Unconventional, unpredictable, unbridled… Indeed! This autumn, the SILENCE Music Festival of boundless inventiveness returns to the Radziwiłł Palace in Balice and other Kraków venues.

The program 24 Sorrows Are Our Ordinary Day will feature 24-part compositions by Chopin, Bach, Paganini, and Debussy—spread across a 24-hour span—accompanied by a live massage. Snails à la Polonaise will blend music and cuisine, all served with a French sauce, naturally. The Homeless God will bring together Schubert’s masterpiece Winterreise with rap, punk, and techno; the production is directed by Kamil Białaszek, a leading voice of the young generation of theatre artists. Estera Wityńska’s Growing into Silence will receive its premiere; as the work is designed to "age" over time, cellist Barbara Łypik-Sobaniec and 13-year-old acrobatic dancer Alicja Południak will perform it across 17 consecutive festival editions, continuing until the dancer turns 30.

The lineup of performers for SILENCE also includes pianists Yehuda Prokopowicz and Giorgi Gigashvili (presenting the recitals Chapeau bas! and GIGASH!, respectively), violinist Robert Bachara, harpsichordist Aleksander Mocek, and ensembles such as the Royal String Quartet, Malawski Trio, and Mauris Ensemble. Audience members will also get involved; as part of the In Need of Renovation initiative, they can participate in the collective cleaning of an 1849 Krall & Seidler piano.

3 September 2026, 7pm
Kraków Cultural Forum
CHAPEAU BAS!
Yehuda Prokopowicz – piano
Fryderyk Chopin Mazurkas from Op. 17, 33 i 59 (selection)
Fryderyk Chopin Ballade in F minor, Op. 52
Franz Liszt Études d’exécution transcendante: X. Appassionata
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Franz Liszt Études d’exécution transcendante: XI. Harmonies du Soir
Fryderyk Chopin Berceuse, Op. 57
Maria Szymanowska Vingt exercices et préludes: No. 4 in G minor, No. 19 in A flat major, No. 16 in E flat major
Béla Bartók Piano Sonata Sz. 80

6 September 2026, 6pm
Radziwiłł Palace, Balice
KRZYSZTOF, FLORESTAN AND EUZEBIUS
Royal String Quartet:
Izabella Szałaj-Zimak – I violin
Elwira Przybyłowska – II violin
Paulina Czarny – viola
Sebastian Kozub – cello
and
Mateusz Zubik – piano
Krzysztof Penderecki String Quartet No. 3 “Leaves of an Unwritten Diary”
Robert Schumann Piano Quintet in E flat major, Op. 44

11–12 September 2026
Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts
24 SORROWS ARE OUR ORDINARY DAY
11 September (Friday)
6pm
Aleksander Mocek – harpsichord
Johann Sebastian Bach Das Wohltemperierte Klavier I (No. 1–12)
7:30 pm
Aurelia Vișovan – piano
Claude Debussy Préludes, Livre I (No. 1–12)
8:30 pm
Robert Bachara – violin
Niccolò Paganini 24 Capricci per violino solo, Op. 1 (No. 1–12)
12 September (Saturday)
6pm
Aleksander Mocek – harpsichord
Johann Sebastian Bach Das Wohltemperierte Klavier I (No. 13–24)
7:30 pm
Robert Bachara – violin
Niccolò Paganini 24 Capricci per violino solo, Op. 1 (No. 13–24)
8:30 pm
Piotr Kowal – piano
Claude Debussy Préludes, Livre II
9:30 pm
Tomasz Marut – piano
Fryderyk Chopin 24 Preludes, Op. 28

13 September 2026, 6pm
Radziwiłł Palace, Balice
SNAILS À LA POLONAISE
Adrian Nowak – harp
Mauris Ensamble:
Jan Czyżewski – viola
Magdalena Di Blasi – flute
Louis Couperin Prélude non mesuré no 13 en fa majeur from the cycle Pièces de clavecin du manuscrit Bauyn
Erik Satie Peccadilles Importunes
Alphonse Hasselman Lamento, Op. 23
Marcel Grandjany Frère Jacques, Fantaisie pour harpe, Op. 32
Cécile Chaminade Méditation, from the cycle 6 Romances sans paroles, Op. 76 No. 6
Jules Massenet Méditation, from the opera Thaïs for viola and harp
***
Claude Debussy La fille aux cheveux de lin
Adrian Nowak Traité expérimental de métamorphose harpistique appliqué à « Et si tu n’existais pas »
Marcel Tournier Féerie, Prélude et Danse
Jean-Michel Damase Trio, Op. 1 pour flûte, alto et harpe
Bartek Jurkiewicz/Przemek Kowalewski-Jachym/Marcin Kowalewski-Jachym – cuisine

18, 19, 20 September 2026, 7pm
Radziwiłł Palace and Park, Balice
THE HOMELESS GOD
Franz Schubert/Mateusz Augustyn/Mateusz Zubik – music
Wilhelm Müller – text (in original language version and translated by Jacek Dehnel)
Kamil Białaszek – direction
Julia Zawadzka – scenography/costumes
Michał Mitoraj – video
Olga Bury/Piotr Stanek – choreography
Małgorzata Kasińska – production
***
Olivier Woodcock – Miller
Margaux Kier – Poetess
Sebastian Szumski – Poet
Natalia Szczypka – Beloved
Agnieszka Ferenc, Olga Bury, Daniel Leżoń, Agata Jędrzejczak, Magdalena Malik, Mateusz Wierzbicki – Demons
Mateusz Zubik – piano
Barbara Łypik-Sobaniec – cello

27 September 2026, 6pm
Radziwiłł Palace, Balice
AT THE END OF TIMEAlicja Południak – dance
Barbara Łypik-Sobaniec – cello
Malawski Trio:
Sławomir Cierpik – piano
Maciej Lulek – violin
Barbara Łypik-Sobaniec – cello
and
Piotr Lato – clarinet
Estera Wityńska growing into silence (world premiere)
Olivier Messiaen Quatuor pour la fin du Temps

4 Ocotber 2026, 7pm
Hevre
GIGASH!
Giorgi Gigashvili – piano
Fryderyk Chopin Nocturnes, Op. 48
Fryderyk Chopin Nocturnes, Op. 55
Fryderyk Chopin Nocturnes, Op. 62
***
Franz Liszt Ballade No. 2 in B minor S. 171
Franz Liszt Sonetto 104 del Petrarca (from the cycle Années de pèlerinage. Deuxième année: Italie S. 161)
Franz Liszt Vallée d’Obermann (from the cycle Années de pèlerinage. Première année: Suisse S. 160)
Franz Liszt Mephisto-Walzer Nr 1  „Der Tanz in der Dorfschenke”

6–27 September 2026
Radziwiłł Palace, Balice
IN NEED OF RENOVATION
Performative collective cleaning of an 1849 Krall & Seidler piano.