Objectives

“Glissando” is a popularising magazine devoted to all ambitious forms of contemporary music and other arts presented in relationship to it. Our offer is adressed to all those, who await something more than the pap feed from commercial broadcasts or academic and conservative purity – to all lovers of novelty, originality, breaking the borders, collaborating on new qualities. To (spiritually) young, curious and flexible audience of culture. Edited by young people for young people, “Glissando” binds together all these music lovers, who write best; and widely: people, who simply love music – what should finally refresh a musty air of Polish music critics. Our goal is to introduce this music to the listeners and to present it in the most attractive and unconventional forms. We wish to convey our opinions on the light, amusing, open, and, at the same time stimulating and controversial, ways. Thus there is nothing like serious (high) music or pop (low) one today. There are no borders and species; one can find something curious and ambitious everywhere. One should only look for. We want to look for.

Glissando is continously in close contact with readers. Firstly, in March this year the professional website www.glissando.pl was launched, where one can find a part of newest and most of older articles, news, links and recommendations, take a part in thematic forum; in the future there is planned audio and illustration gallery. Secondly, there are four active e-mail adresses, where one can send questions, requests, comments, as well as text’s proposals or articles. Thirdly, magazine is sold at a relatively low price (20 zl, ca. 4€00), so that it is not a big expense, but also it differs from commercial or concert brochures. Fourthly, each issue is also distributed during the most ambitious music festivals in Poland, which were also mostly under our patronage (among others: “Warsaw Autumn”, Audio Art, Musica Genera, Turning Sounds, Unsound, plain.music, Muzyczny Sejsmograf, Jazz i okolice). Apart of these distribution ways, we are present at 20 EMPiK salons in whole Poland and selected art libraries and musical shops in main cities (among others: Katowice, Kraków, Poznań, Warszawa, Wrocław). One can also purchase magazine at www.serpent.pl/glissando, as well as in small shops across the whole country.

We are supported by Polish Musical Information Centre and “Warsaw Autumn’s” Friends Fundation, we have recommendation letters from its president, from festival’s director, as well as from the chairman of Polish Composers’ Union. Our publisher is reknown in musical circles “Pro Musica Viva” foundation. First issue has received wide and enthusiastic reception, being reviewed and recommended in the largest polish newspaper “Gazeta Wyborcza”, public radio station Program 2 Polskiego Radia (13.12.2004), most prestigious opinion’s weekly “Polityka”, the oldest professional musical biweekly “Ruch Muzyczny”, musical monthly “Zine”, cultural monthly “Odra” and at numerous websites (ao.  www.diapazon.pl, www.polmic.pl,www.nowamuzyka.pl, www.serpent.pl). Editors of “Glissando” are being frequently invited to many projects and activities, such as lectures about electronic and/or spectral music; scientifical-artistic meetings, radio programms; public radio station PR2, since 2003).

Recently magazine exists since nearly seven years, with 20 edited issues on account (with two double). During this time, we suceeded to enlarge circulation from 500 to 1500, number of pages from 96 to 180, number of authors and collaborators from 20 to ca. 180, distribution points from 3 to almost 30 ones. We are young dynamic team and we have been still developing. We wish towiden continuously our reader’s circle, to be close to them, to come up to their expectations, as well as to care about high meritorical level of texts and discussions, to search for new and new musical areas, to develop magazine’s layout and website.