Concerts
During the reign of the Vasa kings a royal orchestra was formed with the participation of foreign musicians, and a court theatre was created in the south wing. From 1628 Italian operas were performed there, as well as works commissioned by Ladislaus IV.
Thus it was at the Royal Castle that the very first operatic performance in Poland was staged.
The last Polish king, Stanislaus Augustus (patron of the arts and sciences), saw to it when renovating the Castle that a concert hall was built where spectacles could also be staged. He also revived the royal and theatre orchestra and engaged outstanding composers and performers from the whole of Europe. At that time the Castle’s concert programme had the same repertoire as the concert halls in Paris, London and Vienna.
Each year from October to December the Festival of Ancient Music is held at the Castle. It is organized in cooperation with the Warsaw branch of the Polish Association of Ancient Music, and in June and July concerts of the Warsaw Chamber Orchestra - as part of the Mozart Festival - are also held there.
Other events that are a permanent feature of the Castle’s musical calendar include original concert cycles. In recent years these have included: Poland for Europe, Music of Polish Towns and Cities, Mozart 1756-2006, Music of the European Courts (2007), Magical Voices (2008), Great Anniversaries (2009), Chopin 1810 - 2010 (2010), Music of the Noble Born (2011), Music of the Eastern Borderlands (2012), Jubilee Cycle (2013), Phoenix from the Ashes (2014), Patrons of Art (2015), 1050 Years in Music (2016), First Performances (2017), 100 Years of Independence (2018), The Vasa Year (2019).
We also invite you to the concerts given by Young Virtuosos – grant holders of the Polish Children’s Fund.
The concerts take place in The Great Assembly Hall and The Concert Hall.