Next to the Warsaw Autumn Festival, Musica Polonica Nova in Wrocław is the oldest festival dedicated to new music in Poland. This year’s 31st edition will be held from April 20-28, 2018 in the National Forum of Music in Wrocław under the direction of composer Paweł Hendrich. In his first year as Artistic Director, one of the new ideas that Hendrich will add to the Festival format is that each edition will highlight the work of one composer. Thus the first artist invited as the Festival’s Resident Composer is Marcin Stańczyk, whose latest works will be performed during the festival.
Stańczyk encourages the audience to listen to his works blindfolded. Thus blindfolds will be an important prop in both Blind Walk, which was premiered at the Venice Biennale, and in the new composition Sursounds, commissioned by the National Forum of Music for two combined NFM chamber groups: Lutosławski Quartet and LutosAir Quintet. The National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Marzena Diakun will also perform Woven Music, which refers to the sounds of the weaving machines recorded by the composer in the Museum of Textiles in Łódź. Stańczyk will also involve Wrocław residents themselves to perform his composition.
There will be red boxes, similar to letter boxes, throughout the public spaces of the Festival. Next to them will be placed “scores-invitations” to perform Possible Music. Everyone will be able to imagine the work of Stańczyk, describe their own impressions on the back of the score, and deposit it into the red box. Written impressions and reviews will then be used by the composer to create a new piece. In addition, the artist will give a lecture illustrated with his own works, and after the lecture he will lead composition workshops for students of the Wrocław Academy of Music.
Also exciting event of the Festival will be the “#ZKPWr” concert. Held on April 23, it will highlight members of the Związek Kompozytorów Polskich, Oddział Wrocławski [Polish Composers’ Union, Wrocław Branch] and will feature the premieres of five new works: Piotr Bednarczyk – Nervous for instrumental trio (viola, cello an piano) and electronics with actor; Katarzyna Dziewiątkowska – Leżenia for viola, cello, piano and electronics with actor to a text by M. Białoszewski; Sławomir Kupczak – Wrażliwe dane for viola, cello and piano; Jacek Sotomski – Seks i przemoc for actor and computer (in collaboration with and dedicated to Krzysztof Brzazgoń); and Grzegorz Wierzba – Light stream, a trio for viola, cello and piano. Also on the program are works by Cezary Duchnowski, J.A. Wichrowski and Tomasz Skweres. The concert will be performed by Marlena Grodzicka-Myślak – viola, Jakub Myślak – cello; Gracjan Szymczak – piano and Krzysztof Brzazgoń – actor, voice.
[Sources: polmic.pl]