Zygmunt Krauze
Encyclopedia
Biography
Polish composer and pianist (b. 19 September 1938), who studied composition and piano at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and with Nadia BoulangerNadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger was a French composer, conductor and teacher who taught many composers and performers of the 20th century.From a musical family, she achieved early honours as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, but believing that her talent as a composer was inferior to that of her younger...
in Paris. He is known as a composer of unistic music, based on the theory of unistic art adopted from the painting of Wladyslaw Strzeminski
Wladyslaw Strzeminski
Wladyslaw Strzeminski was a Polish avant-garde painter of international renown.During the 1920s he formulated his theory of Unism . His Unistic paintings inspired the unistic musical compositions of the Polish composer Zygmunt Krauze. He is an author of a revolutionary book titled "The theory of...
(1893-1952). Unistic music lacks contrasts, tension and climaxes in the traditional sense and its form is as homogenous as possible. He is an author of five operas, several instrumental concertos, symphonic and chamber works. Together with architects he also composed spatial music
Spatial music
Spatial music, music in space, or space music uses the localization of sounds in physical space as a compositional element in music, in sound art, and in sound editing for audio recordings, film, and video...
.
Zygmunt Krauze won the First Prize of the Gaudeamus International Interpreters Award in Holland in 1966. Since then he has continued his career as a pianist performing mostly 20th century music. In 1967 he founded The Warsaw Music Workshop ensemble, which commissioned works from over 100 composers. He served as its artistic director and pianist for over 20 years.
Since 1965 he has given seminars as well as master classes of composition and contemporary music performance, including prestigious centers of new music like: Darmstadt, Basle, Stockholm, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Jerusalem and Hong Kong. In 1982 he served as a visiting professor at Yale University. In 1996 he was nominated as an Eminent Corresponding Professor at Keimyung University, Daegu, South Korea. From 2002 he is professor of composition at the Music Academy in Lodz, Poland, and from 2006 at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw
Between 1973-74 he was an artist in residence in Berlin at the invitation of DAAD
DAAD
DAAD can have several meanings:* The German Academic Exchange Service * Direct Action Against Drugs, a cover name for the Provisional Irish Republican Army...
(Deutsche Akademischer Austauschdienst). In 1982 he was invited by Pierre Boulez to become a musical advisor to IRCAM
IRCAM
IRCAM is a European institute for science about music and sound and avant garde electro-acoustical art music. It is situated next to, and is organizationally linked with, the Centre Pompidou in Paris...
in Paris. Apart from that he was a member of the repertoire committee of the Warsaw Autumn festival for ten years and in 1987-90 served as president of the International Society for Contemporary Music
International Society for Contemporary Music
The International Society for Contemporary Music is a music organization that promotes contemporary classical music.ISCM was established in 1922, in Salzburg. Its core activity is the World Music Days Festival, held every year at a different location. The festival includes cutting edge productions...
. He also served as president of the Witold Lutoslawski Society and for 25 years president or vice president of the Polish Section of the ISCM.
Among his honours and awards are: Silver Cross of Merit of Poland (1975), the Medal of Distinction from Jeunesses Musicales in Poland (1979) and the title of Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France (1984). In addition he received the Prize of the Ministry of Culture in Poland 1989 and 2005. In 1999 he became an honorary member of ISCM. In 2004 he received the Golden Cross of Merit and in 2005 the UNESCO Heritage of the Humanity Award in Valparaiso, Chile. In 2008 he was appointed by the President of the French Republic Officer dans l'Ordre National de la Legion d'Honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
. In 2010, he was appointed by the Polish Ministry of Culture and Heritage gold medal "Gloria Artis". In 2011 he became honorary member of the Polish Composers Union (ZKP).
Zygmunt Krauze's works have been recorded on such labels as: Muza, Dux, ORF, Nonesuch, Thesis, Musical Observations (CP2), Collins Classics, Recommended Records and EMI.
