prof. Grażyna Pstrokońska-Nawratil

She is a native of Wrocław. She began her composition studies under Prof. Stefan B. Poradowski and graduated from the class of Prof. Tadeusz Natanson at the State Higher School of Music in Wrocław (1971), where she also took up a teaching position. In 1978, as a French government scholarship holder, she attended lectures by Olivier Messiaen (Conservatoire) and Pierre Boulez (IRCAM) in Paris, and a seminar by Iannis Xenakis in Aix-en-Provence. She was also an intern at the Studio d'Musique Experimentale in Marseille.

In 1993, she was awarded the title of professor. Since 1977, she has been teaching composition in Wrocław, and in 1998-2009 she also taught young artists at the Academy of Music in Poznań. Her graduates occupy an important position in Polish contemporary music. From 1991 to 2017, she headed the Department of Composition and Music Theory (now the Department of Composition) at the Academy of Music in Wrocław. She participated in four editions of the Programme Committee of the Warsaw Autumn International Festival of Contemporary Music, and between 1996 and 2008 she served as programme advisor, manager and artistic director of the Musica Polonica Nowa Festival of Polish Contemporary Music.

She is a laureate of composition competitions, including the Grzegorz Fitelberg National Competition (1971), the GEDOK International Composition Competition in Mannheim (1975) and the UNESCO International Rostrum for Composers in Paris (1987). She has also received the Prime Minister's Award for works for children and young people, the City of Wrocław Award, and the St. Brother Albert Award (1998). She is a laureate of the Wrocław Music Award (2002) and the Polish Composers' Union Award (2004). In 2006 and 2018, she received the Minister of Culture and National Heritage Award in the field of music. In 2013, she was honoured with the silver medal Zasłużony Kulturze Gloria Artis (Meritorious to Culture Gloria Artis), and in 2017 with the Medal – Zasłużony dla Wrocławia (Meritorious to Wrocław). From 2022 to 2024, she served as Director of the Institute of Composition.

The composer's output includes several dozen works, most of them in cycles. The most important of these are a cycle of large forms under the collective title freski:

I Reanimacja for large symphony orchestra (1971) – man and life,

II Epitaphios for large symphony orchestra (1976) – man and death,

III Ikar for large symphony orchestra (1979) – man and dreams,

IV ...alla campana... for piano and orchestra (1985) – man and memory,

V Eternel for soprano, boys' choir, mixed choir and large orchestra (1989) – man and faith,

VI Palindrom for large string orchestra with amplified harpsichord (1994) – man and longing,

VII Uru Anna (Light of Heaven) for tenor, large mixed choir and large symphony orchestra (1999) – man and light;

cycle of works for percussion:

Ostinato for percussion quartet (1974),

Kanon for motor group (1975),

Studio per violino et Tam – Tam (1975),

BIS * JOKE for percussion and piano (1985),

TRIANGLE ! for percussion sextet (2nd version 1990);

cycle thinking about Vivaldi

…el condor… for two marimbas and string orchestra (1996) (spring),

…como el sol y la mar… for flute and chamber orchestra (2007 / 2008) (summer);

madrigal cycle:

In Search of a Wandering Echo – for 2 violins (2000),

Algorytm snu wielkiego miasta (The algorithm of a big city's dream) – for marimba (2001),

Ptaki na horyzoncie zmierzchu (Birds on the horizon at dusk) – for clarinet, trombone, cello and piano (2006),

version II Madrygał (Madrigal) for two pianos (2011);

At the Zenith of the Sun for flute, bells, vibraphone, marimba, harp and cello (2018);

reportage cycle:

Palm Sunday in Nazareth for saxophone, percussion and organ (2009),

ICE – LAND …rainbow bridges over Dettifoss… for 22 string instruments and amplified harp (2011),

Figures in the Sand …the wanderings of the eternal scarab… for flute, violin, viola and cello (2014),

version II for flute quintet and small percussion (2019),

Ring of Tara for percussion octet (2018),

AoTea Roa for harpsichord and string orchestra (2018/19),

LandmannalaugarSonata for two flutes and harpsichord (2019),

The Nightingale and the Stone for two pianos and two percussion instruments (2020);

ecomusic cycle:

Eco per flauti (1980),

Le soleil – concerto for percussion and orchestra (1991);

Terra – for male choir and piano (1995),

Bartokiana – for cello and piano (1995) – version for marimba and chamber orchestra (2000) – version for flute, saxophone and piano (2015);

Muzyka lidyjska – for string orchestra (2002),

Strumyk i słonko for inlaid piano (2007),

Lasy Deszczowe for flutes and symphony orchestra (2013);

Galaktikos α for flute and organ (2015);

Galaktikos β triptych for two flutes and organ (2017);

Assisi for cello, children's choir and large symphony orchestra (2017).

Independent works include:

ballet In the Kingdom of Autumn Leaves, ballet for children;

two string quartets – Arabesca and Lydian Quartet, works for children and young people,

MAGNIFICAT MM – for soprano, mixed choir and large symphony orchestra (2004),

HARMONIES for orchestra (2011).