Krzystof Knittel

Composer

Author

About

Krzysztof KNITTEL composer, co-founder of improvised music groups, including the KEW Composers’ Group (1973-76), the Independent Electroacoustic Music Studio (1982-84), Freight Train (set up in 1986), the European Improvisation Orchestra (1996-98), the CH&K&K Group (founded in 1999) and Mud Cavaliers (set up in 2003). Born in Warsaw in 1947, he studied at the Departments of Sound Engineering and of Composition, Conducting and Music Theory of the Fryderyk Chopin State Higher School of Music in Warsaw. Since 1973 he collaborated with the Experimental Studio of Polish Radio in Warsaw. In 1978 he worked at The Center of the Creative and Performing Arts w Buffalo, USA. He composes symphonic, choral, chamber, stage, electro-acoustic and computer works, the music for ballet, theatre and film, he creates also sound installations. He has performed his works in most of the European countries, Asia, North and South Americas. His discography includes over 50 records. During martial law he was active in the circles of independent culture. After 1989 he co-founded the Audio-Art Festival at the Center for Contemporary Art in Warsaw, he served as director of the Warsaw Autumn Festival, he created Ad Libitum festival. In 1999-2003 he was the president of the Polish Composers’ Union and from 2005 to 2017 he served as the president of the Polish Music Council. From 2014 to 2018 he was a member of the board of the European Music Council. He is professor emeritus of the Fryderyk Chopin Music University, he teached also at the music academies in Łódź and Kraków. His honours include the Solidarity Prize for the String Quartet (1985), the Award of the Polish Composers Union (2003), the Cyprian Kamil Norwid Artistic Award (2003), the Gloria Artis Silver Medal of Merit for Culture ((2005). He was also awarded by the Foundation for Contemporary Performing Arts in New York (1998), in 2017 he received Gustav Mahler Kompositionspreis and The Theater Award of the City of Gdansk for the opera “The Last Judgment”, in 2019 ZAiKS 100th Anniversary Award.

Sheets

Interview

What does music mean to you personally?

LOVE

Do you agree that music is all about fantasy?

NO, MUSIC IS ABOUT REALITY

If you were not a professional musician, who would you have been?

PROBABLY VISUAL ARTIST, I LIKE DRAWINGS, PAINTINGS, INSTALLATIONS

https://zasoby.msl.org.pl/arts/view/9722 ; https://zasoby.msl.org.pl/arts/view/9723

The classical music audience is getting old, are you worried about your future?

I AM OLD TOO, SO I DON’T WORRY ABOUT SUCH THINGS  AND SERIOUSLY – THERE IS NO REASON FOR SUCH CONCERNS

What do you envision the role of classical music to be in the 21 century?

THERE IS SO MUCH BEAUTIFUL CLASSICAL MUSIC, THAT LISTENERS WILL ALWAYS ATTEND CONCERTS OF CLASSICAL MUSIC;

Do you see that there is a transformation of this role?

FOR ME THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE ROLE OF CLASSICAL MUSIC IS IMPORTANT, BUT CHANGES IN THE LISTENERS PERCEPTION OF MUSIC ARE MORE IMPORTANT AND PRINCIPALLY IN CONTEMPORARY MUSIC – THE MORE LISTENERS KNOW ABOUT NEW MUSIC, THE MORE THEY LISTEN TO IT, THE BETTER THEY WILL UNDERSTAND IT

When I say that classical music is searching for new ways or that the classical music is getting a new face, what would come to your mind?

INTERNET

Do you think that the classical musician today needs to be more creative?

I LIKE AND RESPECT CREATIVITY, IT IS RIGHT NEXT TO LOVE FOR ME;

What’s the role of creativity in the musical process for you?

WITHOUT CREATIVITY THERE IS NO CREATIVITY, NO MUSICAL WORKS, NO OUTSTANDING INTERPRETATIONS

Do you think we musicians can do something to attract young generation into the classical music concerts? How will you proceed?

THE WORDS “CLASSICAL MUSIC” MEAN FOR ME THE MUSICAL ART DERIVED FROM THE MANY YEARS OF MUSIC HISTORY AROUND THE WORLD, AND NOT ONLY EUROPEAN, WESTERN TRADITION; THIS ALSO INCLUDES CONTEMPORARY SERIOUS MUSIC, FREE IMPROVISATION AND JAZZ – I LOVE IMPROVISATION IN MUSIC AND I HAVE HAD A SERIES OF WORKSHOPS WITH YOUNG MUSICIANS AND MUSIC STUDENTS, WHERE THEY MADE THE MUSIC THEMSELVES; FOR 20 YEARS I WAS ALSO TEACHING ELECTROACOUSTIC AND COMPUTER MUSIC…

Tell us about your creative process. Do you have your favorite piece (written by you) How did you start working on it?

IN MY TEACHING PRACTISE GRAPHIC SCORES WERE OFTEN THE STARTING POINT FOR MUSICAL IMPROVISATION, BUT IT WAS ONLY AN INSPIRATION, BECAUSE THEY MADE THE MUSIC THEMSELVES; ALSO THE MUSICAL INSTRUCTIONS FROM “AUS DEN SIEBEN TAGEN” OF KARLHEINZ STOCKHAUSEN ALWAYS WORKED EXCELLENTLY

1We, Moving Classics TV, love the combination of classical music with different disciplines: music and painting, music and cinematography, music and digital art, music and poetry. What do you think about these combinations?

I HAVE BEEN ALWAYS DOING THIS SINCE THE BEGINNING OF MY STUDIES; COOPERATION BOTH – WITH A GROUP OF MUSICIANS AND WITH ARTISTS FROM OTHER FIELDS OF ART – POETS, FILMMAKERS, VISUAL ARTISTS, DANCERS – SUCH COLLABORATION IS REFRESHING, ALWAYS WAKES THE IMAGINATION

Can you give some advice for young people who want to discover classical music for themselves?

CLASSICAL MUSIC CAN ONLY BE DISCOVERED BY LISTENING TO IT AND SEARCHING FOR THE ONE THAT SPEAKS TO YOU – ONCE, AS A VERY YOUNG BOY, I FALL IN LOVE WITH THE CONCERTO FOR ORCHESTRA BY BELA BARTOK – IT WAS MY WAY TO UNDERSTANDING 20TH-CENTURY MUSIC

Now it is a common practice in the media to talk that the classical music is getting into the consumption business, do you agree? We are speaking about the supply and demand rules and how to sell your “product” in your case your compositions. How do you see it?

SUCH AN APPROACH TO MUSIC AND CREATIVITY HAS EXISTED IN THE WORLD FOR YEARS, ALWAYS SOMEONE MAKES AN INTEREST IN MUSIC, ON MINE TOO, BUT IT’S NOT MY PROBLEM; I’, MORE INTERESTED TO KNOW – HOW WAS IT POSSIBLE THAT MOZART WAS ABLE TO WRITE TWO OPERAS AND A FEW INSTRUMENTAL COMPOSITIONS IN HALF A YEAR?!

Do you have expectations what regards your listeners, your audience?

NO 

What projects are coming up?

IN THE NEAREST TIME, I WILL WORK ON SOME ELECTRONIĆ PIECES AND A SINFONIETTA

Do you experiment in your projects?

ALWAYS