Syrena Rekord
Syrena Rekord was Poland's first major recording company and a leading Central European phonographic label before the Second World War.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Syrena Rekord, also known as Syrena Record, Syrena-Rekord and later Syrena-Electro, was the first Polish recording company and one of the most important phonographic businesses in Central and Eastern Europe during the early twentieth century. It was established in Warsaw in 1908 by Juliusz Feigenbaum, an entrepreneur who had already helped introduce Edison phonographs and recorded cylinders to the Polish lands during the 1890s. The company's name referred to the syrenka, the mermaid emblem of Warsaw, giving the enterprise a distinctly local cultural identity. Syrena developed from Feigenbaum's earlier Ideal label, which began issuing discs in 1904 and is generally regarded as Poland's first record label. Unlike companies that primarily distributed imported recordings, Syrena sought to record local performers and produce records for audiences in the region. Its catalogue reflected the multilingual and multiethnic character of the former Russian-ruled territories, including Polish, Yiddish, Russian, Ukrainian and Hebrew recordings. Repertoire ranged from theatre songs, salon music and patriotic material to folk music, military marches, cabaret, operetta, urban romances, Jewish cantorial singing and klezmer. The company built a pressing plant on Piękna Street and moved in 1911 to a larger factory at 66 Chmielna Street in Warsaw. By 1912 the facility was reported to have capacity for as many as 15,000 shellac records per day and to employ several hundred workers. Syrena also organized mobile recording expeditions to cities including Łódź, Kraków, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kyiv and Odesa. In the acoustic-recording era, performers sang or played into large recording horns, while wax masters were transported to Warsaw for processing and pressing. The company expanded its distribution beyond Poland and became a significant exporter within Eastern Europe. The First World War interrupted this growth. Production was suspended after the Russian evacuation of Warsaw in 1915, and shortages and confiscations of shellac eventually halted record manufacturing by 1917. After Polish independence was restored in 1918, Syrena rebuilt its business through reissues, exports and domestic sales of gramophones. The interwar period then brought its greatest influence. Henryk Wars became musical director in 1928 and promoted polished arrangements, jazz-influenced orchestration and Polish-language popular music that combined international dance forms such as tango and foxtrot with local traditions. Around 1928–1929 the company adopted electrical recording, replacing acoustic horns with microphones and modern cutting equipment. It introduced the Syrena-Electro name and established new studios on Wiśniowa Street in Warsaw. In 1929 the business became a joint-stock company with separate artistic, technical and commercial functions. During the 1930s it recorded many of Poland's best-known popular performers, while continuing to document Jewish theatre, cantorial and klezmer traditions. Its catalogue also included classical music, spoken word, comedy, patriotic recordings and commercial material. Syrena's classical programme included the complete recording of Stanisław Moniuszko's opera Halka, recorded in 1929–1930 and issued in 1932 as a multi-disc album. This was described as the first complete opera recording produced in Poland. The company also participated in the developing sound-film and radio industries, providing music and technical resources for early Polish sound cinema. Syrena's existence ended with the German invasion of Poland. Its Warsaw factory was destroyed by bombing on 4 September 1939, and the company did not re-emerge as an operating label after the war. Its surviving records remain important historical documents of Polish popular culture, classical performance and Jewish musical life before the Holocaust.
History
Syrena's origins lay in Juliusz Feigenbaum's pre-company work importing Edison phonographs and wax cylinders to Warsaw. In 1904 he launched the Ideal label, issuing locally oriented recordings at a time when Poland had no substantial domestic phonographic industry. In 1908 he reorganized the enterprise as Syrena Record. The Warsaw mermaid reference connected the brand with Polish civic identity, while its repertoire addressed the multilingual audiences of the region. The company initially operated from Piękna Street and relocated in 1911 to a larger plant at 66 Chmielna Street. Its industrial scale grew rapidly. By 1912 the factory was capable of pressing thousands of shellac discs daily and employed several hundred workers. Syrena made its own recordings rather than depending exclusively on imported masters. Mobile recording teams visited major cities across the Polish lands and the Russian Empire, with wax masters returned to Warsaw for plating and pressing. Before 1914 the catalogue covered popular theatre, operetta, cabaret, folk and patriotic music, military bands, urban songs, classical material and Jewish religious and secular performance. World War I severely damaged the business. The evacuation of Warsaw in 1915 disrupted production, military authorities seized shellac and other materials, and manufacturing eventually stopped in 1917. Some equipment was moved to Moscow, while the Warsaw premises remained largely intact but inactive. After Poland regained independence in 1918, Syrena reconstructed its operations amid inflation and economic instability. It reissued older material, exported records to Germany and Austria, and sold assembled gramophones. The early postwar catalogue also reflected the new Polish state, including an early release of Mazurek Dąbrowskiego, the national anthem. Syrena's strongest period came in the late 1920s and 1930s. Henryk Wars became musical director in 1928 and helped professionalize the label's popular output. His work encouraged arranged dance music, jazz-derived orchestration and Polish-language songs adapted to international styles such as tango and foxtrot. In 1928–1929 Syrena introduced electrical recording, built better-equipped studios on Wiśniowa Street and began using the Syrena-Electro name. The company was reorganized as a joint-stock company in 1929, with formal artistic, technical and commercial departments. During the 1930s Syrena recorded major Polish singers and actors, including Mieczysław Fogg, Adam Aston, Tadeusz Faliszewski, Eugeniusz Bodo and Zula Pogorzelska. It also preserved a substantial Jewish repertoire, including recordings associated with Gershon Sirota and the comedy duo Dzigan and Shumacher. This multilingual catalogue is especially significant because many of the cultural communities represented in it were destroyed or displaced during the Holocaust. The label was not confined to commercial popular music. It issued classical records and undertook the complete recording of Moniuszko's Halka in 1929–1930, released in 1932. The project was a landmark in Polish recording history and demonstrated the technical and organizational ambitions of the company. Syrena also worked in the emerging sound-film and radio sectors, including involvement with early Polish sound cinema. The German invasion in September 1939 brought the business to an end. The Warsaw factory was bombed and destroyed on 4 September. Chairman Hilary Tempel was later killed by the Gestapo at Palmiry, while musical director Iwo Wesby was sent to the Warsaw Ghetto. Syrena did not resume its prewar operations. Surviving discs, catalogues and related documentation now function as an important archive of interwar Polish, Jewish and Central European musical life.
