New contemporary music: concerts by Hashtag Ensemble and Cantus Ensemble in Poland and Croatia

In October 2025, audiences in Poland and Croatia will have the opportunity to participate in unique artistic events. Leading contemporary music ensembles – Hashtag Ensemble from Poland and Cantus Ensemble from Croatia – will join forces in an international concert project, presenting the latest music by young Polish and Croatian composers. On 18 October 2025, Cantus Ensemble will perform at the Hashtag Lab Contemporary Music Space in Warsaw. The project is supported by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.

International cooperation in new contemporary music 2025 – artistic exchange between Poland and Croatia

The autumn concerts are the result of a collaboration between two renowned ensembles: Hashtag Ensemble from Poland and Cantus Ensemble from Croatia. The aim of the project is to present the latest works in contemporary music from both countries. As part of the artistic exchange, Hashtag Ensemble performed in Zagreb at the invitation of Cantus Ensemble, and the Croatian ensemble will present its repertoire in Warsaw. This collaboration provides a valuable opportunity to exchange experiences, meet new artists, and learn about inspiring ideas and creative practices from two different European countries.

Both ensembles share a common artistic vision and a strong commitment to the development of contemporary music. For over six months, they have been working on a formula for creative collaboration aimed at promoting contemporary classical music and fostering international exchange. The concerts serve not only as a platform for artistic dialogue but also as an opportunity to present innovative sounds to a wide audience. This is a meeting of two dynamic and creative musical communities united by their passion for exploring new forms of expression and supporting contemporary composers.

Cantus Ensemble – Croatian Contemporary Music Ensemble to Perform in Warsaw

Cantus Ensemble is a leading Croatian contemporary music group that has been active continuously since 2001. It was founded on the initiative of the organisers of the Music Biennale Zagreb festival as a temporary project, but thanks to the enthusiastic response and dedication of its musicians, it soon evolved into a permanent ensemble. For almost two decades, Cantus Ensemble has remained true to its mission: to interpret contemporary music with a focus on artistic quality rather than mere avant-garde novelty. The group presents new music of the 20th and 21st centuries on stages around the world.

On Saturday, 18 October 2025, at 7 pm, the Hashtag Lab Contemporary Music Space (ul. Barska 29, Warsaw) will host a concert entitled “Cantus Ensemble: New Music, New Friends”. The musicians will perform a varied programme of works by Croatian composers, including two world premieres. One of them – a new composition by Żaneta Rydzewska, Top Five – will bring both ensembles together on stage: Cantus Ensemble and Hashtag Ensemble. Tickets and more information are available at: hashtaglab.pl.

The evening’s programme:

• Ivan Josip Skender: “5 Croquis for Three”

• Berislav Šipuš: “Dick Tracy and the Most Peculiar Case of All – Falling in Love”

• Ante Knešaurek: “O jednom trenutku osamljenosti” (“About a Moment of Solitude”)

• Żaneta Rydzewska: “Top Five” (premiere)

• Dubravko Palanović: “Priča o izgubljenoj vjeri” (“A Tale of Lost Faith”) (premiere)

• Sanda Majurec: “I ritorni”

The Cantus Ensemble line-up for Saturday’s concert includes: Teo Devčić (violin), Tvrtko Pavlin (viola), Jasen Chelfi (cello), Ana Batinica (flute), Iva Ledenko (oboe), Danijel Martinović (clarinet), Srebrenka Poljak (piano), and Fran Krsto Šercer (percussion). The artistic director and conductor of the ensemble is Berislav Šipuš. 

Hashtag Ensemble – Warsaw Collective Presents Polish New Music in Zagreb

On 13 October 2025, at 8 pm, a concert entitled “Polish Young New Music” took place in the Small Hall of the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall in Zagreb. According to the audience, it offered a fresh, energetic and experimentally performed vision of contemporary Polish music in the Croatian capital. The concert programme featured works by six internationally acclaimed composers whose music boldly engages with social, political and environmental issues, while showcasing diverse and expressive aesthetics. For more information, please visit the website https://www.cantus-ansambl.com/en

The programme includes the following pieces:

• Paweł Malinowski: “Paradise Blue (We’d Never Be Apart)”

• Angelica Negrón: “Dust”

• Margareta Ferek Petrić: “Climate Burnout”

• Aleksandra Kaca: “Coal”

• Agata Zemla: “Bee or Not to Bee”

• Wojciech Błażejczyk: “Aether”

Hashtag Ensemble is a Warsaw-based contemporary music collective founded in 2013, bringing together 18 artists. The ensemble combines score performance with improvisation, conducts educational activities and actively participates in festival life in Poland and abroad. It is known for breaking away from traditional concert forms, often presenting its programmes in unconventional venues and thereby broadening the audience for contemporary music. The following artists performed on the Croatian stage: Małgorzata Hlawsa (flute), Adam Eljasiński (clarinet), Paweł Janas (accordion), Marta Piórkowska (violin), Aleksandra Demowska-Madejska (viola), Dominik Płociński (cello), Tymoteusz Bies (piano), and Wojciech Błażejczyk (electric guitar and electronics).

Cultural Dialogue and a Shared Artistic Mission – AMI Supports Artists

The collaboration between Hashtag Ensemble and Cantus Ensemble unites two groups with an established position in the field of contemporary music, recognised for their openness to new forms of expression and their engagement in international artistic initiatives. Both ensembles regularly perform at prestigious festivals in Europe and beyond, presenting programmes that combine outstanding artistic quality with relevant social themes. The concert project planned for autumn 2025 is not only a Polish–Croatian repertoire exchange, but also a deeply rooted intercultural dialogue – an artistic conversation that transcends the boundaries of language and geography, opening up space for shared experience and creation.

The cooperation project is co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage and implemented with the support of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.