Kasia Glowicka (born Katarzyna Głowicka, October 12, 1977), also known as Katarina Glowicka, is a Polish composer and lecturer of

computer music Computer music is the application of computing technology in music composition, to help human composers create new music or to have computers independently create music, such as with algorithmic composition programs. It includes the theory and ap ...

at the

Royal Conservatory of Brussels The Royal Conservatory of Brussels (french: Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles, nl, Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel) is a historic conservatory in Brussels, Belgium. Starting its activities in 1813, it received its official name in 1832. Provid ...

. Her body of musical work encompasses compositions for opera, theater, ballet and film. As a

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, she focuses her work on current social issues. As a composer, her work spans a range of styles in

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

minimalism In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...

Avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

art music Art music (alternatively called classical music, cultivated music, serious music, and canonic music) is music considered to be of high phonoaesthetic value. It typically implies advanced structural and theoretical considerationsJacques Siron, ...

and

contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included seria ...

genres, written for orchestra, small ensembles, or solos and often accompanied by

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

. In 2004 she married composer

Henry Vega Henry Vega (born 1973) is a composer and Electroacoustic musician from New York City, currently living in The Hague, Netherlands. He founded The Spycollective in 2006, a now defunct music, theater and dance group, and is a founding director oArtek ...

and they reside in the Netherlands. They are founding directors of the Artek Foundation and its recording label, ARTEKsounds. Glowicka's collaborations include works with the Dutch symphony orchestra

Het Balletorkest Het Balletorkest (literal translation, ''The Ballet Orchestra'') is a Dutch symphony orchestra, based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, affiliated with Het Nationale Ballet and the Nederlands Dans Theater. In 1965, the ''Nederlands Balletorkest'' (Nethe ...

, an affiliate of Het Nationale Ballet, plus

Ensemble Recherche The ensemble recherche is a German classical music ensemble of nine soloists, especially dedicated to contemporary music. Founded in Freiburg im Breisgau in 1985, they premiered some 500 works. They were awarded the Schneider-Schott Music Prize ...

and Ties Mellema. Her scores are published by the Dutch institute

Donemus Donemus (compounded from Documentatiecentrum nederlandse muziek) is the Dutch institute dealing with the documentation of contemporary music composed in the Netherlands. Originally a publisher of scores, between 1960 and 2000 Donemus also publis ...

Early life and education

Glowicka was born in

Oleśnica Oleśnica (pronounced ; german: Oels; szl, Ôleśnica) is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland, within the Wrocław metropolitan area. It is the administrative seat of Oleśnica County and also of the rural district of ...

. She graduated from the Academy of Music in Wrocław in 2001 after studying with the composer

Grażyna Pstrokońska-Nawratil Grażyna Pstrokońska-Nawratil (born 16 July 1947) is a Polish composer and music educator. Life Grażyna Pstrokońska-Nawratil was born in Wroclaw, Poland. She studied composition at the State School of Music in Wrocław with Stefan Poradowski ...

. During 2000 she held an internship with Italian composer

Ivan Fedele Ivan Fedele (born 6 May 1953 in Lecce) is an Italian composer. He studied at the Milan Conservatory. Fedele's compositions are published by Edizioni Suvini Zerboni, and many of his works are recorded on Stradivarius Records. Selected works ;S ...

at the Conservatory in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

and later studied with Dutch composers,

Louis Andriessen Louis Joseph Andriessen (; 6 June 1939 – 1 July 2021) was a Dutch composer, pianist and academic teacher. Considered the most influential Dutch composer of his generation, he was a central proponent of The Hague school of composition. Although ...

and

Martijn Padding Martijn Padding (born 24 April 1956) is a Dutch composer and educator. Padding was born in Amsterdam, and was taught by Louis Andriessen (composition), Geert van Keulen (instrumentation) and Fania Chapiro (piano). He also studied sonology at the U ...

at the

Royal Conservatory of The Hague The Royal Conservatoire ( nl, Koninklijk Conservatorium, KC) is a conservatoire in The Hague, providing higher education in music and dance. The conservatoire was founded by King William I in 1826, making it the oldest conservatoire in the Netherl ...

, of which she is also a graduate. She also completed a PhD focusing on

at the Sonic Arts Research Centre at the

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

in 2008.

Awards and commissions

As early as 1999, Glowicka's piece ''Gindry'' for bass and string orchestra won the

Adam Didur Adam Didur or Adamo Didur (24 December 18747 January 1946) was a famous Polish operatic bass singer. He sang extensively in Europe and had a major career at New York's Metropolitan Opera from 1908 to 1932. Career He was born on 24 December 187 ...