Symphonic
The Letters (2010)For four pianos and orchestra / for two pianos, four pianists and orchestra
Hymn for Tolerance (2007)
For orchestra
Adieu (2001)
For upright piano and orchestra
Emille Bell (2000)
For String Orchestra
Serenade (1998)
For orchestra
Piano Concerto No. 2 (1996)
For piano and orchestra
Rhapsod (1995)
For string orchestra
Terra incognita (1994)
For 10 strings and piano
Marcia (1991)
For orchestra
Symphonie parisienne (1986)
For orchestra
Blanc-rouge / Paysage d'un pays (1985)
For two orchestral masses: wind orchestras, mandolin orchestra, accordion orchestra and 6 percussions
(300 musicians)
Arabesque (1983)
For piano (with amplification) and chamber orchestra
Piece for Orchestra No. 3 (1982)
Tableau vivant (1982)
For chamber orchestra
Violin Concerto (1980)
For violin and orchestra
Suite de dances et de chansons (1977)
For harpsichord and orchestra
Piano Concerto No. 1 (1976)
For piano and orchestra
Fete galante et pastorale (1975 concert version of spatial work)
For 4 soloists playing on folk instruments (4 hurdy-gurdies, 4 bagpipes, 4 folk violins, 4 fifes) and orchestra
Aus aller Welt Stammende (1973)
For 10 strings (5 violins, 3 violas, 2 cellos)
Folk Music (1972)
For Orchestra
Voices (1972)
For 15 optional instruments
Piece for Orchestra No. 2 (1970)
Piece for Orchestra No. 1 (1969)
Chamber
Fields and Hills - silence (2009)Pour El (2008)
For harpsichord
Voices for Ljubljana (2007)
For seven instruments: viola, cello, flute, clarinet, trombone, piano and percussion
Fanfare (2007)
For four trumpets
Ode (2004)
For flute, ocarina, 2 trumpets in C, guitar and 3 tom-toms
Divertissement Silesienne (1998)
For string quartet
Pastorale (1995)
For flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, bassoon
P - 53 (1994)
For any player(s)
Piano Quintet (1993)
For string quartet and piano
For Alfred Schlee with admiration (1991)
For string quartet
The Underground River (1987)
Concert version for 7 players (clarinet, trombone, percussion, guitar, piano, accordion, cello) and 7 tapes
Je prefere qu'il chante (1985)
For bassoon
Quatuor pour la naissance (1984)
For clarinet, violin, cello and piano
String Quartet No. 3 (1982)
Commencement (1982)
For harpsichord solo
Dyptychos (1981)
For organ
Automatophone (1976)
Concert version for 3 or more mandolins, 3 or more guitars, 3 or more music boxes
Soundscape (1975)
For 4 soloists playing 4 zithers, 4 melodicas, 8 recorders, 8 sheep bells, 8 glasses, 4 mouth harmonicas; with amplification and tape
Idyll (1974)
For 4 soloists playing folk instruments (4 hurdy-gurdies, 4 bag pipes, 4 folk violins, 4 fifes, 16 bells) and tape
Song (1974)
For 4 - 6 optional melodic instruments
One Piano Eight Hands (1973)
For 4 musicians playing one upright piano out of tune
String Quartet No. 2 (1970)
Polychromy (1968)
For clarinet, trombone, piano and cello
String Quartet No. 1 (1965)
Prime numbers (1961)
For two violins
Wind Trio (1958)
For oboe, clarinet and bassoon
Piano
La naissance et le deroulement d'un reve (2005)Refrain (1993)
Blue Jay Way (1990)
La chanson du mal-aimé (1990)
Nightmare Tango (1987)
From Keyboard to Score (1987)
Ballade (1978)
Music Box Waltz (1977)
Gloves Music (1972)
Stone Music (1972)
Fallingwater (1971)
Esquisse (1967)
Triptych (1964)
Five Unitary Piano Pieces (1963)
Ohne Kontraste (1960)
Monody and fugue (1959)
Four dances (1959)
Two inventions (1958)
Seven interludes (1958)
Prelude, intermezzo, postlude (1958)
Five Piano Pieces (1958)
Three etudes (1958)
Theme with variations (1958)
Six folk melodies (1958)
Sonatina (1958)
Three Preludes (1956)
Vocal
- Podróż Chopina Chopin's journey (2010) For chamber choir a capella or with folk instruments ensemble
- Ball In The Opera (2006) For chamber choir and 12 instruments Based on Julian TuwimJulian TuwimJulian Tuwim , sometimes used pseudonym "Oldlen" when writing song lyrics. He was a Polish poet, born in Łódź, Congress Poland, Russian Empire, of Jewish parents, and educated in Łódź and Warsaw where he studied law and philosophy at Warsaw University...
's text - 5 Songs (2000) For baritone and piano For the poetry of Tadeusz RóżewiczTadeusz RózewiczTadeusz Różewicz is a Polish poet and writer.Różewicz belongs to the first generation born and educated after Poland regained its independence in 1918. His youthful poems were published in 1938...
- Trois chansons (1997) For mixed choir (16 singers) on poems by Claude LefebvreClaude LefebvreClaude Lefebvre is a former Canadian handball player who competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics.He was part of the Canadian handball team which finished eleventh in the 1976 Olympic tournament. He played all five matches....
- La Terre (1995) For soprano, piano and orchestra Poems by Yves BonnefoyYves BonnefoyYves Bonnefoy is a French poet and essayist. Bonnefoy was born in Tours, Indre-et-Loire, the son of a railroad worker and a teacher....
