The 8th Sinfonia Varsovia for Its City Festival is held in Warsaw from September 1 till 14. Dedicated to Franciszek Wybrańczyk, the late longstanding director of the Sinfonia Varsovia and the Polish Chamber Orchestra, it is organised by the Sinfonia Varsovia Foundation and the Studio Art Centre. The idea is to present major works by international classics and Polish works performed by the renowned Sinfonia Varsovia orchestra under recognised conductors and featuring outstanding soloists. This time the conductors are Jerzy Maksymiuk, Krzysztof Penderecki and Marc Minkowski. The orchestra, which has successfully given concerts all over the world, is mainly associated with Yehudi Menuhin and Krzysztof Penderecki, who both greatly influenced its development. Since 1997 Penderecki served as its music director, and since 2003 he has been the orchestra’s artistic director. In 2008 the post of music director was taken over by the internationally acclaimed conductor Marc Minkowski.

The 7th Festival of Four Cultures takes place in the city of Łódź Sept 5-13. It refers to the city’s multicultural past. In Łódź Polish, Jewish, Russian, German and Austrian cultures created a special blend. Several dozen artistic events are held as part of the festival. The formula encompasses classical, jazz, pop and ethnic music concerts, theatre productions, film showings, exhibitions and academic conferences. This year’s festival sees a retrospective of works by the late visionary theatre director Tadeusz Kantor. Video presentations of his recorded productions will be shown, including ‘Dead Class”, “Wielopole, Wielopole”, “Let the Artists Perish” and “Today Is My Birthday”. They will be accompanied by a narrative by Małgorzata Dziewulska, as well as lectures on various aspects of Tadeusz Kantor’s work. The music event of the festival will be an appearance by the Exploding Star Orchestra, an international band of fourteen Chicago jazzmen, known as one of the most progressive jazz bands in the world. One of the most captivating visual art projects will be an exhibition entitled “To Be Continued”. A group of fifteen artists invited to take part in the project will execute their works in a condemned building in the centre of Łódź. The artists include Grupa Sędzia Główny (Aleksandra Kubiak, Karolina Wiktor), Kamil Kuskowski, Agata Michowska, Anna Orlikowska, Józef Robakowski, Jakub Stępień and Ryszard Waśko.

September 13-21 in Krakow sees the Sixth Sacrum-Profanum Festival, whose idea is to spotlight instrumental and vocal-and-instrumental masterpieces arranged in a geographical order. Individual concerts are devoted to individual 19th and 20th century composers representing different nations
Following presentations of Austrian (2004), Russian (2005), French (2006) and US (2007) composers, the sixth edition of the festival will feature works by German composers. The star attraction will be the legendary band Kraftwerk, which will play three gigs at the ArcelorMittal Poland steelworks in Krakow Sept 19-21.

The 33rd Polish Feature Film Festival lasts from September 15-20 in the coastal city of Gdynia. The grand prix of the festival, recognised as the most important such event in Poland, is known as the Golden Lion award, which goes to the best film and director. Prizes are awarded in other categories, too, including the ‘longest applause’ prize. Side-line presentations include an independent cinema competition featuring several dozen Polish productions made in 2007. A competition of etudes and feature films by film college students and graduates is also held.

Treasures of Vilnius Cathedral in the Lithuanian capital go on display at the Royal Castle in Warsaw from September 28. The show then travels to Wawel castle in Krakow, where it will be held from October 15 to January 15. This is the first exhibition of its kind outside Lithuania. Considered by the people of Lithuania as a very important part of their cultural heritage, the collection is now one of the richest church collections in Central Europe. It encompasses goldsmiths’ works made for both lay and religious historical figures. The priceless pieces of decorative art are made by Polish, Lithuanian and West European artisans. They bring out the close links between Poland and Lithuania, which were once separate states, but formed a union that lasted more than two hundred years. The exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue of works enriched with several essays by Lithuanian academics devoted to the history of Vilnius diocese and the cathedral itself. The exhibition is a joint undertaking of the Royal Castle in Warsaw and the Metropolitan Curia in Vilnius, the owner of the collection.

An exhibition devoted to social posters from the 20th century and the early 21st century is to be mounted at the Poster Museum in the Warsaw suburb of Wilanów between September 18 and October 31. It marks the fortieth anniversary of the gallery. Posters urging the public not to indulge in binge drinking will appear next to anti-war, ecological and work safety posters, as well as posters promoting healthy lifestyles. The show encompasses works from the Stalinist period, 1960s posters featuring communist propaganda, as well as modern posters warning against AIDS or threats to the environment. “We would like to show political discourse hiding behind slogans, but also to evoke nostalgia among Polish spectators by evoking images that became fixed in the collective memory. The point is to give spectators a taste of the climate of the epoch, to take them on a sentimental journey through the 20th century, giving them an insight into the beginnings of the modern world of the media and advertising. The show celebrates the fortieth anniversary6 of the Poster Museum in Wilanów by featuring its best and most colourful exhibits. We hope that the exhibition will offer a real feast both to amateurs and specialists” Rafał Nowakowski of the Poster Department says.

In the autumn the Baltic city of Gdańsk turns into a capital of the music video. The makers of videos, representatives of record labels and broadcasters converge on Gdańsk to take part in the 17th Yach Film Polish Video Festival to last from October 10 till 12. Yach Film is the only event of its kind in Poland. Prizes are given to the best makers of Polish videos. The event also includes the music animated film festival, another event devoted to videos from Scandinavia and the Baltic states, known as Amber Eye, and a children’s video festival.

Alicia Keys gives a single concert in Warsaw on October 15. The ten times winner of the Grammy Award will play the Torwar to promote her latest album “As I Am”. Alicia has developed her unique style, which is a blend of hip hop and soul, while combining powerful vocals with pianist’s skills. She is often compared to the soul legend Roberta Flack. The concert is organised by the leading producer of jazz events in Poland Mariusz Adamiak.