All-Polish Composition Competition. In 2001, at just 23 years old, Glowicka was short-listed along with

librettist A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

Jerzy Lukosz for the Genesis Prize, from the London-based Genesis Foundation for their Opera ''The King's Gravedigger'' and an act from the piece was performed at the

Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325-seat producing house with an international reputation, which takes its name from the street on which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diver ...

. She has also been recognized by the

Holland Symfonia Het Balletorkest (literal translation, ''The Ballet Orchestra'') is a Dutch symphony orchestra, based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, affiliated with Het Nationale Ballet and the Nederlands Dans Theater. In 1965, the ''Nederlands Balletorkest'' (Nether ...

Competition, and won awards from the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

, the International Biennale of Modern Art Crash and the Polish Section of the

International Society for Contemporary Music The International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) is a music organization that promotes contemporary classical music. The organization was established in Salzburg in 1922 as Internationale Gesellschaft für Neue Musik (IGNM) following the ...

awards for her 1999 work "Summer's day." In 2004 she received a distinction in the Musica Sacra Polish Composers Competition. Her piece ''Opalescence'' won 1st Prize at the Bourges Competition for Electronic Music and was shortlisted for the

SPNM The Society for the Promotion of New Music (SPNM), originally named The Committee for the Promotion of New Music, was founded in January 1943 in London by the émigré composer Francis Chagrin, to promote the creation and performance of new music in ...

awards in 2006. A few of the many commissions Glowicka received for her works have come from the Society of Promotion of New Music in London for the BBC Scottish Ensemble to perform the piece ''Perpetuity'' for the ‘Sounds New’ Festival in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

and the piece was later featured in the 18th International Review of Composers in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

in 2009. Another commission came from a grant by the Polish Ministry of Culture for the CD recording of "Springs and Summers." In 2012 she was commissioned to compose a piece for the New York program "On Silence" marking the centennial of

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...

’s birth, with 12 other composers who were asked, "to reflect on what Cage means in their creative life."

The Airport Society

Glowicka, alongside director Krystian Lada, is a founder member of The Airport Society, a Brussels-based cooperative of “opera artists and social entrepreneurs” which creates works focused on social justice issues. For its 2018 production, the group adapted poems written by Afghan women living under Taliban rule. The content of these poems would have incurred severe punishment for the writer had they been discovered, up to and including the death penalty. The new work - ''Unknown, I Live With You'' - featured mezzo-soprano opera singer Małgorzata Walewska and met with critical acclaim upon its release. The work and the story behind it were the subject of a feature article in a print edition of

Vogue Poland ''Vogue Polska'' (meaning ''Vogue Poland'') is the Polish edition of the American fashion and lifestyle monthly magazine ''Vogue''. The magazine has been published since February 2018 and is the twenty-third local edition of ''Vogue''. Publicatio ...

. The cast included American transgender baritone

Lucia Lucas Lucia Lucas (born July 3, 1980) is an American transgender baritone. She made history when, in March, 2018, it was announced that she would become the first transgender person to perform a principal role on an American operatic stage. Biograp ...

. Glowicka told an interviewer that Polish state media, following government guidelines, censored her while promoting the work and told her she was "not allowed to mention or discuss" the inclusion of a transgender singer in the cast.

''Lilian''

For its 2020 festival season, Polish cultural festival

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 ...

challenged Glowicka to create her first-ever radio play. To create the piece, entitled ''Lilian'', Glowicka drew on a 320-page transcript of real WhatsApp messages exchanged between a refugee trapped in Libya and the eponymous Lilian, a professor at a European university. She has talked of the technical challenges in creating the work "not only smy first radio play, it was also the first time anyone would be attempting to take a WhatsApp conversation – complete with photos, emojis, and so on – and try and adapt that into a performative work."

Residency at STEIM

Glowicka held an Artistic Residency at the Studio for Electro Instrumental Music (STEIM) in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, composing and performing pieces that included traditional instruments, live video and electronics. In 2009 she presented the piece ''Quasi Rublev'', inspired by

Andrei Tarkovsky Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky ( rus, Андрей Арсеньевич Тарковский, p=ɐnˈdrʲej ɐrˈsʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ tɐrˈkofskʲɪj; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Russian filmmaker. Widely considered one of the greates ...

's 1966 film ''

Andrei Rublev Andrei Rublev ( rus, Андре́й Рублёв, p=ɐnˈdrʲej rʊˈblʲɵf , also transliterated as ''Andrey Rublyov'') was a Muscovite icon painter born in the 1360s who died between 1427 and 1430 in Moscow. He is considered to be one of the ...

