Polski Rocznik Muzykologiczny

ABOUT THE JOURNAL

Polski Rocznik Muzykologiczny (Polish Musicological Yearbook) is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal specializing in musicology with particular emphasis on Polish music and musical culture within Central European and broader European contexts. Published annually since 2004 by the Polish Composers' Union (Związek Kompozytorów Polskich), the journal continues a distinguished tradition established by Adolf Chybiński in 1935.

As the only musicological periodical in Poland independent of any single academic institution, the Yearbook serves as an open forum representing the entire Polish music research community. This independence ensures editorial autonomy and enables the journal to feature diverse voices, methodological approaches, and scholarly perspectives from across the field.

Each volume is organized around a specific thematic focus that changes annually—recent themes have included „Music and the City” and „Expression in Music,” as well as monographic volumes devoted to individual composers or periods. These thematic sections are complemented by articles spanning the full spectrum of musicological subdisciplines and historical periods from medieval to contemporary music.

SCOPE AND RESEARCH AREAS

The journal specializes in musicology with particular emphasis on Polish music and musical culture within Central European contexts. Research areas include:

• Historical musicology: Polish composers, performers, and musical institutions across all periods; archival research and source studies; critical editions; reception history and historiography; lesser-known figures and overlooked repertoires.
• Central European connections: Musical cultures in Central Europe; comparative studies; transnational exchanges and migration; shared heritage and intercultural dialogues.
• Music theory and analysis: Theoretical approaches to Polish and European music; analytical methodologies; compositional techniques; issues of structure, expression, and meaning.
• Interdisciplinary approaches: Music and urban studies (soundscapes, acoustic environments, musical topographies); connections with literature, philosophy, politics, sociology; cultural studies and anthropological perspectives; digital humanities; musical aesthetics and criticism.
• Performance and sound: Historical and contemporary performance practices; interpretative traditions; organology.
• Specialized areas: Medieval and Renaissance music (liturgy, manuscripts, notation); ethnomusicology and folk music traditions; music’s social and political dimensions; contemporary music.

GEOGRAPHICAL AND TEMPORAL SCOPE

The journal centers on Poland and Central Europe while encouraging comparative studies situating Polish music within broader European contexts. All historical periods are covered, from medieval to twenty-first-century composition.

PUBLICATION FORMAT

Bilingual: Articles in Polish and English, with abstracts in both languages

Open access: There are no article processing charges (APC), submission fees, or any other costs for authors. Publication is completely free. All articles are immediately available open access to readers worldwide.

Annual themes: Focused sections complemented by diverse contributions (open sections). This structure ensures both thematic coherence and scholarly diversity within each volume.

Conference proceedings: Selected papers from Polish Composers’ Union conferences

TARGET AUDIENCE

Musicologists, music theorists, cultural historians, composers, performers, music educators, and scholars in related humanities disciplines interested especially in Polish and Central European music.

EDITORIAL STANDARDS

The journal maintains rigorous scholarly standards through:

• Double-blind peer review by expert reviewers selected for subject expertise and methodological competence
• Editorial independence from any single institution, ensuring autonomy and diverse perspectives
• Methodological openness: welcoming varied approaches from rigorous archival research to innovative interdisciplinary methodologies

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

In 2024, we started implementing the project entitled: ‘Increasing the visibility of the Polish Musicological Yearbook in 2024–2025 on the national and international forum’, possible thanks to support under the ‘Journals’ government program.

Co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage of the Polish Republic from the means of the Culture Promotion Fund.

The Patron of the „Polski Rocznik Muzykologiczny” – Polish Musicological Yearbook is the Society of Authors ZAiKS.