Jerzy Kornowicz

Jerzy Kornowicz studied composition in the class of Tadeusz Baird and Marian Borkowski at the Music Academy in Warsaw. He deepened his knowledge with Louis Andriessen at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. In 2001, on his initiative, the Kawalerowie Błotni ensemble was formed, focusing on intuitive and improvised activities, combining different aesthetics and forms, the sounds of acoustic and electronic instruments. In addition to creative work, he conducts organizational and social activities. He was a member of the Board of the Polish Society for Contemporary Music (1989–92 and 2002–07), and from 2003 he was for twelve years the president of the Polish Composers’ Union. He also took part in the creation of the European Composers’ Forum in Vienna and the European Composers and Authors’ Agreement in Brussels. Since 2017, he has been the artistic director of the Warsaw Autumn festival. He composes intuitively, combining the latest techniques with elements of tradition and improvisation. A feature of many of his works is a clear motoric quality, which gives the music a characteristic pulse. In the composer’s works one can also find the idea of ​​returning to nature (Shapes of Elements for harpsichord and tape, 2000) or jazz inspirations (Great Spinning for jazz orchestra and variable soloist quintet, 2014). In the manner of combining sounds, freely drawing from different genres and traditions, Kornowicz is part of the postmodernist trend. (image © Bartek Barczyk / PWM