Composers of contemporary music become publicly known usually thanks to soundtracks. Although the degree of their involvement differed, all composers became known in the world of film. Their popularity was also boosted by recommendations from jazz or pop musicians. And there were plenty of those.
Four selected composers were living in a Europe divided by the Iron Curtain. In order to take advantage of artistic freedom or simply to develop their skills, they had to travel or even move. For composers from the Eastern Bloc a window onto the world was provided by festivals of contemporary music, for instance the Warsaw Autumn.
Each composer initially wrote in the spirit of avant-garde serialism, but none persevered at it. They all went their own separate ways, though their oeuvres had some things in common, things like experiments with electronics or graphic scores.
In post-war Europe the most appropriate technique to be used by a modern composer was serialism. With time, however, composers began to experiment with other techniques: sonoristics, minimalism, aleatory technique or tintinnabuli. The techniques and styles reflected their philosophy and personality.
The composers’ work was influenced not only by great politics, transformations of customs and technologies, but also by personal, individual events. That is why we look at the artists’ oeuvre also from the perspective of their family situations, wartime traumas or character traits.
From 1922, when Kazimierz Serocki was born, until today’s performances interpreting the works of the four composers – learn about the composers from the chronological perspective. Using this filter you will be able to trace events, encounters and creations happening at a similar moment in time. You will discover how particular trends and tendencies were reflected in their body of work.
