Annual Copernicus Lecture. The Beauty and Significance of Interwar Polish Popular Music

In this lecture, Jan Emil Młynarski will offer an immersive exploration of Polish popular music of the interwar period (1918–1939), examining Polish tango, the development of the recording industry, and the vibrant world of theatres and cabarets that shaped popular musical culture between the wars. Młynarski will perform selected works and present archival recordings, guiding the audience through the rich landscape of Polish song, its composers, lyricists and performers, situating their work within the broader cultural context of the era and assessing its artistic value, cultural significance and contemporary reception.

Jan Emil Młynarski is a drummer, street singer and passionate advocate for Polish popular music of the first half of the twentieth century. He holds degrees from the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław and from the Drummers Collective in New York.

He hosts Salon, Ulica, Dancing (Salon, Street, Dance Hall) — a weekly radio show on Polskie Radio 3 dedicated to Interwar Polish music, is the founder and leader of the Warszawskie Combo Taneczne (Warsaw Dance Combo), and is a member of the Jazz Band Młynarski-Masecki. He has released several dozen albums and was awarded multiple Fryderyk , the Polish music industry's most prestigious recording award.

If there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact gosiak@umich.edu. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange.