Relief VII (KRZANOWSKI ANDRZEJ)

Par KRZANOWSKI ANDRZEJ. The cycle of nine Reliefs was written between 1984 and 1989, during the last period in Andrzej Krzanowski?s life, and it provides further evidence of his interest in the fine arts, which he exploited in his compositional work. The sculpture technique enabling an artist to create bas reliefs of varying degrees of convexity, for which the raw material is so important, is faithfully reflected in Relief II, where the accordion offers such possibilities for shaping the sound, dynamics, timbre and articulation that the narrative pursued in this work, involving the expansion and contraction of sound streams and the consistent processing of the raw material (whole tone ? semitone scale), creates a ?musical relief ?. This is not a dramatic or virtuosic work. Time flows slowly, on low, subtly fluctuating dynamic levels, the bands of sounds that form streams of varying density are written solely by means of horizontal lines, stretched out across regular bar lines that measure out the time, and the static unfolding of the music is enriched solely with vibrations. The sounds alternately overlap and fade. Sometimes they occur in imitation, and self-contained chords appear incidentally. The contemplation of time, multi-level structuring, subtlety and? dedication to the brilliant Japanese composer Toshio Hosokawa account for the popular name of this work ? ?Japanese?. Fragment of preface Grazyna Krzanowska translated by John Comber / Date parution : 2022-11-08/ Recueil / Accordéon

Par KRZANOWSKI ANDRZEJ. Despite the rich palette of colours and articulation, Relief IX is a static work, and its slowed narrative creates the impression of being stretched out over time, thereby leading the listener into an unreal, unfamiliar world. This composition has often been described as a surrealistic and contemplative work. As Andrzej Chlopecki wrote: ‘[Relief IX] directs its expression towards sur-real realms, departing from the composer’s previous strategies’. This work was written to commission for the Polish Realities festival in Glasgow (hence its nickname: Relief IX (‘Scottish’). The tape component was recorded in collaboration with David MacKenzie of Glasgow University’s Electronic Music Studio. That is also where the work was first performed, by the Paragon Ensemble and BEAST group under the direction of David Davies, on 19 November 1988. The first Polish presentation of Relief IX was given by the Silesian Quartet on 16 September 1989 during the 32nd ‘Warsaw Autumn’ International Festival of Contemporary Music. Relief IX was dedicated to Józef Patkowski, who founded Polish Radio’s Experimental Studio, and to the ‘Warsaw Autumn’ festival. Grazyna Krzanowska translated by John Comber / Date parution : 2022-11-08/ Répertoire / Quatuor à Cordes et Enregistrement

Par KRZANOWSKI ANDRZEJ. The sequence of expressively and dynamically contrasting tempi (Lento assai e tranquillo – Allegro con vigore – Lento assai e tranquillo – Allegro con vigore – Lento assai – Allegro con vigore – Lento assai e tranquillo – Allegro con vigore – Lento assai da lontano) creates a distinctly twofold form. Yet the two agogic-expressive strands display two features in common: musical material that remains constant for the whole of the work (mostly referring to the so-called semitone – whole tone scale) and a lack of stability and regularity to the rhythmic passages of particular sections, obtained through the use of such devices as pauses and added dots. This work was written in Czechowice-Dziedzice in 1986 and is one of two compositions – alongside Autumn Impressions – scored for amplified bass accordion. Dedicated to the French accordionist and teacher Alain Abbott, it was first performed on 27 January 2012 by Klaudiusz Baran at the 9th Witold Lutoslawski Chain Festival. / Date parution : 2022-11-08/ Recueil / Accordéon Basse Amplifiée