Aleksandra Gryka (born 17 May 1977) is a Polish classical composer of experimental music. Her works have been performed at such festivals as the

Warsaw Autumn Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officially ...

Sacrum Profanum The sacrum (plural: ''sacra'' or ''sacrums''), in human anatomy, is a large, triangular bone at the base of the spine that forms by the fusing of the sacral vertebrae (S1S5) between ages 18 and 30. The sacrum situates at the upper, back part ...

and

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

Focus! Festival.

Early life and education

Aleksandra Gryka was born on 17 May 1977, in Warsaw. She started learning to play the piano at the age of six. In 2003, she graduated with honors in composition under the supervision of Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar and computer composition under Magdalena Długosz at the

Academy of Music in Kraków The Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków ( pl, Akademia Muzyczna im. Krzysztofa Pendereckiego w Krakowie) is a conservatory located in central Kraków, Poland. It is the '' alma mater'' of the renowned Polish contemporary composer Krz ...

. During her studies, she also took composition courses in Kraków, Helsinki,

Buckow Buckow ( or ) is a town in the Märkisch-Oderland district, in Brandenburg, Germany. The water cure resort is the administrative seat of the ''Amt'' (municipal association) Märkische Schweiz and located in the centre of the eponymous hill range, ...

and Reichenau.

Career

Her work is characterized as uncompromising and experimental. Although the structure of her works stems from

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

traditions, what is most important to her is originality and timbre. Gryka writes pieces for instruments, although she also explores electronic music. She draws inspiration from various sources, including the works of

Iannis Xenakis Giannis Klearchou Xenakis (also spelled for professional purposes as Yannis or Iannis Xenakis; el, Γιάννης "Ιωάννης" Κλέαρχου Ξενάκης, ; 29 May 1922 – 4 February 2001) was a Romanian-born Greek-French avant-garde ...

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

and

Gérard Grisey Gérard Henri Grisey (; ; 17 June 1946 – 11 November 1998) was a twentieth-century French composer of contemporary classical music. His work is often associated with the Spectralist Movement in music, of which he was a major pioneer. Biograp ...

. She feels drawn to

spectralism Spectral music uses the acoustic properties of sound – or sound spectra – as a basis for composition. Definition Defined in technical language, spectral music is an acoustic musical practice where compositional decisions are often informe ...

and

sonorism Sonorism (Polish: ''Sonoryzm'') is an approach to musical composition associated with a number of notable Polish composers. The scholar Józef Michał Chomiński coined the term "sonoristics" (Polish: ''sonorystyka'') to describe the urge to explor ...

. Gryka's compositions have been performed, among others, in Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy and the United States. Her works could be heard at such festivals, as the

(2003: world premiere of ''Interialcell''),

and

Focus! Festival. Gryka's work has appeared in the repertoire of, among others, an_ARCHE new music ensemble and Kwadrofonik. In 2005, she started composing music for theater performances. In 2006, the futuristic ballet ''Alpha Kryonia xe'' by choreographer Jacek Przybyłowicz was staged at the Grand Theatre in Warsaw, to which Gryka composed music. The piece was inspired by the works of

Stanisław Lem Stanisław Herman Lem (; 12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction and essays on various subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. Many of his science fiction stories are of satirical ...

Works

* ''For D.'' for piano solo, 1999 * ''LIEN-AL'' for cello, harpsichord and accordion, 2000 * ''High3bbingNor.'' for symphony orchestra, 2000 * ''Interioryzacion'' for computer, 2000 * ''OXYGEN nr.369,1'' for tape and piano, 2001 * ''NonStopping center'' for harpsichord solo, 2001 * ''(1”)exists as…(-1”)'' for flute, accordion, piano, 3 percussions and cello, 2001 * ''Project ien'' for tape, video and dancer, 2002 * ''JaIchIJe'' for string quartet and marimba, 2002 * ''Interialcell'' for instrumental ensemble, 2003 * ''Alpha Kryonia XE'' ballet, 2003 * ''eSU'' for tape and video elements, 2004 * ''konstrunity 0100'' for 12 voices, 2004 * ''Tii'' for soprano and instrumental ensemble from opera saga ''Komander Kobayashi'', 2004–2005 * ''ambeoidal MTOCSs'' for clarinet, marimba, piano, violin, tape and video, 2005 * ''NTvacou'' for contrabass recorder, harpsichord, violin and cello, 2006 * ''SCREAM YOU'', opera from the ''Kommander Kobayashi II'' project, 2006 * ''Youmec'' for harpsichord and tape, 2006 * ''e'' for cello, 2007 * ''BAe 146 OY-CRG.Sylar'' for instrumental ensemble, 2007 * ''NEI'' for violin, tape and video, 2008 * ''SCREEM QUEEN'' opera, developed in collaboration with NOVOFLOT, 2008 * ''t.Aamiper'' for orchestra, trumpet solo and electronics, 2009 * ''The LighetM'' for string quartet, 2009 * ''Erschöpfung'' opera, developed in collaboration with NOVOFLOT, 2010 * ''Glück'' opera, developed in collaboration with NOVOFLOT, 2011 * ''einerjedeneither'' for orchestra, 2011 * ''observerobserver'' for Paetzold flute, double-bass flute and video, 2012 * ''10,12,13,-31'' for string quartet, 2012 * ''das Schloss'' opera, developed in collaboration with NOVOFLOT, 2013 * ''Der Sieg Uber die Sonne'' opera, developed in collaboration with NOVOFLOT, 2013 * ''A.CELLfalserator'' for 2 pianos, 2013 * ''W.ALTER’s(Z)'' for mezzo-soprano, 2 pianos, 2 percussionists and electronics, 2014 * '', H_He, '' for choir, multipercussion and electronics, 2014 * ''mutedisorder quartet'' for clarinet/bass clarinet, violin, piano and percussion instruments, 2015 * ''emptyloop'' for string quartet, 2020 * ''PLASTIC'' for electronics/samples, 2021

Awards and nominations

* 2000: first prize at the EuroArtMeeting Composition Competition in Wrocław for the song ''High3bbingNor'' * 2003, 2006: nominations for the

Paszport Polityki Paszport Polityki (Polityka's Passport) is an annual Polish cultural award presented by the weekly magazine ''Polityka'' since 1993. It is presented in six major categories: literature, film, theatre, classical music, popular music, visual arts ...

award * 2004:

Prize of the Christoph and Stephan Kaske Foundation The Prize of the Christoph and Stephan Kaske Foundation () is an annual award for promotion of new music. It was founded in 1988 by Karlheinz and Christiane Kaske in memory of their sons Christoph and Stephan. has its legal seat in Munich. The ai ...

for electroacoustic work * 2006: nomination for the

TVP Kultura TVP Kultura is the first TV theme channel to be run by the Polish public broadcaster TVP. It was launched on 24 April 2005 and is dedicated to arts and culture. Every day of the week, the channel concentrates on other disciplines; e.g., cinema, m ...

Award * 2009: nomination for the "Cogito" Public Media Award * 2012: award for music to the play ''Trash Story'' at the 12th National Festival of Contemporary Dramaturgy "Rzeczywistość Przedstawiona" in

Zabrze Zabrze (; German: 1915–1945: ''Hindenburg O.S.'', full form: ''Hindenburg in Oberschlesien'', Silesian: ''Zŏbrze'', yi, זאַבזשע, Zabzhe) is an industrial city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. The west district of the Sil ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gryka, Aleksandra 1977 births Polish composers Polish women classical composers 21st-century women composers 21st-century classical composers Musicians from Warsaw Alumni of the Academy of Music in Kraków Living people