Eufonie 2025 International Music Festival of Central and Eastern Europe – “Afterglows & Afterimages”

The Eufonie International Music Festival of Central and Eastern Europe will invite visitors to discover the cultural richness of the region for the seventh time. This year’s edition, titled “Afterglows & Afterimages”, will take place from 13 November to 7 December 2025 in ten cities, including Warsaw, Kraków, Gdańsk, and Bucharest. A highlight of the Festival will be a special concert by the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra at the Karol Szymanowski Philharmonic in Kraków on 30 November 2025, marking the culmination of the Poland-Romania Cultural Season 2024–2025. The Adam Mickiewicz Institute is a partner of this year’s edition of the Festival.

A journey through the music of Central and Eastern Europe: “Afterglows & Afterimages”

The Eufonie International Music Festival of Central and Eastern Europe offers audiences a journey through the diverse musical landscapes of the region. Central and Eastern Europe is a fascinating cultural melting pot, allowing visitors to discover its richness and complexity through the diversity of works and artists presented. The idea behind the festival is to promote the cultural heritage of this area – its traditions, history, and modern interpretations. On the one hand, Eufonie draws on the achievements of past eras, and on the other, it embraces entirely new sounds.

The seventh edition of the festival is held under the slogan “Afterglows & Afterimages”. This serves as a metaphor for music which, despite its fleeting nature, leaves a lasting impression: subtle illusions and impressions that accompany listeners long after the lights go out and the final note has faded away. This year’s programme is a journey through time – to the turn of the century, the birth of modernity, and the end of grand narratives. From classical masterpieces to contemporary reinterpretations, from the sacred and meditative to the grotesque and dance, from traditional music to experimentation – the common denominator of this diverse mosaic is kinship, closeness, and community.

Eufonie 2025 programme – concerts, recitals, and sound installations

The Eufonie Festival concerts will take place in concert halls in Warsaw, Katowice, Opole, Olsztyn, Kraków, Łódź, Gdańsk, Lusławice, Dębica, and Bucharest. The programme includes symphony concerts, Chopin recitals, sound installations, and partner concerts – a total of 30 events.

The Eufonie International Music Festival of Central and Eastern Europe 2025

• 13 November 2025, 7:00 p.m. – Katowice, NOSPR – “Polish Fantasy”

• 14 November 2025, 6:00 p.m. – Warsaw, Royal Castle – “Kinship: Chopin / Moniuszko / Elsner / Lessel / Kurpiński”

• 15 November 2025, 6:00 p.m. – Opole, Józef Elsner Opole Philharmonic – “Dvořák – Symphony »From the New World« | Shemet | Silesian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra”

• 17 November 2025, 7:00 p.m. – Warsaw, Grand Theatre – National Opera – “Experiences: Mendelssohn / Mahler”

• 19 November 2025, 5:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m. – Warsaw, Royal Castle – “Chopin Recitals / Dubiel, Sereda, Łozowska”

• 19 November 2025, 7:00 p.m. – Olsztyn, Warmia and Mazury Philharmonic – “Trpčeski / Makedonissimo”

• 20 November 2025, 5:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m. – Warsaw, Royal Castle – “Chopin Recitals / Sacharzewska, Kałduński, Żołnacz”

• 20 November 2025, 8:00 p.m. – Łódź, Museum of Cinematography – “Polski Piach plays Reksio”

• 21 November 2025, 5:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m. – Warsaw, Royal Castle – “Chopin Recitals / Szymanowski, Tomica, Wieczorek”

• 21 November 2025, 7:00 p.m. – Katowice, Silesian Philharmonic – “Golden Baton – Tzigane | Choir | Symphony Orchestra | Brahms – Symphony No. 1”

• 22 November 2025, 6:00 p.m. – Warsaw, Royal Castle – “Masks: Szymanowski / Bacewicz / Bacevičius”

• 22 November 2025, 7:00 p.m. – Gdańsk, St. John’s Centre / Baltic Sea Cultural Centre – “Stefan Wesołowski / Song of the Night Mists”

