Krauze/Tchaikovsky

Symphonic concert

Performers:

Warmia and Mazury Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra

Alexandr Iradyan — conductor

Zygmunt Krauze — piano/composer

Witold Paprocki — a word about music

Programa:

Zygmunt Krauze — Serenade for orchestra — Adieu for disordered piano and orchestra

Piotr Czajkowski — Fifth Symphony Op. 64

It is not often that when we spend an evening in the Philharmonic we have the opportunity to meet with the composer of the performed works, in addition to the role of the performer of the solo part. But it is precisely for such an unusual experience that Olsztyn music lovers will take part: Zygmunt Krauze, composer, pianist, educator and organizer of musical life with significant achievements in all these fields, will visit the Warmia and Mazury Philharmonic accompanied by his music. We will hear Serenade for orchestra (1998) and Adieu (2003). The first of the songs dazzles with an idyllic, somewhat dreamlike mood and artistic melodic tissue, and its incredible mood is due, among other things, to the use of unusual instruments: cow bell, Caribbean steel drum, Thai gong and tabli*. In turn, the second of the pieces — Adieu — the composer himself commented as follows:

“Adieu is a program piece in the form of capriccia for solo piano and orchestra. The entire program is contained in a title that can be translated in different ways. For me, farewell, parting is understood as the moment when something ends, but at the same time a new situation arises, new perspectives open up. This is what the incorrect optimist thinks. The use of the piano, in addition to the untuned piano, was dictated not only by its sound qualities. This instrument, a poor relative of the piano, has a beautiful history and certainly deserved to finally stand on the stage next to the symphony orchestra.”

The symphony is a powerful form, giving wide scope for full swing, mature artistic expression. It was for many composers a field of reflection on great and final things. It is no different in the case of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony in E minor op. 64, because its subject is the dilemmas of a man torn by fate. We know this thanks to a few verses left on the manuscript:

And part of the symf [onii]. Intr [deduction]. Total submission to fate, or — which is the same — to the unfathomable intentions of Providence. Allegro. I) Whispers, doubts, laments, reproaches against... XXX II) Should I throw myself into the embrace of faith???

A wonderful program, I hope you can implement it***.

This whole symphonic journey into the contemplation of fate begins with a recurring theme symbolizing fate. One of the stages of this path is the beautiful solo of the horn in the second part, as well as the famous waltz in the third part. It is hard to believe that composing this work caused the composer a lot of trouble; Tchaikovsky, while working on the work, constantly doubted the value and success of the work, as evidenced by his letters****. No less, however, he managed to compose a piece that takes the listener from uncertainty to triumph. The narration of the Symphony suggests to the listeners that the distractions of the first part dissipate in the finale, which fills with optimism and joy.

Agnieszka Teodora Zabińska

Sigmund Krauze

Author of 10 operas, more than 100 symphonic, chamber and solo compositions. Co-author of the first spatial and musical installation in Poland in 1968, later realized in Graz, Metz, Karlsruhe, Warsaw and Łódź. Zygmunt Krauze's work was initially inspired by the works of Polish constructivist painter Władysław Strzeminski and was called unistic music. It then evolved towards inspiration by folk art, to become more expressive in the following decades. From today Zygmunt Krauze's works also reflect human and social conflicts and disapproval of brutality and aggression in armed conflicts around the world: “Tableau Vivant” (martial law in Poland 1981), “Arabesque” (war in Algeria), “De ira, de dolore” (war in Ukraine), “Exodus” (the problem of migration from Africa), and especially “Children's Requiem” dedicated to children killed in wars and armed conflicts of the 21st century.

He completed his studies at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, at the faculties of composition and piano, in Paris under the direction of Nadia Boulanger. He was a professor of composition at the Academy of Music in Lodz and Warsaw and visiting professor at Yale University, ESMUC (Barcelona) and eminent corresponding professor Keimyung University (Daegu). He received honorary doctorates from the University of Music in Bucharest and the Academy of Music in Lodz. Juror of more than 50 international competitions for composers.

As a pianist, he received the 1st Prize of the Gaudeamus Competition in Amsterdam in 1966. He has performed in most countries of Europe, the Americas and Asia, giving recitals of new music and playing his piano concertos with orchestras. In 1967 he founded the band Music Workshop, with whom he toured on three continents for more than 25 years.

In the 1980s, Zygmunt Krauze lived in Paris, where, at the invitation of Pierre Boules, he was an artistic advisor at IRCAM. During this time he collaborated with Argentine director Jorge Lavelli and composed for productions at the Theatre Comedie Francaise and the Theatre National de la Colline. His theatrical music has been performed in Paris, Lyon, Barcelona, Madrid, Palermo and Merida. He hosted broadcasts about new music on Radio France Musique.

In France he was appointed Officer of the Legion of Honour and Chevalier des Arts et de Lettres, and in Poland the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polish Revival and the Gold Medal “Merited to Culture — Gloria Artis”. Two of his compositions, the opera “Polyeucte” and the Third Piano Concerto, were awarded the Best Musical Creation Award by the Association Professionnelle de la Critique de Théâtre, Musique et Danse. In 1987-90 he was president of the International Society of Contemporary Music, and for two decades chairman of the Polish section of this organization. He is an honorary member of the Union of Polish Composers, ISCM and the Witold Lutosławski Society.

* a traditional Indian instrument composed of wooden, clay or copper cauldrons, which is played with bunches of hands or fingers. The diaphragms of both are stretched in turns.

** The quote comes from the program book of the 46th Warsaw Autumn Festival. Cited from: https://polmic.pl/pl/nowosci-wydawnicze/nuty/adieu–krauze-zygmunt (accessed 29.08.2026).

*** You may be wondering what is hidden under XXX. Researchers of Tchaikovsky's work confirm that in this way he hid his intimate identity then socially unacceptable. http://en.tchaikovsky-research.net/pages/Symphony_No._5 (accessed 29.08.2026).

**** Ibid.

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