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25th Anniversary of the Death of Tomasz Sikorski
2013-11-13
Today is the 25th anniversary of the death of Tomasz Sikorski. The composer created an original style of music, characterised by the combination of features of minimalism with sonorism. His musical aesthetic is also distinguished by programmality. Tomasz Sikorski, born 19 V 1939 Warsaw, died 13 XI 1988 Warsaw, composer and pianist, son of Kazimierz Sikorski. Studied at PWSM in Warsaw: 1956–62 composition under the direction of his father (gaining a diploma with distinction) and 1956–61 piano with Z. Drzewiecki. In the years 1961–63 his interest was concentrated around electronic music; at this time he wrote pieces which used magnetic tape: „Antyfony” and „Echa II”, for which he gained a distinction at the V Polish Composers’ Union Youth Competition. In 1965, thanks to a scholarship from the French government, he studied with N. Boulanger in Paris. 1963–68 he lectured ochestration and score reading at the PWSM in Warsaw. 1963, alongside Z. Krauze and J. Tilbury, he was one of the initiators of the establishment of „Warsztat Muzyczne”, a group performing contemporary music. In 1967 he founded the ensemble Ad novum, in which the permanent membership , apart form the composer, was made up of: Z. Rudziński (piano), A. Wojakowski (flute) and K. Woźniak (percussion). T.S. was a talented pianist; he performed at the festivals MTMW in Stockholm (1966), Athens (1979) and Brussels (1981) and many times at the International Contemporary Music Festival „Warsaw Autumn” as a performer of his own works. 1965–74 he was a member of the repertoire committee for the „Warsaw Autumn” festival, leading it in the years 1971–74, 1973–75 a member of the PCU Board. 1975–76 he was in the USA on a scholarship for the Senior Fulbright Program. At this time he worked in the Columbia Princeton Electronic Music Center in New York, where he composed the piece „Samotność dźwięków”, and in the Electronic Music Studio at Yale University in New Haven. In the ‘80s he concentrated on his compositional work.More details: http://onpolishmusic.com/2013/11/13/%E2%80%A2-tomasz-sikorski-d-13-november-1988/
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