'', with Goska Isphording playing

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

and Roos Theuws performing live visuals. Together with video artist Emmanuel Flores, Glowicka presented ''Turbulence'' performed solely by computer and visuals, noting the influence of Austrian filmmaker Gustav Deutsch. In 2010 Glowicka and Flores collaborated again with the 15 minute performance piece ''RETINa'' inspired by the pioneering science of

Étienne-Jules Marey Étienne-Jules Marey (; 5 March 1830, Beaune, Côte-d'Or – 15 May 1904, Paris) was a French scientist, physiologist and chronophotographer. His work was significant in the development of cardiology, physical instrumentation, aviation, cinema ...

that impacted cinema and the early documentary filmmaker

Dziga Vertov Dziga Vertov (russian: Дзига Вертов, born David Abelevich Kaufman, russian: Дави́д А́белевич Ка́уфман, and also known as Denis Kaufman; – 12 February 1954) was a Soviet Union, Soviet pioneer documentary f ...

Style

Glowicka's distinct style of composition has been described as having the "specific power of expression and coloring," through using the computer as both a musical instrument and compositional tool. In a 2006 interview Glowicka said that the strongest, external influences on her music are: "technology - because I cannot write a piece now without electronics as I am fascinated by it, and science in the way that I'm structuring my pieces in order to mirror or extend natural physical phenomenon." This was later emphasized by her project notes on the piece ''Turbulence'' while in artistic residency at

STEIM STEIM (STudio for Electro Instrumental Music) was a center for research and development of new musical instruments in the electronic performing arts, located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Beginning in the 1970's, STEIM became known as a pioneering cen ...

: "The project ''Turbulence'' is inspired by physical phenomenon – its force, unpredictability and its complexity."

Selected works

* ''Gindry'' (1998), for bass and string orchestra * ''Springs and Summers'' (1999), for String Quartet and

countertenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a s ...

, music set to Shakespeare's sonnets * ''Microgalaxies'' (2003), chamber piece for vocal ensemble, commissioned for Wien Modern festival in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

* ''Exophony'' (2006), for electronics and symphonic orchestra * ''Opalescence'' (2006), for 3 voices and electronics * ''The King's Gravedigger'' (2006), chamber opera with libretto by Jerzy Lukosz * ''Perpetuity'' (2008), for string orchestra and electronics, written for BBC Scottish Ensemble *''Quasi Rublev'' (2009), for harpsichord, live video and electronics, performed at

*''Turbulence'' (2009), for live video and electronics, performed at

* ''RETINAn'' (2011), for piano, live video and electronics, performed at

, SPOR Festival and the Gaudeamus Festival * "1, 43, 33, 43, 33, 43, 33, 43, 1" (2012), for piano, objects and electronics in ''On Silence: Hommage to Cage'' * ''Music in three parts'' (2012), collaboration with DJ Philipe Petite and ECO * "Presence" (2007) on ''V/A Solitude of Sound – in memoriam

Tomasz Sikorski Tomasz Sikorski (19 May 1939 – 12 November 1988) was a Polish composer and pianist. The son of the composer Kazimierz Sikorski, he studied at the Warsaw Conservatory with Zbigniew Drzewiecki. Later, thanks to a scholarship from the French go ...

'' (2013), Bolt Records * ''Red Sun'' (2014) album with Margaret Walentynowicz on Bolt Records/ARETEkSounds. * ''Seven Sonnets'' (2015) album with expanded compositions from "Springs and Summers," music set to Shakespeare's sonnets on Bolt Records/ARETEkSounds. * ''Requiem For An Icon'' (2015) chamber opera commissioned by Polish National Theater, based on the life of

Jackie Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A pop ...

. * ''Opera For The Unknown Woman'' (2016) opera and multi-media theatre piece * ''Aria di Potenza'' (2017), opera * ''Unknown, I Live With You'' (2019), opera for female voices, string quartet and live electronics, * ''Searching for Tereska'' (2019) score for television documentary * ''Lilian'' (2020) Radio play commissioned by

cultural festival

External links

Official website of Kasia Glowicka
*
TOP 10: Sonic Arts Events of the Last Two Years
by Kasia Glowicka in ''The Ear Reader''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glowicka, Kasia 1977 births Living people Polish classical composers Women classical composers Postmodern composers Minimalist composers Polish electronic musicians 21st-century classical composers Contemporary classical music performers Royal Conservatory of The Hague alumni Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Pupils of Louis Andriessen Academic staff of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels Women music educators 21st-century women composers Polish women composers