Polish estrada music dominated Polish popular music throughout the state socialist period but gained little attention from popular music scholars because it was regarded as being of low quality and politically conformist. Ewa Mazierska carefully examines these assumptions, considering those institutions which catered for the needs of estrada artists and their fans, the presence of estrada in different media and the careers and styles of the leading stars, such as Mieczysław Fogg, Irena Santor, Violetta Villas, Anna German, Jerzy Połomski, Maryla Rodowicz, Zdzisława Sośnicka, Zbigniew Wodecki and Krzysztof Krawczyk. Mazierska also discusses the memory and legacy of estrada music in the post-communist period. The book draws on Poland’s cultural and political history and the history of Polish popular music and media, including television and radio. Mazierska engages with concepts such as genre, stardom and authenticity in order to capture the essence of Polish estrada music and to provide a comparison with popular music produced in other countries.

This book examines the interface between Polish popular music and screen media against the background of Polish history, cinema, and popular culture and situates that interface in a local as well as global context. It looks at Polish musicals, biographical films about musicians, documentary films and, finally, music videos. The author draws attention to the immense popularity of musical comedies in Polish interwar cinema, the enduring appeal of musical genres during the period of state socialism, despite their low status in film criticism, and the re-birth of musicals in the 2010s. Mazierska also discusses the most important stars, directors and authors of songs presented in Polish films, and points to the effect of technological changes on inception and transformation of music-centred genres of screen media, including the effect of YouTube on their growth and preservation. The book is informed by the question of how parochial and universal is Polish popular music and its screen representation.

Popular Polish Electronic Music, 1970–2020 offers a cultural history of popular Polish electronic music, from its beginning in the late 1960s/early 1970s up to the present day, in the context of Polish economic, social and political history, and the history of popular music in this country. From the perspective of production, scene, industry and consumption, the volume considers the issue of access to electronic instruments in the 1970s and 1980s, and the variety of inspirations, such as progressive rock and folk music, that have contributed to the development of Polish electronic music as it is known today. The widespread contribution of Polish electronic music to film is also considered. This is a valuable resource for scholars and researchers of electronic music, popular music and (Eastern) European music and culture.

Made in Poland: Studies in Popular Music serves as a comprehensive introduction to the history, sociology, and musicology of contemporary Polish popular music. Each essay, written by a leading scholar of Polish music, covers the major figures, styles, and social contexts of pop music in Poland and provides adequate context so readers understand why the figure or genre under discussion is of lasting significance. The book first presents a general description of the history and background of popular music in Poland, followed by essays organized into thematic sections: Popular Music in the People’s Republic of Poland; Documenting Change and Continuity in Music Scenes and Institutions; and Music, Identity, and Critique.

Like many Eastern European countries, Poland has seen a succession of divergent economic and political regimes over the last century, from prewar “embedded liberalism,” through the state socialism of the Soviet era, to the present neoliberal moment. Its cinema has been inflected by these changing historical circumstances, both mirroring and resisting them. This volume is the first to analyze the entirety of the nation’s film history—from the reemergence of an independent Poland in 1918 to the present day—through the lenses of political economy and social class, showing how Polish cinema documented ordinary life while bearing the hallmarks of specific ideologies.

Bringing together scholars from the fields of musicology and international history, this book investigates the significance of music to foreign relations, and how it affected the interaction of nations since the late 19th century. For more than a century, both state and non-state actors have sought to employ sound and harmony to influence allies and enemies, resolve conflicts, and export their own culture around the world. This book asks how we can understand music as an instrument of power and influence, and how the cultural encounters fostered by music changes our ideas about international history.

What 'live music' means for one generation or culture does not necessarily mean 'live' for another. This book examines how changes in economy, culture and technology pertaining to post-digital times affect production, performance and reception of live music. Considering established examples of live music, such as music festivals, alongside practices influenced by developments in technology, including live streaming and holograms, the book examines whether new forms stand the test of 'live authenticity' for their audiences. It also speculates how live music might develop in the future, its relationship to recorded music and mediated performance and how business is conducted in the popular music industry.