Research Library of the Polish Composers' Union

On 26 June 2016, the Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio of Polish Radio hosted the ‘Concert of Seven Premieres’ organised by the Polish Composers’ Union in cooperation with Polish Radio and Institute of Music and Dance, crowning the jubilee festival of the PCU – both events are usually referred to together as the ‘Festival of Seven Currents’ and the ‘Concert of Seven Premieres’.

The number 7 is not accidental and is highly significant. What is more, it is associated with several mysteries, from the equation ‘7+7=70’ which chosen for the festival logo to the number of final premieres. First of all, 10 years ago, the history of the Association was perceived differently and the chronology was counted from 1945, from the Composers’ Congress in Krakow. It was only in recent years that the links with an organisation operating before World War II with a very similar name to the ZKP, namely the Association of Polish Composers, were noticed and emphasised. Not only was the name, but also the form, organisational structure and objectives were also similar. Perhaps most importantly, it was mainly members of the Association of Polish Composers who came to Krakow for the Composers’ Congress, and the report was presented and the Congress opened by the President of the SKP, Adam Wieniawski. However, in the further course of the meeting, there was no mention of the Association, or at least this is not documented in the surviving minutes. Instead, the discussion focused on the Union and its activities during and after the occupation.

The introduction to the concert recordings is not the place for a detailed analysis of the difficult history of our organisation around 1945. More on this will be published on the website, which is currently being built, dedicated to the history of the ZKP. This paragraph was intended to explain why the number 7 decades and the 70th anniversary were so prominent 10 years ago.

The equation ‘7+7=70’ was a deliberate joke, mainly as a reference to modern theories of synergy, intended to convey that we are capable to do much more than simple arithmetic would suggest. The seven premieres were planned as first performances of seven pieces commissioned by the ZKP for its anniversary. Unfortunately, for reasons beyond the control of the organisers, the premiere of one of the compositions did not take place and was replaced by Hanna Kulenty’s Piano Concerto, which was excellent and superbly performed.

Below we present five pieces performed at the concert on 26 June 2016 at the Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio of Polish Radio on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the PCU.

And thus, we have completed our ‘1st Virtual, Private, Calm, Home, festival of Polish Music of the Polish Composers’ Union Library‘, organised as part of the project ‘Preservation, digitisation and online accessibility of the unique music collections of the Scientific Library of the Polish Composers’ Union, co-financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education and from the funds of the Creativity Promotion Fund of the Society of Authors ZAiKS. We would like to thank our patrons.