- Postcard from the Mountains (1988) For soprano and 8 instruments (flute, oboe, clarinet, vibraphone, violin, viola, cello and double-bass)
- Malay PantunPantunThe pantun is a Malay poetic form. The pantun originated as a traditional oral form of expression. The first examples to be recorded appear in the 15th century in the Malay Annals and the Hikayat Hang Tuah. The most common theme is love....
s (1961) For three flutes and alto voice (or mezzo-soprano)
Opera
- Pułapka ("The Trap," 2011) an opera in one act. Libretto: Grzegorz Jarzyna after Tadeusz RóżewiczTadeusz RózewiczTadeusz Różewicz is a Polish poet and writer.Różewicz belongs to the first generation born and educated after Poland regained its independence in 1918. His youthful poems were published in 1938...
's drama Pułapka for soloists, symphomy orchestra and choir - Polieukt ("Polyeucte," 2010) an opera in five acts. Libretto: Alicja Choińska and Jorge LavelliJorge LavelliJorge Lavelli is a French theater director of Italian ethnicity and Argentine origin.The son of Italian immigrants in Argentina, Lavelli has lived in France since the early 1960s. He became a French citizen in 1977....
after Pierre CorneillePierre CorneillePierre Corneille was a French tragedian who was one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine...
's drama PolyeuctePolyeuctePolyeucte martyr is a drama in five acts by French writer Pierre Corneille. It was finished in December 1642 and debuted in October 1643. It is based on the life of the martyr Saint Polyeuctus ....
for soloists, chamber choir and orchestra - Iwona, księżniczka Burgunda ("Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy," (2004) an opera in four acts. Libretto by Grzegorz Jarzyna and the composer after Witold GombrowiczWitold GombrowiczWitold Marian Gombrowicz was a Polish novelist and dramatist. His works are characterized by deep psychological analysis, a certain sense of paradox and an absurd, anti-nationalist flavor...
's theater play for soloists, chamber choir and orchestra. - Baltazar ("Balthasar," 2001) an opera in two acts Libretto: Ryszard PerytRyszard PerytRyszard Peryt is a Polish opera director, conductor, producer and actor. He is also a librettist, having written the libretto of Zygmunt Krause's Balthazar.-References:...
after Stanisław Wyspiański's theater play Daniel. - Gwiazda ("The Star") an opera in one act. Libretto: Helmut Kajzar. First version (1981) for 2 sopranos, 2 mezzo-sopranos, alto voice; tenor saxophone, trumpet, percussion, accordion, electric guitar, violin and double-bass. Second version (1994) for soprano, mezzo-soprano, orchestra, choir and ballet. Third version (2006) for soprano, computer and two camera-men.
Music for Theatre
- Moliere: El Avaro (2010)
- Sophocles: Oedipus Rex (2008)
- Tankret Dorst: Merlin (2005) For string orchestra, three voices, harp, flute, percussion
- Eugene IonescoEugène IonescoEugène Ionesco was a Romanian and French playwright and dramatist, and one of the foremost playwrights of the Theatre of the Absurd...
: Macbett (1992) For mixed choir (16 singers), clarinet, trombone, percussion, synthesizer, piano, upright piano out of tune, violin, cello and double-bass - Witold Gombrowicz: Opérette (1988) For clarinet, trumpet, trombone, piano, percussion, violin, double-bass
- François BilletdouxFrançois BilletdouxFrançois Billetdoux was a French dramatic author and novelist. His works describe the world with a fierce humor of a somewhat burlesque style, which sometimes turns into black humor....
: Réveille-toi, Philadelphie! (1988) For clarinet, trombone, harp, accordion, guitar, piano, percussion, violin, double-bass and tape - Federico Garcia Lorca: Le Public (1988) For clarinet, trumpet, trombone, electric guitar, percussion, violin, double-bass
- Pierre Corneille: Polyeucte (1987) For flute, Arabian flute (ney), French horn, piano, percussion, bells, harp, double-bass and tape
Musical Space Compositions
Aria (2007)Unlimited duration
21 sound sources (63 loudspeakers) in an exhibition hall
The Underground River (1987)
Collaboration with Jan Muniak and Wieslaw Nowak - architects
For 7 tapes
Fête galante et pastorale (1974)
First version:
Spatial composition for 6 groups of instruments and 13 tapes
Fête galante et pastorale (1984)
Second version:
Spatial composition for 13 group of instruments, 5 voices and 13 tapes
Automatophone (1974)
Spatial Composition for 15 music boxes and 15 plucked instruments with amplification
Spatial Composition No. 2 (1970)
Collaboration with Teresa Kelm - architect
For 2 tapes
Spatial Composition No. 1 (1968)
Collaboration with Teresa Kelm - architect and Henryk Morel - sculptor
For 6 tapes
External links
Sources
- Krystyna Tarnawska-Kaczorowska: Zygmunt Krauze - między intelektem, fantazją, powinnością i zabawą (Zygmunt Krauze – between intellect, fantasy, obligation and amusement), Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warsaw 2001, ISBN 83-01-13426-7
- Zygmunt Krauze official website