• 23 November 2025, 6:00 p.m. – Łódź, Academy of Music – “Masks: Szymanowski / Bacewicz / Bacevičius”

• 23 November 2025, 6:00 p.m. – Warsaw, National Philharmonic – “Reflections: Dvořák / Knapik”

• 24 November 2025, 7:00 p.m. – Kraków, Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology – “Masks: Szymanowski / Bacewicz / Bacevičius”

• 24 November 2025, 8:00 p.m. – Warsaw, Klub Niebo – “Polski Piach plays Reksio”

• 25 November 2025, 8:00 p.m. – Warsaw, Klub Niebo – “Hatti Vatti / Zeit”

• 27 November 2025, 7:30 p.m. – Warsaw, National Philharmonic – “Messengers: Bach / Schubert / Čiurlionis”

• 28 November 2025, 7:00 p.m. – Bucharest, The Romanian Athenaeum – “George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra – symphony concert”

• 28 November 2025, 7:30 p.m. – Warsaw, National Philharmonic – “Passion: Penderecki”

• 29 November 2025, 6:00 p.m. – Lusławice, Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre for Music – “Passion: Penderecki”

• 29 November 2025, 6:00 p.m. – Warsaw, National Philharmonic – “Impulses: Enescu / Weinberg / Kodály”

• 29 November 2025, 7:00 p.m. – Gdańsk, Baltic Sea Cultural Centre – “Polski Piach plays Reksio”

• 29 November 2025, 7:30 p.m. – Warsaw, Butelkownia – “The nature of the world / Karolina Mikołajczyk and Iwo Jedynecki’

• 30 November 2025, 6:00 p.m. – Warsaw, National Philharmonic – “Fratres: Parać / Pärt / Šipuš”

• 30 November 2025, 6:00 p.m. – Kraków, Karol Szymanowski Philharmonic – “George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra – symphonic concert”

• 1 December 2025, 7:30 p.m. – Warsaw, National Philharmonic – “Journeys: Enescu / Dvořák”

• 6 December 2025, 6:00 p.m. – Kraków, Karol Szymanowski Philharmonic – “Quo Vadis / Nowowiejski”

• 7 December 2025, 6:00 p.m. – Dębica, Mors Cultural Centre – “Passion: Penderecki”

• 24 October 2025 – 25 January 2026 – Kraków, MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art – Konrad Smoleński’s installation “Everything Was Forever Until It Was No More”

The Eufonie Festival is organised by the National Centre for Culture with funding from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage.

Eufonie in Kraków to conclude the Poland–Romania Cultural Season 2024–2025

The Adam Mickiewicz Institute is a partner of this year’s edition of the Eufonie Festival. Special events for the AMI include the concerts “Journeys: Enescu / Dvořák” on 30 November 2025 in Kraków, at the Karol Szymanowski Philharmonic, and on 1 December 2025 in Warsaw, at the National Philharmonic. Both George Enescu from Romania and Antonín Dvořák from the Czech Republic drew on the musical traditions of their nations to create a distinctive musical language that gave local inspirations a universal and timeless dimension. The George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Gabriel Bebeșelea, with Jaemin Han as cello soloist, will perform before audiences in both Polish cities.

These events mark the culmination of the Poland–Romania Cultural Season 2024–2025, summarising almost two years of artistic cooperation. Organised for the first time in the history of Polish–Romanian relations, the Season is the result of collaboration between the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, the Polish Institute in Bucharest, the Romanian Ministry of Culture, and the Romanian Cultural Institute. The project brings together artists, institutions, and audiences, highlighting the importance of cultural cooperation and artistic exchange between Poland and Romania. It includes numerous concerts, residencies, and events showcasing the shared sensibility and openness of both nations.

Concert programme of the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra in Kraków and Warsaw

George Enescu (1881–1955)

• Romanian Rhapsody in A major, Op. 11 No. 1 (1901)

• Symphony Concerto in B minor, Op. 8, for cello and orchestra (1901)

Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904)

• Symphony No. 6 in D major, Op. 60 (1880)