Authors
Krzysztof Knittel
A composer, electronic artist, and professor of the musical arts, Knittel has created orchestral, choral and chamber works, operatic and ballet music, sound installations, numerous computer pieces (which he has both composed and performed) as well as live electronics. The artist’s discography comprises more than sixty titles. Knittel studied sound engineering and composition with Tadeusz Baird, Andrzej Dobrowolski, and Włodzimierz Kotoński at Warsaw’s Chopin State Higher School (now University) of Music. In 1974 and 1976 he took part in the Darmstadt International Summer Courses for New Music.
As a performer, he has appeared throughout Europe as well as Asia and both Americas. Collaborator of the Polish Radio Experimental Studio and the Center of the Creative and Performing Arts at Buffalo, he has taught at music universities and academies in Łódź, Kraków, and Warsaw. The artist has been, among others, the director of the Warsaw Autumn festival, president of the Polish Composers’ Union and the Polish Music Council, board member of the European Music Council, co-founder of Ad Libitum International Festival of Improvised Music as well as numerous groups performing improvised and electroacoustic music. His accolades include the award of the underground ‘Solidarity’ movement, the Cyprian Kamil Norwid Award, the Polish Composers’ Union’s Annual Award; Gloria Artis Silver Medal for Merit to Culture, the medal ‘For Guardians of National Memorials’, the Gustav Mahler Kompositionspreis (2017) and the Theatre Award of the City of Gdansk for his opera The Last Judgment. Knittel’s music bridges various styles and genres, combining classical and popular music conventions. Improvisation and performance are distinctive elements of many of his works. He has also authored sacred music and pieces written in response to historical events. The composer’s works are published by PWM Edition.
Phot. Bartek Barczyk
As a performer, he has appeared throughout Europe as well as Asia and both Americas. Collaborator of the Polish Radio Experimental Studio and the Center of the Creative and Performing Arts at Buffalo, he has taught at music universities and academies in Łódź, Kraków, and Warsaw. The artist has been, among others, the director of the Warsaw Autumn festival, president of the Polish Composers’ Union and the Polish Music Council, board member of the European Music Council, co-founder of Ad Libitum International Festival of Improvised Music as well as numerous groups performing improvised and electroacoustic music. His accolades include the award of the underground ‘Solidarity’ movement, the Cyprian Kamil Norwid Award, the Polish Composers’ Union’s Annual Award; Gloria Artis Silver Medal for Merit to Culture, the medal ‘For Guardians of National Memorials’, the Gustav Mahler Kompositionspreis (2017) and the Theatre Award of the City of Gdansk for his opera The Last Judgment. Knittel’s music bridges various styles and genres, combining classical and popular music conventions. Improvisation and performance are distinctive elements of many of his works. He has also authored sacred music and pieces written in response to historical events. The composer’s works are published by PWM Edition.
Phot. Bartek Barczyk
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