'Days of Kraków Composers' Music' have been organised by the Polish Composers' Union / Branch Kraków (Polish – ZKP). The union associates professional composers, musicologists and theoreticians in the field of music. The union's board is registered in Warsaw. The Kraków section is proud to have among its members such names as Professor Dr. h.c. Krzysztof Penderecki- the honorary member of our union, Roman Berger- a Polish composer of renown fame, living in Batislava, Professor of the Slovakian Academy of Fine Arts, Stanisław Radwan- theatre music composer, for many years the director of the Stary Theatre in Kraków, Professor Marek Stachowski- rector of the Academy of Music in Kraków, Professor Bogusław Shaeffer- the representative of the Kraków avant-garde, professor of the Academy of Music in Kraków and Mozarteum in Salzburg, Professor Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar- the former rector of the Academy of Music, Professor Krzysztof Meyer a composition class professor at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne, Professor Z. Bujarski- composition class teacher at the Academy of Music, Professor Z. M. Szweykowski- the holder of  the Musicology chair (Jagiellonian University) and the honorary member of the Union – a renown chopinologist- Professor Mieczysław Tomaszewski.
Thanks to those celebrities as well as to their students -  the young generation of composers and their stamina - Kraków has become one of the most important centres of contemporary music in Poland. Therefore this energetic circle of people is represented at the festival where the Kraków composers' music finds its place and festival-goers, musicians, students and critics of music have the opportunity to get to know the new pieces, many of them being performed for the first time. Many of the pieces played during the Days become recognised and start their world-wide career.
The first DAYS OF MUSIC in 1988 were a kind of field testing procedure where a few concerts took place. Since the year 1994 they have become an international festival devoted to contemporary music both from Poland and abroad. The Days' program is also open for the classicists of the 20th century. Presentation of our neighbouring countries' music for example from Slovakia or the Ukraine is one of the festival's main aims in creating the new image of Europe. This is also the reason why the critics name the festival the Days of the 'Carpathian Triangle' Music.  The Days have also presented the Polish audience with the work of Roman Berger born in Śląsk Cieszyński and exiled to Bratislava under Stalin. The range of his work and his ethics draws a growing interest and recognition. Dorota Imiełowska, a cellist, was noticed when performing Berger's Konwergencje III in an outstanding fashion. An altoviolist – Michał Ferens was granted the participation in Professor Siegfrid Palm's master courses in Italy for his interpretation of Konwergencje II .
Among the most significant artistic creations which started their career at the Kraków Festival we should enumerate the following;
Letters to the mother by Roman Palester, performed for the first time in 1995. This marvellous composer who died as an emigrant in 1989 was presented to the Polish audience after many years of  prohibition. We also rendered his Dance from Osmołoda and The II Symphony which had not been played since 1945.
The Quintet by Konstanty Regamey, a Polish-Swiss composer born in Kiev was  played after a long break since its creation during the war years in Warsaw. Apart from that we have also presented this piece many times throughout Poland, with great success each time.
Juvenile songs by K. Regamey, to the words of  Russian Symbolists in a marvellous interpretation of the soloist - Olga Pasiecznik and a pianist - Maciej Grzybowski performed from the manuscript found in the Cantonal and University Library of Lausanne.
Piece for piano and a string quartet by Olivier Messiaen - one of the last works of the great French composer, rendered for the first time in Poland in 1994.
Violin Concert by Aleksander Tansman whose work is coming back from France. Its performance was for the first time recorded by the Polish Radio as performed by a Polish violinist from Paris - Beata Halska-Le Monnier. The world premiere performance by the Japanese composer - Yoshihiro Abiko - Revolution II for solo bassoon, by an excellent Japanese player - Akio Koyama (Munich).
One of the first Polish renderings of Sinfonietta nr 2 for clarinet and string orchestra by Krzysztof Penderecki performed by Sinfonietta Varsovia directed by the composer and the first Polish performance of Concert for a Viola in the clarinet version presented by a distinguished, young clarinet player - Wojciech Komsta and Sinfonia Cracovia and conducted by Paweł Przytocki.
There were composer concerts held by the four following artists:
Roman Berger, Krzysztof Meyer, Valentin Silvestrov (Kiev), and Marek Stachowski. During the Days some of the most famous groups and soloists have performed: Śląski Quartet from Katowice, Sinfonietta Cracovia, Zephyros Ensemble from Munich, the Moyzes Quartet from Bratislava, the Łysenko Quartet from Kiev, Philharmonic Orchestra from Częstochowa, the Radio Symphonic Orchestra Kraków. During the festival, the critics observing the event, granted the distinction for a creative interpretation of the Quatuor pour la fin du Temps by Olivier Messiaen the following soloists: Marek Moś - the first violinist of the Śląski Quartet, Hakan Rosengren (Cleveland) - a Swedish clarinet player, Andrzej Bauer - cellist, and Janusz Olejniczak - pianist. The critics possess good taste, all of them: Leszek Polony (Rzeczpospolita), Władysław Malinowski (Polish Radio Channel 2), Anna Woźniakowska (Radio Kraków), Dorota Szwarcman (Gazeta Wyborcza, Ruch Muzyczny),   Małgorzata Woźna (Dziennik Polski, Ruch Muzyczny), Lesław Czapliński (Wiadomości Kulturalne), Renata Pasternak (Gazeta w Krakowie GW), Gabriela Stanek-Peszkowska (Ruch Muzyczny), Tamara Hnativ (Art Line, Muzyka, Kiev), Ludmila Červena (Hudobni Život, Bratislava) – recognised the significance of the festival, its high performance standard and the presence of young musicians and composers.
The Polish Radio has recorded of over twenty concerts, which were later broadcast on Channel 2, and in 1996 the Polish TV showed the concert by Sinfonia Varsovia directed by Krzysztof Penderecki (in collaboration with the International Culture Centre in Kraków). Many of the recordings from Kraków Days, offered by the Polish Radio went to EBU which is a network of European and world radios promoting the most significant works and events in the field of music. Three of the concerts of The 8. Days of Contemporary Music  in 1996 were transmitted in the following stations; BBC (UK), CBC (Toronto, Canada), CR (The Czech Republic), HUMR (Hungary), LVLR (Latvia), NOS (The Netherlands), NZPR (New Zealand), RDP (Portugal), TRT (Turkey), TFM (Tokyo, Japan), WGBH (Washington).
Presentation of internationally famous pieces, an adequate choice of works and performers, crating the opportunities for the young generation of composers from Poland, The Ukraine and Slovakia as well as maintaining contact with the composers and musical circles of those countries are the main prerogatives of the DAYS OF KRAKÓW COMPOSERS' MUSIC. The function of the artistic and program director is held by a musicologist Jerzy Stankiewicz, vice president of the Polish Composers' Union and the president of the Branch Kaków.