Relation for Alto Flute and Electronic Reverb (1990)

Jerzy Kornowicz

Composer’s note

Relation for the alto flute (or other woodwind instruments) and the reverberation date from a period when I was interested in spectralism. The composition develops certain spectral themes and techniques, but as chordal structure plays a dominant role in this technique, writing a piece for a solo instrument may seem somewhat at odds with this idea. It is precisely the reverberation that is intended to help avoid this monophony, as it allows all the sounds of the composition to coalesce into chordal playing. The piece is also characterised by an unrelenting narrative and energy, which keep not only the composer but, above all, the performer and – I hope – the listener in suspense. As a result, the work is also object-like – it is a kind of sonic mass that lives an inner life, yet with a continuous energy curve. This is something that interests me greatly in music – not telling a story through composition, but rather constructing a space which, though not always literally perceptible, consists of a constant element that has a life of its own.

— Jerzy Kornowicz

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  • Contemporary playing techniques

Composer

Composer Jerzy Kornowicz

Jerzy Kornowicz

Composer, improvisational pianist, teacher, organiser and music campaigner, born in 1959 in Lublin. He studied composition at the Academy of Music in Warsaw under Tadeusz Baird and Marian Borkowski, and at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague under Louis Andriessen. A composer across many genres – an interdisciplinary artist. His works in the field of composed music have been performed in dozens of countries by leading orchestras, ensembles and soloists. Recordings of these works have appeared on albums released by BBC Music, Signum Classic, Polskie Nagrania, Acte Préalable, the „Rozdroża” Centre for Intercultural Creative Initiatives and the Polish Music Information Centre. As a composer, he has been honoured, amongst other things, at the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers, and has been nominated for the Opus and Musica Nova awards.

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