The event takes on heightened significance as it dovetails with the composer’s 85th birthday, celebrated with the vibrant sounds of Warsaw's Sinfonia Varsovia orchestra.
Krauze, a giant in the world of music, has been recognized with numerous accolades, including the French Legion of Honour (2007) and the title of Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (1984).
He was the chairman of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) in 1987 and has been its honorary member since 1999.
Krauze is not only a distinguished composer but also a charismatic pianist who often performs his compositions.
Łukasz Strusiński, Program Manager of Sinfonia Varsovia, emphasized Krauze’s significant role in Polish music across the 20th and 21st centuries, describing him as a “living legend” and a pioneering experimenter.
This upcoming concert, coinciding with Krauze’s 85th jubilee, is a milestone in the composer’s prolific career and his ongoing journey in the realm of contemporary music.
Krauze explained that his piano concertos emanate from diverse emotional and musical experiences.
His first piano concerto was composed in 1976 for the Donaueschingen Festival, the second 20 years later in 1996 for Tokyo’s Suntory Hall. The third in 2019 was commissioned by Poland's National Philharmonic and received a prestigious French critics’ award.
This fourth piano concerto, commissioned by the Sinfonia Varsovia, is set to be a display of not only the soloist "but also this splendid orchestra," said Krauze.
Expressing a departure from his recent compositions, which often echoed world events, Krauze highlighted that his Piano Concerto No. 4 does not tell a specific story or engage with non-musical matters. Rather, it is a "personal and emotional musical statement," reflecting upon the passage of time and emotional tensions.
While performing the solo piano part during concerts, including the upcoming premiere, Krauze appreciates the intimacy it provides.
He said: "The fact that I perform these pieces myself makes the music more personal, and the emotional message is direct and strong."
He also shed light on a degree of freedom embedded in the piano part of all his piano concertos, permitting rhythmic flexibility which aids in the expression of the music’s embedded emotions.
Wednesday's concert, under the baton of young Belgian conductor Martijn Dendievel, who has already carved a notable presence on international stages, will also include György Ligeti's Romanian Concerto and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 in F Major.
The choice of these specific compositions aligns with musical avant-gardists, ensuring an atmosphere where the past and present flirt in a play of melodies and innovation, according to Strusiński.
The concert will be performed on October 11 at 7 p.m. in the Concert Hall of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, inaugurating this year's "Wednesday on Okólnik" series.
(rt/gs)
Source: dzieje.pl