The 61st Andrzej Markowski International Festival Wratislavia Cantans concluded in Wrocław on 13 September 2026, ending an eleven-day programme that ran from 3 September across venues throughout the city and Lower Silesia.
This year’s edition carried the theme “The Shadow Line” - drawn from Joseph Conrad’s novella of the same name - and structured its programming around the idea of thresholds: between youth and maturity, certainty and doubt, the known and the unknown. Conrad’s Polish origins made the literary connection especially resonant in a Polish context.
What the Festival Is
Wratislavia Cantans is one of the most significant international festivals of oratorio and cantata music in Europe. Founded in 1966 and named after composer Andrzej Markowski - a key figure in postwar Polish musical life - the festival has grown over six decades into an event that attracts leading early music ensembles, symphony orchestras, and vocal soloists from across Europe and beyond.
The format centres on large-scale vocal-symphonic works: oratorios, masses, cantatas, and passion settings from across the entire Western tradition. Baroque masterworks appear alongside twentieth-century compositions and occasional premieres.
2026 Programme Highlights
The 2026 edition used the NFM (National Forum of Music) in Wrocław as its primary venue, with additional performances at churches and concert spaces across Lower Silesia. The 61st festival’s programming leaned toward the Romantic era, reflecting the “Shadow Line” theme’s emotional arc - Brahms’s German Requiem, Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius, and Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater featured among the centrepiece concerts.
Polish works received particular attention as the festival marked its 61st year: several cantatas by lesser-performed twentieth-century Polish composers received their first major festival performances in a generation.
Wrocław as a Music City
Wrocław has invested significantly in concert infrastructure over the past decade, and the NFM, which opened in 2015, is one of the finest purpose-built concert halls in Central Europe - its acoustics compare favourably with the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg and the Philharmonie de Paris among newer halls.
The city’s musical calendar extends well beyond Wratislavia Cantans. The Wrocław Baroque Orchestra holds a resident season at the NFM; the Wrocław Philharmonic runs a full symphonic programme; and the city’s opera house hosts productions from September through June.
For visitors combining a cultural itinerary with sightseeing, Wrocław rewards a stay of at least three days. The market square (Rynek), the cathedral island (Ostrów Tumski), and the university buildings are all within a walkable radius of the NFM. To get oriented quickly, Wrocław guided tours cover the Rynek and Ostrów Tumski in a half-day. Kraków is three hours west by train and often combined in a Poland cultural itinerary.
The Festival Returns in September 2027
Wratislavia Cantans runs annually in early September. The 62nd edition in 2027 will again be anchored at the NFM, with the theme and programme expected to be announced in early spring. For those planning ahead, Wrocław in September offers the cultural depth of the festival alongside weather that is reliably better than the summer in terms of heat and crowds.
Full festival documentation, recordings from past editions, and the forthcoming 2027 programme are available through the National Forum of Music website and the official festival channels.