Unsound New York Returns in Late October - First Artist Announcement!
This October, Unsound returns to New York. Our first artist announcement involves a three-night residency at Lincoln Center, presenting a series of U.S. premieres, new commissions, and rare performances. Unsound New York is part of the 2026 Soft Power theme, with festivals also taking place in Warsaw-Kraków (October 2 - 11), and London in late November.
The events at Lincoln Center run from October 21–23 with a program bringing together artists working across experimental sound, contemporary composition, audiovisual performance, virtual theater, and orchestral music. Alongside landmark performances from internationally renowned musicians, the residency also highlights new collaborations between Polish and American artists developed through Unsound commissions and residencies.
Tickets go on sale on September 9, and will be Choose-What-You-Pay as part of the Lincoln Center Presents series.
The opening night at Alice Tully Hall on October 21 begins with the North American premiere of Where Does Fire End?, an Unsound commission by Japanese sound artist FUJI|||||||||||TA and composer-performer Ka Baird, exploring breath, resonance, and voice as physical material. Electronic music pioneer Actress follows with the U.S. premiere of Radical Frame, a new audiovisual work reimagining both recent and earlier material with immersive visuals by Filip Popik and lighting by Shaun Murphy. The evening closes with Mustang Speedrun from virtual performance studio Team Rolfes, combining VR puppetry, motion capture, live musicians, actors, a motorized racing simulator, and live-edited camerawork into a singular theatrical experience. Musicians to be announced soon.
The second evening, presented in the Atrium as part of Lincoln Center's Festival of Firsts, focuses on artistic exchange between Poland and the United States. claire rousay and Kraków-based composer Martyna Basta present the U.S. performance debut of hotel room, developed after a week spent composing together in rural Poland and accompanied by visuals from Theresa Baumgartner. The program continues with a new audiovisual collaboration between Keith "Giant Claw" Rankin and Warsaw composer Julek ploski, created through an Unsound commission and residency.
The residency concludes in the David Geffen Hall with two very different perspectives on Polish music. Księżyc, whose singular blend of minimalism and Slavic folk traditions has inspired a devoted following for three decades, marks the 30th anniversary of its landmark debut self-titled album. Following is Polish composer, pianist, and singer Hania Rani, whose work moves effortlessly between classical and experimental music. Rani presents the U.S. premiere of Non-Fiction – Piano Concerto in Four Movements with the 45-piece Sinfonia Varsovia, joined by Valentina Magaletti and Jack Wylie. Partially inspired by the story of the young piano prodigy Josima Feldschuh, who was forced into the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II, the work reflects on historical trauma through the lens of present-day horrors in Ukraine and Gaza.
Stay tuned for the next Unsound New York announcement, coming soon, involving a discourse programme, a club night jointly presented with Dripping, and more!
Unsound New York is organized and presented by Fundacja Tone - Muzyka i Nowe Formy Sztuki and the Polish Cultural Institute New York, and supported by our main partner - Polish National Foundation. This project is co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland from the Culture Promotion Fund in partnership with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
Concert at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts are part of the Lincoln Center Presents Session.