Muzyka

Music in Silesia: concerts at NOSPR, the Bielsko Cultural Centre and the Częstochowa Philharmonic, plus dozens of other towns.

Anyone looking for a concert in the Silesian Voivodeship is best off starting with the venue, because the room says most about the evening: a symphonic hall, a community cultural centre, a club or a palace room in a park. The music calendar holds more than six hundred events, and most of them take place in Katowice, though concerts are held in dozens of towns across the region.

Where in Silesia should you look for concerts first?

Katowice has the most concerts, with more than two hundred music events in the calendar. Bielsko-Biała, Częstochowa, Zabrze and Sosnowiec follow. Outside the conurbation, it is worth checking Świerklaniec, Jaworzno, Pszczyna and Racibórz, which each have a dozen or so concerts in the calendar.

The regional capital is covered on Music: Katowice, and the wider picture of the city, with theatre and cinema, on Katowice. In Bielsko-Biała music has its own page, Music: Bielsko-Biała, and Częstochowa has Music: Częstochowa. Visitors based in the western part of the conurbation can check music in Zabrze, and those in the Dąbrowa Basin music in Sosnowiec.

Smaller centres have fewer concerts, but they tend to draw an audience from the surrounding area. The calendar lists Chorzów, Jaworzno, Piekary Śląskie, Gliwice, Ruda Śląska, Mysłowice, Bytom, Żywiec, Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Tychy and Lubliniec among them. You will find their town pages at addresses such as Gliwice, Chorzów and Żywiec.

Which Katowice venues host concerts?

Katowice offers a wide range of concert rooms: from the concert hall and chamber hall of NOSPR, through the congress centre and Katowice Miasto Ogrodów, to Scena Gliwicka 120 and Energy2000 Katowice. The type of room hints at the type of evening, so it pays to look at the venue before choosing a date.

NOSPR Katowice has many events in the calendar and two stages: a concert hall and a chamber hall. The names suggest that the first is meant for larger ensembles and the second for more intimate programmes. The Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Narodowa Orkiestra Symfoniczna Polskiego Radia, is also based in the city, and its events appear in the calendar less often but regularly.

These buildings stand on the site of the former Katowice coal mine and, together with the International Congress Centre and a museum, make up the Culture Zone, located next to the Spodek arena from 1971. The story of the complex, built in 2011-2015, is told in the article Z kopalni Katowice do Strefy Kultury: MCK, Spodek i miasto muzyki, which explains why so many halls stand in one place.

Katowice Miasto Ogrodów is a cultural institution named after Krystyna Bochenek. Scena Gliwicka 120 and Energy2000 Katowice also have many events in the calendar, so they are worth checking whenever you plan a concert in the city. Beyond these rooms, Katowice lists more than two hundred music events, so every weekend offers a choice.

What is on outside Katowice: Bielsko-Biała, Częstochowa and the Dąbrowa Basin?

Outside Katowice the biggest clusters of concerts are in Bielsko-Biała, Częstochowa and Sosnowiec. Each of these towns has at least one large hall with an established place in the calendar, plus several smaller stages and clubs.

Bielsko-Biała and the foothills of the Beskids

In Bielsko-Biała concerts take place chiefly at the Bielskie Centrum Kultury and at Cavatina Hall, both with many events in the calendar. Rudeboy Club has a club character. The town is second in the region for the number of concerts, and in nearby Żywiec the calendar adds the Miejskie Centrum Kultury. For everything in the town, including theatre and cinema, see Bielsko-Biała.

Częstochowa

Częstochowa has the Filharmonia Częstochowska, whose main hall and chamber hall both appear in the calendar, and the Akademickie Centrum Kultury - Klub Politechnik, with a large number of events. Everything in the city is gathered at Częstochowa. When choosing a hall, remember that a philharmonic concert and a concert in a student club are very different evenings.

Sosnowiec and the Dąbrowa Basin

In Sosnowiec concerts gather at the Sala Widowiskowo-Koncertowa MUZA, which has many events in the calendar, and at Komin Music Cafe, a smaller venue with fewer concerts. In neighbouring Dąbrowa Górnicza there is the Pałac Kultury Zagłębia, described in its own section. For each town as a whole, see Sosnowiec and Dąbrowa Górnicza.

Which historic buildings combine a concert with sightseeing?

Three halls in the music calendar are sights in their own right: the Dom Muzyki i Tańca in Zabrze, the Pałac Kultury Zagłębia in Dąbrowa Górnicza and the Pałac Kawalera in Świerklaniec. Each has its own entry with the history of the building, so a concert can be paired with a look at the architecture.

Dom Muzyki i Tańca (the House of Music and Dance) stands at Generała Charlesa de Gaulle'a 17 in Zabrze. Building ran from 1954 to 1959, with Zygmunt Majerski and Julian Duchowicz as the designers, and the style is described as socialist modernism. The auditorium holds nearly two thousand people and is counted among the largest in the country, with good acoustics. Charity concerts have been held here since 1992.

