The Concept of Polish Music: In Search of Adequate Criteria

The article discusses the notion of Polish music, the possibilities of defining that notion, establishing its scope and listing specific problems related to it. For about 150 years, writers on Polish music have expressed the conviction that it has its own distinctive stylistic and expressive character. Studies concerning the specific qualities of Polish national style after WWII have naturally linked up to Polish music history, mainly that of the 19th century. The new political and cultural situation in Poland after 1989 calls, however, for a change of perspective. We must take into account the present-day cultural situation, in which boundaries are blurred, while supra-national structures and global thinking are beginning to dominate.

The paper attempts to define Polish music as a notion in contemporary discourse on history, to examine the resonance of that category, and to point to artistic phenomena which this notion may be said to describe. I will list and analyse the criteria that have been used to define that notion. Though the problem concerns the history of Polish music at large, the cognitive situation is particularly complex and ambivalent with reference to the 19th century. I will discuss the most common ways of defining the criterion of Polishness in music, namely: the origins and nationality of the composers; their place of activity; references to Polish music traditions, and the expressive qualities of the music itself. In the conclusion, I will present my thesis concerning the possibility of defining Polish music.