Historical overview
The origins of the Institute of Composition date back to 1958. The unit derives directly from the first Chair established at the then State Higher School of Music in Wrocław – the Chair of Music Theory. In 1969, bringing together music theorists and composers, it took the name of the Chair of Composition and Music Theory. In the following years, it was headed by: Prof. Tadeusz Natanson (1969-1981), Doc. Ryszard Bukowski (1981-1986), Doc. Leszek Wisłocki (1986-1991), Prof. Grażyna Pstrokońska-Nawratil (1991-2017 and since 2021). In 2017-2020, the Chair of Composition was headed by Prof. Krystian Kiełb. The members of the Chair of Composition were, in many cases, outstanding artists and scientists, and their diverse artistic and research interests determined a rich, multi-faceted artistic and scientific activity. Thanks to the cultural activity of its staff, countless important artistic initiatives have been created over the years. Among them, the Musica Polonica Nova Festival of Polish Contemporary Music and the Musica Electronica Nova International Festival of Electroacoustic Music are particularly noteworthy.
The need for specialisation within specific areas of activity led to the creation of new structural units within the Chair of Composition and Music Theory, bringing together artists and researchers interested in specific issues. It is no exaggeration to say that it was the then Chair of Composition and Music Theory that gave rise to all the independent organisational units that have been operating for many years at the Academy of Music in Wrocław in the fields of conducting, music theory and music therapy.
The first to emerge was a group of members of the Chair interested in the therapeutic effects of music. This group was led by Prof. Tadeusz Natanson, on whose initiative the Chair of General and Applied Music Therapy was established in 1972, transformed in 1983 into an independent Institute of Music Therapy, which operated until 1986. In 1989, in place of the Institute, which had been abolished three years earlier, the Chair of General and Applied Music Therapy was established at the Faculty of Composition, Conducting, Music Theory and Music Therapy as an independent unit. Thanks to these efforts, music therapy education was launched for the first time in Poland as a specialisation in higher education. The work of the Institute and the Chair of Music Therapy was led by Prof. Tadeusz Natanson, Dr Zbigniew Hora, Prof. Radomir Reszke, Dr Andrzej Janicki, Prof. Dr Sławomir Sidorowicz, and currently by dr hab. Paweł Cylulko, prof. AMKL.
Since its inception, the Chair of Composition and Music Theory has placed great emphasis on unique research into the history of Silesian musical culture, with particular attention paid to the significance of Poles and Polish music in the musical life of the region. Prof. Maria Zduniak, an outstanding music theorist, pianist, art historian and educator, has made an extremely rich contribution to expanding the current state of knowledge in this field. On her initiative, in 1996, an independent Chair of Silesian Music Culture History was established at the Faculty of Composition, Conducting, Music Theory and Music Therapy. Prof. Maria Zduniak was also its first head, and this function was subsequently held by Prof. Krystian Kiełb and Prof. Anna Granat-Janki.
In the 1980s, content related to electroacoustic music appeared in composition curricula. When Prof. Stanisław Krupowicz began collaborating with the Faculty in the mid-1990s, these issues were given the framework of a comprehensive programme of education for students in the field of electroacoustic music and the performance of electroacoustic works. In 1999, the Computer Composition Studio was established within the Chair of Composition and Music Theory, and its management was entrusted to Prof. Stanisław Krupowicz.
Established in 2008, the Conducting Chair has its origins in the symphonic conducting section, which also operates within the Chair of Composition and Music Theory. This was initiated by Prof. Marek Pijarowski, who remains its head to this day.
The dynamic development of the academic and teaching staff, which began in the 1990s, was the main factor that determined the need for further structural changes. In 2009, the Chair of Composition and Music Theory was transformed into the Chair of Composition.
On 1 January 2010, the Chair of History of Silesian Music Culture was transformed into a separate structural unit – the Chair of Music Theory and History of Silesian Music Culture. This decision was motivated in particular by the desire to become independent, as a result of creating an appropriate academic and teaching staff, the scope of composition, as well as the need to develop the scope of music theory. The newly established Chair consisted of music theorists and musicologists employed at various faculties of the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław. The management of this unit was entrusted to Prof. Anna Granat-Janki, PhD, the initiator of this transformation.
In 2010, on the initiative of Dr Robert Kurdybacha, the Avant-garde Orchestra of the Academy of Music in Wrocław, Sound Factory Orchestra, began operating at the Chair of Composition. In 2015, two further specialist structural units were established within the Chair of Composition and given the status of studios. On the initiative of Dr. Michał Moc, the Studio for Ear Training and Musical Imagination was established, and thanks to the efforts of Dr. Zbigniew Karnecki and Dr. Sebastian Ładyżyński, the Studio for Theatre and Film Music was also established.
