March 31, 2023 / 7:30 pm

Klangraum Krems Minoritenkirche

“Mahler’s Poland”

Concert description:

“Music is always about emotion!” That’s the credo of Polish composer Hanna Kulenty (*1961). In her work, the density of emotions is reflected in her emphasis on time as a key dimension. Also Józef Koffler’s “Ukrainian Sketches” deal with the aspect of time on various levels. They reflect folk music, written by a composer who, until his murder by the Nazis in 1944, lived in Lviv, a city whose identity oscillated between Polish, Austrian, Russian, and Ukrainian. The Polish music world of the 20th century had close ties with the French capital Paris. Grażyna Bacewicz (1909–1969), too, spent some years of study there, an influence that echoes back in tints of her Sinfonietta.

Zygmunt Krauze (*1938) studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris as well but chose for a different path. His Rhapsod is an invitation to pay close attention to the subtle nuances in musical development, which can unfold its spatiality to the full especially in a church setting. This kaleidoscope of Polish music is complemented the songs of Alma and Gustav Mahler, which open up associative spaces that offer multiple access points to the Polish compositions.

In cooperation with the Polish Institute Vienna and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. Subsidised by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage within the framework of the Inspiring Culture programme.

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