings and educational events. Mała Warszawska Jesień offers a programme aimed at children and families, including site-specific and participatory projects.
Organised by the Polish Composers' Union since 1956, Warsaw Autumn remains one of the most important contemporary music festivals in Poland, attracting composers and performers from across the country and internationally.
Warsaw Autumn 2026
16–27 September 2026
Various venues across Warsaw
The full programme is available on the Warsaw Autumn official website.
See more: Tilda Swinton – Ongoing Brings Four Decades of Creative Collaborations to Warsaw
Source: Warszawska Jesień