In 2022, the Chair of Composition was transformed into the Institute of Composition, headed by Prof. Grażyna Pstrokońska-Nawratil. As part of the Institute, the Chair of New Media with the Computer Composition Studio was established, headed by Dr Cezary Duchnowski, Prof. AMKL, and two studios operating within the former Chair of Composition were transformed into Chairs: the Chair of Ear Training and Musical Imagination and the Chair of Theatre and Film Music, headed by Dr Michał Moc and Dr Sebastian Ładyżyński, respectively.
Activities
The Institute of Composition brings together composers employed in all Chairs of the Academy of Music in Wrocław. The main areas of the Institute's current activities are:
substantive supervision of teaching activities in the field of composition and composition-related subjects,
artistic and scientific research activities,
care and supervision of young employees.
Substantive supervision of teaching activities in the field of composition and composition-related subjects is expressed in particular through the development and supervision of the implementation of study plans and educational programmes, the approval of the scope and topics of diploma theses, and substantive supervision of the activities of the Artistic and Scientific Circle of Students of Composition and Music Theory. The members of the Institute work on modernising and improving the teaching process.
In terms of artistic activity, the Institute places particular emphasis on the wide presentation of student works. This is achieved through concerts by individual composition classes, as well as concerts organised by the Artistic and Scientific Circle of Composition and Music Theory Students, which are supervised by the Institute. Student works are also performed during contemporary music festivals, exchange concerts and in the artistic part of scientific sessions. The Institute organises composition competitions, sometimes in cooperation with other departments of the Wrocław Academy of Music or professional artistic institutions, to stimulate creativity and promote the music of young artists. In addition to competitions, the Institute also organises masterclasses and seminars. For many years, composition students have been winners of awards and distinctions at national and international composition competitions.
The care and supervision of young employees' development concerns both their teaching activities (e.g. classroom observations) and their artistic and scientific development (e.g. encouraging active participation in festivals, concerts, conferences and competitions). Members of the Institute also support the activities of the university's Pedagogical Study Centre in the field of methodology for subjects related to ear training.
Composers affiliated with the Institute have been engaged in intensive and multifaceted artistic activities on an international scale for many years, with some undertaking research or publishing activities. In addition, they actively participate in international exchanges, with particular emphasis on the European academic mobility programmes Erasmus+ and CEEPUS. They conduct masterclasses in Poland and abroad, are invited to serve as jurors in national and international composition competitions, and lecture in doctoral programmes. Their compositions are commissioned and presented at prestigious festivals and concerts in Poland and abroad. The work of composers associated with the Institute of Composition at the Academy of Music in Wrocław is an important artistic phenomenon, significantly contributing to the panorama of Polish contemporary music.
Structure
The Institute of Composition comprises:
the Chair of New Media with the Computer Composition Studio,
the Chair of Ear Training and Musical Imagination,
the Chair of Theatre and Film Music.
1 The festival was established in 1962 on the initiative of composer and conductor Prof. Radomir Reszke, in collaboration with Prof. Tadeusz Natanson and Doc. Ryszard Bukowski, under the name Festival of Composers of the Western Territories. Starting in 1988, it was renamed the Musica Polonica Nova Festival of Polish Contemporary Music. Several artistic directors of the Musica Polonica Nova Festival of Polish Contemporary Music were associated with the then Chair of Composition and Music Theory. Between 1996 and 2008, when Prof. Grażyna Pstrokońska-Nawratil held this position, the Festival programme included not only compositions by then-recognised artists from various centres of musical life in our country, but also outstanding young graduates, and sometimes even current students of music academies, whose work is now a showcase for Polish contemporary music. Currently, the artistic director of the Musica Polonica Nova Festival of Polish Contemporary Music is Dr. Paweł Hendrich.
2 The Musica Electronica Nova International Festival of Electroacoustic Music was established in 2005
on the initiative of Prof. Stanisław Krupowicz and Izabela Duchnowska, MA, a graduate of music theory.
3 Dr Andrzej Janicki played an important role in the establishment of the Chair of General and Applied Music Therapy.
4 According to the intention of the drafters, it was to be an Intercollegiate Institute of Music Therapy with an extensive organisational structure, employing specialists representing various fields of science and art. Its initiator and first director was Prof. Tadeusz Natanson.
5 The name of the Chair of General and Applied Music Therapy was changed to the Chair of Music Therapy on 1 October 2013.
6 In the years 1989-1991, the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław also had the first and for many years the only Chair of Art Therapy (KAT) in Poland, which served as an intercollegiate scientific and research centre, combining the scientific, organisational, teaching and therapeutic efforts of representatives of various fields and disciplines of science and art (including musicians, music therapists, doctors, psychologists, choreotherapists, educators, artists, actors, librarians, writers and sociologists). Its head was Prof. Leon Hanek.
7 This applies to education in composition and basic composition disciplines, such as harmony, counterpoint, instrumentation, score reading, ear training and musical imagination, contemporary compositional techniques, music editing, as well as computer composition, theatre and film music composition.
8 Compositions selected in competitions were included as compulsory items in the programmes of national and international performance competitions organised by the Academy of Music in Wrocław.