News
Łukasz Borowicz about "Chapter 13"
2016-01-12
In a week, 19.01.2016 we will witness the premiere of Agata Zubel’s new composition, Chapter 13. Łukasz Borowicz is going to be the first to conduct the piece.
How did it happen that you had been chosen as conductor of the first performance of Chapter 13, the latest piece of Agata Zubel?
The invitation is a result of my permanent collaboration with Cami Music Agency and long-term activity of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, which is aimed at promoting Polish repertoire, composers and performers.
How well do you know Agata Zubel's music? Is any of her pieces your favourite one?
I have observed and admired the artistic output of Agata Zubel for many years. I still remember my fascination with her 2nd Symphony, can recall many of her performances in her own pieces, and those where we performed together.
What do you consider most interesting in Chapter 13's score?
Following the literary text and illustrative sound, which is fresh and very convincing for me, and which refers in a subtle way to the colour of the music of the 20th century French classics.
Chapter 13 uses fragments of the text of The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Does that affect the structure and the musical content of the piece?
Of course, because each piece written under the influence of a great text bears its characteristics. Subtle irony, ephemeral poetic quality and multiplicity of meanings in the words of the Little Prince - I find that all manifested in intricate rhythmic structures which are never blunt, but always remain in the service of expression. The music of Agata Zubel is extremely variable. It very quickly moves from the mood of a comical dialogue to metaphorical conclusions. That all adds to the value of this work.
Do the preparations for the first performance in Los Angeles differ from your standard work on a new score? Chapter 13 was written for a chamber ensemble. What consequences does it have for the conductor?
Precision, precision and, again, precision. These are the consequences that each conductor should (happily) evoke, execute and bear while working on musical pieces, both composed for chamber ensembles and for greater symphony orchestras. Chapter 13 would probably take some beating in terms of complexity. Therefore, with respect, but also with great pleasure, we are taking the challenge of performing it for the first time.
Most popular:
It’ s like a game. The memory game, thanks to which you can look at a very ordinary family from an extraordinary perspective. ALBUM RODZINNY [Family album] – an opera by Jerzy Kornowicz with a libretto by Michał Rusinek – is another premiere of the ANAKLASIS label this year. This time, the record brand is expanding its audience to include the youngest listeners. The album will be released on 21st June.
Time passes constantly, changing the world and its soundscape around us. The title IL TEMPO PASSA may be both a reflection on the impermanence of life, world and things and a piece of advice to enjoy the moment. The latest album by ANAKLASIS presents Joanna Wnuk-Nazarowa’s cameral and symphonic works from recent years. Premiere on 28 May 2024, on the composer’s 75th birthday.
It is a musical-literary tale about a quest for identity, truth, and for what makes us human. The new stage work by Aleksander Nowak – which is, at the same time, Radek Rak’s operatic debut – explores the sources of good and evil, fusing reality with mythology and steering towards ‘the left-hand side of the world’. The authors spin a tale about the dual human nature. THE TALE OF THE HEART. FAVOLA IN MUSICA – the album that presents their joint project – will go on sale on 6th October.
Spectacularly successful as Ludomir Różycki’s music was in his lifetime, it is seldom programmed nowadays. All the same, such remarkable art could hardly fall into utter oblivion. It has attracted and fascinated excellent jazz pianist Kuba Stankiewicz, who has translated it into the language of jazz. The effects have been recorded and released on ANAKLASIS label’s most recent album, INSPIRED BY LUDOMIR RÓŻYCKI, which goes on sale as of 28th August.
PWM Edition is entering the execution phase of the revitalisation of its Warsaw department. With the commencement of the renovation and the implementation of the assumptions of the architectural design, the Hire Department and the editorial office of “Ruch Muzyczny” are moving to a temporary headquarters at 19 Wiejska Street, Warsaw.
This is by no means a piece about the centuries-long Polish-German conflict. It is, instead, a tale of impossible love, of tragic conflict between personal happiness and the common good.
PWM Edition resumes cooperation with the Italian publishing house Ricordi, as well as with its international partners forming Universal Music Publishing Classics & Screen. This means that rentals of orchestral materials from the catalogues of all publishing houses belonging to Classics & Screen is carried out in Poland by Dział Zbiorów Nutowych (Sheet Music Department) of PWM.
The most fascinating phenomena in contemporary music; a wide range of genres; outstanding works, excellent composers and performers – are the trademarks of the record label ANAKLASIS, launched by PWM Edition. ANAKLASIS is now celebrating its third birthday. It continues to grow at a dizzying pace and maintains the high artistic standards of its releases.
When asked to attempt a definition of her music, she called it lyrical expressionism. The choice of this term says much about the emotional intensity of Elżbieta Sikora’s music, which may reflect the experience of her two home countries, Poland and France, but is also a consequence of her artistic maturation in an age when two powerful trends – the avant-garde and neo-Classicism – were vying for the palm. Such a label may also result from the artist’s focus on the listener as her target, whom she invariably attempts to surprise, shock, or bewilder.