About the festival
From the Balkans, through Romania and Austria, the Visegrad Group countries, to the Baltic States – we invite you to embark on a journey through the musical landscapes of Central and Eastern Europe.
The Eufonie Festival is an international music event that has been connecting the countries of Central and Eastern Europe since 2018. As one of the flagship projects of the National Centre for Culture Poland, it is an important element of Poland’s cultural policy, fostering and strengthening international cultural and diplomatic relations.
The festival aims to promote the cultural heritage of the countries that today constitute Central and Eastern Europe. This region is a fascinating melting pot whose complexity can be discovered through the diversity of the compositions and artists presented. One of the Eufonie Festival’s distinctive features is its combination of tradition and innovation: it draws on musical heritage while presenting entirely new and previously undiscovered sounds. Moreover, the festival showcases music from different eras and styles.
The programme of concerts and accompanying events, together with the invited artists and the ever-growing audience, serves as a powerful force connecting the countries of the region. With each edition, the festival extends its activities further beyond Warsaw, highlighting the importance of decentralisation and the networking role of culture, particularly the universal language of music. As a result, the festival continues to develop a network of partnerships with institutions and organisations in Poland and abroad.
The Eufonie Festival is an interdisciplinary event and the only one of its kind. Through the shared experience of listening to music, it encourages people to discover each other’s cultural richness, engage in dialogue with neighbouring countries, and participate in artistic exchange across Central and Eastern Europe.
Altersounds
Altersounds is a distinct strand of the festival programme – an alternative concert series that has been part of Eufonie since its inaugural edition. However, it was not given its official name until 2024. Altersounds encompasses a wide range of styles, with contemporary electronic and improvised music particularly well represented. These genres are often better suited to intimate venues, clubs, and galleries than to large philharmonic concert halls. Over the years, Altersounds has featured such artists as: Biosphere, Deathprod, Francesco Tristano, Jacaszek, Thomas Strønen, Stefan Wesołowski, Skalpel, Bastarda, Alvin Curran, Jacek Sienkiewicz, Oval, Vakula, Zavoloka, Voin Oruwu, Monodia Polska & Adam Strug, Małe Instrumenty, Polski Piach, Hatti Vatti, Bester Quartet & Grażyna Auguścik, and Michał Barański.
Festival name
The festival takes its name from the word euphonia (from the Greek ευφωνία), meaning harmonious sounds or well-matched elements. Its visual identity combines the letter “f” from the festival name with the sound hole of a violin, cello, or double bass.
Organisers
The International Music Festival of Central and Eastern Europe Eufonie is organised by the National Centre for Culture Poland and funded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
Eufonie
Previous editions
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IDEA OF THE FESTIVAL
„Afterimages and Afterglows”
7th edition of the International Music Festival of Central and Eastern Europe
Music that, despite its transience, leaves a lasting mark on the memory – such was the seventh edition of the Eufonie International Festival of Central and Eastern European Music. This time the theme was “Afterimages and Afterglows ” – a metaphor for subtle illusions and fixed impressions that remain in us long after the lights go out and the last sound resounds.
Last year’s Eufonie was a journey to the turn of the century, the birth of modernity and the end of grand – including musical – narratives. From classical masterpieces to modern reinterpretations, from the sacred and meditative to the grotesque and dance, from traditional music to experiment, and the common denominator for this mosaic of styles and genres is similarity, affinity, proximity and community.
With the concerts we were set off from Warsaw to Katowice, Opole, Olsztyn, Krakow, Lodz, Gdansk, Luslawice, Debica and Bucharest.
The program included 9 classical concerts and 5 Alterfonia concerts.