Pałac Kultury Zagłębia (the Dąbrowa Basin Palace of Culture) at plac Wolności 1 in Dąbrowa Górnicza is a monumental example of socialist realism from 1951-1958, listed in the register of monuments. Besides its theatre hall it houses the KADR art-house cinema, an art gallery and education studios, so you can see an exhibition before the concert. Zbigniew Rzepecki designed the building and its interiors, and the idea of a house of culture arose just after the war, in 1945.

Pałac Kawalera w Świerklańcu (the Cavalier's Palace) at Parkowa 30 is a neo-Baroque red-brick residence in a historic park. It was built in 1903-1906 as a guest house of the Donnersmarck family, with Ernst von Ihne, who worked for the imperial court, as the designer. The register of monuments gives a slightly earlier date, 1900-1902. The calendar lists many concerts here, and a walk in the park suits the evening before or after a performance.

Where can you find smaller stages, clubs and cultural centres?

Smaller concerts take place in community cultural centres and clubs scattered across the region. They usually have fewer events than the large halls, but the local programme can be closer to home, with a shorter journey.

In the conurbation and the west of the region the calendar lists the Chorzowskie Centrum Kultury, Leśniczówka Rock'n'Roll Cafe in Chorzów, Ośrodek Kultury Andaluzja in Piekary Śląskie, Dom Kultury Bielszowice in Ruda Śląska and CK Wiatrak in Zabrze, which has many events. In Jaworzno concerts are held at Klub Relax and at the Młodzieżowy Dom Kultury im. Jaworzniaków. Jastrzębie-Zdrój has its Miejski Ośrodek Kultury, and Zawiercie a municipal centre of the same name.

In the south and in the Jura it is worth checking the Pszczyńskie Centrum Kultury, which has many events, and the Raciborskie Centrum Kultury. Pszczyna and Racibórz, together with Rybnik, Cieszyn and Tychy, have their own pages: Pszczyna, Racibórz, Rybnik, Cieszyn and Tychy.

What kind of evening suits each type of venue?

A symphonic hall, a philharmonic, a cultural centre, a club and a palace are five different kinds of evening, and it helps to tell them apart when choosing a concert. An event at NOSPR or the Częstochowa Philharmonic is usually a seated evening in a large hall, a cultural centre offers a municipal programme, and a club offers closer contact with the stage.

If the music itself matters most, look at the concert and chamber halls in Katowice and at the philharmonic in Częstochowa. If you want to combine a concert with a walk and some sightseeing, choose Świerklaniec, Zabrze or Dąbrowa Górnicza. If you want an evening without formalities, check the clubs in Chorzów, Sosnowiec, Jaworzno and Bielsko-Biała.

Music in the different parts of the region

The region splits into several natural concert areas. The conurbation, with Katowice, Chorzów, Zabrze, Gliwice, Bytom and Ruda Śląska, has the densest calendar. The Dąbrowa Basin means Sosnowiec and Dąbrowa Górnicza, the foothills of the Beskids mean Bielsko-Biała and Żywiec, and the edge of the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland means Częstochowa and Zawiercie.

In the south-west of the region concerts take place in Racibórz, Rybnik, Jastrzębie-Zdrój and Pszczyna, and in Cieszyn Silesia in Cieszyn. The calendar also lists smaller places, for example Lubliniec and Świerklaniec. A town page shows every kind of event at once, while a town page for music shows only concerts, where one exists.

How do you choose a concert from the calendar and buy a ticket?

The simplest way is to start with the town and day filters, then narrow the results to the music category. A chosen event leads to its details, and tickets are bought through the portal, which passes you on to the seller.

If you want something other than a concert, check the related kinds of events: theatre, cabaret, cinema and events for children. All the music in the region, without a split by town, is always on Music.

Frequently asked questions

Which town in Silesia has the most concerts?

Katowice, where the calendar lists more than two hundred music events. Bielsko-Biała, Częstochowa, Zabrze and Sosnowiec follow.

Where in Katowice can you hear classical music?

Among the halls in the calendar is NOSPR Katowice, with a concert hall and a chamber hall, and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra is based in the city as well. Outside Katowice, philharmonic programmes appear at the Filharmonia Częstochowska.

Can you go to a concert in a historic building?

Yes. Concerts are held, among others, at the Dom Muzyki i Tańca in Zabrze, the Pałac Kultury Zagłębia in Dąbrowa Górnicza and the Pałac Kawalera in Świerklaniec, which stands in a historic park.

Where can you find concerts outside the big cities?

In cultural centres such as the Pszczyńskie Centrum Kultury, the Raciborskie Centrum Kultury, the Miejskie Centrum Kultury in Żywiec or the Miejski Ośrodek Kultury in Jastrzębie-Zdrój. The calendar also lists Świerklaniec, Jaworzno and Piekary Śląskie.

Is the music scene limited to Katowice?

No. The calendar covers dozens of towns in the voivodeship, from Bielsko-Biała and Częstochowa to Żywiec, Racibórz and Lubliniec. Katowice does have the most events.

How do you buy a concert ticket?

Open the event in the calendar and press the purchase button. The portal sends you to the ticket seller, where you finish the order.