Eugeniusz Knapik (born July 9, 1951, in

Ruda Śląska Ruda Śląska (formerly ) is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. It is a district in the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union, a metropolis with a population of two million. It is in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica Rive ...

) is a Polish

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and composer of classical music best known for his 1980 chamber piece String Quartet No. 1. Knapik studied composition and piano with

Henryk Górecki Henryk Mikołaj Górecki ( , ; 6 December 1933 – 12 November 2010) was a Polish composer of contemporary classical music. According to critic Alex Ross, no recent classical composer has had as much commercial success as Górecki. He became a l ...

(1933–2010) and Czesław Stańczyk at the University of Music in Katowice. ". Adam Mickiewicz Institute. Retrieved on June 1, 2009. As a pianist he has recorded widely, specialising mainly in 20th-century music. He has won numerous prizes for his compositions, including at the Festival of Polish Piano Interpretation in

Słupsk Słupsk (; , ; formerly german: Stolp, ; also known by several alternative names) is a city with powiat rights located on the Słupia River in the Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland, in the historical region of Pomerania or more specific ...

, and the International Chamber Music Competition in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

.Eugeniusz Knapik
. Polskie Centrum Informacji Muzycznej. Retrieved on June 1, 2009. Along with Andrzej Krzanowski and Aleksander Lasoń, Knapik is generally seen as a leading member of the composers who emerged in Poland during the mid-1970s. This group was collectively named

Stalowa Wola Stalowa Wola () is the largest city and capital of Stalowa Wola County with a population of 58,545 inhabitants, as of 31 December 2021. It is located in southeastern Poland in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. The city lies in historic Lesser Polan ...

after the city at which they stated their manifesto at a 1975 festival of music which was sub-titled "From young composers to a young City". Their statement read, "The work of the composers who entered their artistic lives at the festivals in Stalowa Wola was a kind of opposition to the 1950s and 60s avant-garde: opposition towards novelty for novelty's sake, and towards total destruction. This opposition was a spontaneous, intuitive, deep-rooted reaction, which we only later became fully aware of." Knapik is often seem as a composer ''out of his time'', in that his music is heavily influenced by the musical idioms of the late Romantic era, in particular by the work of Gustav Mahler (1860-1911). More recent influences include Górecki,

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best known works include ''Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', '' Polish Requiem'', ' ...

(b. 1933) and

Witold Lutosławski Witold Roman Lutosławski (; 25 January 1913 – 7 February 1994) was a Polish composer and conductor. Among the major composers of 20th-century classical music, he is "generally regarded as the most significant Polish composer since Szyman ...

(1913-1994). He has borrowed from 19th and 20th century English language poetry for both libretto and inspiration, a fact which sets him apart from most of his Polish contemporaries.Thomas, 292 Today, Knapik teaches at the Katowice Academy of Music, where he is professor and director of composition.Eugeniusz Knapik
. Warsaw Autumn Festival, 2003. Retrieved on June 1, 2009.

Selected works

*''Sonata'' for Violin and Piano, 1971 *''Psalms'' for soloists, choir and orchestra, 1973–75 *''String Quartet No. 1'', 1980 *''Hymn'' for clarinet, trombone, cello and piano, 1980 *''The Minds of Helena Troubleyn'', Cycle of three Operas, 1987-96 *''Up into the Silence'' for soprano, baritone, string quartet and orchestra, 1996-2000 *''Introduction to Mystery'' for Tenor, Mixed Choir and Symphony Orchestra, 2005 *''La Liberta chiama la liberta'', opera, 3rd Part of the Trilogy ''The Minds of Helena Troubleyn'', 2010

Notes

References

* Thomas, Adrian. "Polish Music since Szymanowski". In: ''Music in the Twentieth Century''. Cambridge and New York:

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pre ...

, 2005.

External links

Eugeniusz Knapik at PWM Edition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knapik, Eugeniusz 20th-century classical composers Polish composers People from Ruda Śląska 1951 births Living people Officers of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Silver Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis International Rostrum of Composers prize-winners Polish male classical composers 20th-century male musicians