- 1939
Factory destroyed and operations end
[1]German bombing destroyed the Warsaw factory during the invasion of Poland.
- 1932
Complete Halka recording released
[1]The complete recording of Moniuszko's opera Halka was issued as a multi-disc album.
- 1929
Electrical recording and corporate reorganization
[1]Syrena adopted electrical recording, introduced the Syrena-Electro identity and became a joint-stock company.
- 1928
Henryk Wars becomes musical director
[1]Wars helped shape Syrena's modern Polish popular-music sound.
- 1917
Wartime record production ceases
[1]Material shortages and wartime disruption stopped manufacturing.
- 1912
Factory reaches major European scale
[1]The plant was reported to have capacity of up to 15,000 shellac records per day and several hundred employees.
- 1911
New Chmielna Street factory opens
[1]The company moved into a larger purpose-built production facility.
- 1908
Syrena Record established
[1]Feigenbaum reorganized his recording enterprise under the Syrena Record name in Warsaw.
- 1904
Ideal label begins issuing Polish recordings
[1]Feigenbaum's earlier Ideal business issued locally oriented discs and established the foundation for Syrena.
Products and positioning
A nationally rooted but internationally connected recording company that combined Polish popular culture with multilingual regional repertoire and increasingly modern European recording technology.
Recorded music · 1908
Shellac gramophone records
Syrena's principal early product was the shellac 78-rpm-style gramophone disc. The company recorded artists in Warsaw and on regional expeditions, then processed wax masters and pressed discs at its Warsaw plant. The repertoire covered Polish popular music, theatre, folk songs, marches, classical works and multilingual Jewish material.
Electrical recording · 1929
Syrena-Electro recordings
Introduced around 1928–1929, the Syrena-Electro line represented the company's transition from acoustic recording horns to microphones and electrically driven cutting equipment. The associated identity signaled a technologically updated catalogue aimed at the expanding interwar market for polished popular music and modern studio production.
Classical opera recording · 1932
Halka
Syrena undertook a complete recording of Stanisław Moniuszko's opera Halka in 1929–1930 and released it in 1932 as a deluxe multi-disc set. The project was an important technical and cultural achievement and is described as the first complete opera recording produced in Poland.
Playback equipment
Gramophones
In the post-World War I period, Syrena supplemented its record catalogue by assembling and selling gramophones. This helped the company rebuild a complete consumer offering while domestic recording and distribution recovered in the newly independent Polish state.
Brand decisions
1929
Move from acoustic to electrical recordingGeneration changeBackground
Microphone-based electrical recording offered greater fidelity and aligned Syrena with contemporary international production practices.
Action taken
The company installed modern recording equipment, built new Warsaw studios and promoted the Syrena-Electro identity.
Aftermath
Syrena strengthened its position during the interwar expansion of Polish popular music and sound cinema.
1908
Rebrand the enterprise as Syrena RecordStrategyBackground
Feigenbaum had established an earlier recording business under the Ideal name, but sought a stronger identity for a dedicated Polish recording company.
Action taken
The enterprise adopted the Syrena Record name, referencing Warsaw's mermaid emblem and emphasizing local cultural identity.
Aftermath
The name became associated with Poland's first major domestic recording industry.
Recent events
- 1939
Warsaw factory destroyed during the German invasion[1]
Other
The Syrena factory was destroyed by German bombing on 4 September, ending the company's operations.
- 1929
Syrena adopts electrical recording[1]
Product generation
The company moved from acoustic recording to microphone-based electrical technology and used the Syrena-Electro identity.
- 1917
First World War halts production[1]
Other
War-related disruption, equipment transfers and shellac shortages brought record manufacturing to a standstill.
- 1911
Syrena moves to its Chmielna Street factory[1]
Other
A purpose-built Warsaw facility expanded the company's pressing and distribution capacity.
- 1909
Syrena receives recognition at the Częstochowa industrial exhibition[1]
Other
The company received a Grand Gold Medal for the quality of its products.
- 1908
Syrena Record founded in Warsaw[1]
Other
Juliusz Feigenbaum reorganized his earlier recording business under the Syrena Record name.
Sources1 sources
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