Marcin Stańczyk

Marcin Stańczyk graduated from the University of Łódź (Law in 2001) and the Academy of Music in Łódź (Music Theory in 2006 and Composition in 2007 as a graduate of Zygmunt Krauze).[2] He then continued to study in Poland and abroad, i.a. completed a post-graduate degree in the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome and CURSUS 1 and 2 at IRCAM, Paris.[3] He participated in many workshops and courses, i.a. 13th Young Composers Meeting in Apeldoorn (2007), workshops with Klangforum Wien and Trilok Gurtu during La Biennale di Venezia (2007, 2008), Voix Nouvelles course with Brian Ferneyhough as a part of Royamount Foundation scholarship (2009), Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik in Darmstadt (2010), De Musica ovvero la fabbrica della creatività in Rome with Beat Furrer (2010) and Mark Andre (2012) and also Jerwood Opera Writing Programme in Aldeburgh Centre of Music with Giorgio Battistelli (2011).

His pieces have been commissioned by prestigious festivals and ensembles and performed in Europe, Asia (China, Japan, Israel), North America (USA, Canada), South America (Chile, Cuba) and Australia. He has cooperated with Klangforum Wien, Ensemble InterContemporain, Ensemble MusikFabrik, Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, Ensemble Linea, Elision Ensemble, Bang on a Can All Stars, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Oslo Sinfonietta, Ensemble Nikel, Algoritmo, Zone Expérimentale Basel, Meitar, E-MEX Ensemble, Divertimento, Orkest de ereprijs, Ensemble Nostri Temporis, Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, NOSPR and many others. He has also cooperated with popular music artists, such as Aphex Twin, Zamilska and Pianohooligan (Piotr Orzechowski).

Stańczyk's pieces have been showcased i.a. at Gaudeamus Musik Week in Amsterdam, Biennale Musica during La Biennale di Venezia, Manifeste and Season IRCAM in Paris, Bang On a Can Marathon, Noise Non-ferenc and MATA in New York, Les Espaces Sonores in Basel, Rondò in Milan, Review of Composers in Belgrade, Images sonores in Liège, Nuova Consonanza in Rome, Warsaw Autumn, Sacrum Profanum in Kraków, Festival of Premieres NOSPR in Katowice. In 2018 he was chosen to become the first composer-in-residence at Musica Polonica Nova festival in Wrocław.[4] He has been a guest lecturer at universities in France, Germany, Italy, USA, Great Britain, Israel, China, Norway and Poland.
As a composer he won over a dozen international competitions in Poland, France, Italy, Germany, US, Netherland, Romania, Japan and China, including the prestigious Tōru Takemitsu Award in Tokyo (2013) with the piece SIGHS described by the chairman Sir Harrison Birtwistle as "a virtuoso piece of musical awareness".[5] In 2012, Bang on a Can All-Stars dedicated to him a monographic concert in Krakow.
Stańczyk is a laureate of numerous scholarships, including "Młoda Polska" ("Young Poland", 2007), ones founded by ZAIKS (2007), Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (2007, 2014), Marshal of Lodz Voivodeship (2008, 2009, 2010) and the Witold Lutosławski scholarship (2011, 2013), as well as double Coryphaeus of Polish Music Nominee (2013, 2015, Personality of the Year), an award bestowed by the Polish music community. He was a participant of scholarship programmes and residencies: Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival fellowship in New York (2009), the Italian Government scholarship (2009, 2010), Royamount Foundation scholarship (2009), Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt fellowship (2010), Aldeburgh Center of Music fellowship (2010), SACEM scholarship (2013); and residencies: the artistic residence of the city of Paris and Institut Français, Centre International d'Accueil et d'Échanges des Récollets (2014),[6] Cité Internationale des Arts (2014), The Bogliasco Foundation (2018)[7] and Civitella Ranieri Foundation (2019). In 2017 he was awarded the 'Distinguished for Polish Culture' distinction by the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage.

Since 2016 Marcin Stańczyk has been a Polish representative in the cultural cooperation programme between China and 16 European countries "16+1".[8]

He works in the Provincial Administrative Court in Łódź. He is a professor in the Academy of Music in Łódź where he received a D.M.A. degree in 2013 and a Habilitation in 2016. In 2020, he became a full professor.[9][10] In the term 2020–2024, he holds the position of Rector's Proxy for Equal Treatment.[11]

Stańczyk is a member of Polish Composers' Union (ZKP), ZAiKS and Polish Society for Contemporary Music.
His scores are published by PWM Edition.[12]

Marcin Stanczyk is interested in the perception of musical time, space and gesture, as well as the idea of "aftersounds" inspired by the optical phenomenon of "afterimage" explored in the 1940s by the avant-gardist Polish painter Władysław Strzemiński. In his compositions, he often uses theatrical expressions associated with his idea of a "total performance". With aftersounds, music comes not only from morfological ‘reflections’ of sound, various extraneous noises, resonances and echoes, but also some psychological aspects of the listening and seeing, something which is not there yet, but will be in a moment, which precede the sound or has remained afterwards.
His early musical style was described by composer Ivan Fedele in Il Giornale as “distorsionismo”.[13]

• Laterna for ensemble and tape (2008)
• Three afterimages for double-bass (2008)
• Afterimages – rosso for piano (2009)
• Nibiru – La rivoluzione della terra sconosciuta for ensemble (2009)
• Analessi Rotte for cello, 2 voices and trombone (2009)
• Sospiri for ensemble (2009)
• Westchnienia (Sighs) for chamber orchestra (2009)
• Il riverbero della malinconia for ensemble (2010)
• Tajemnica Chopina (The Mystery of Chopin) - musical sculpture (cooperation with Łukasz Leszczyński) (2010)
• OPERA 3 for female singer, accompanist and composer (cooperation with Peter Cant) (2010)
• Archeopteryx - ballet music (2011)
• In case of rapture - mini-opera (2011)
• Mosaïque for cello and live electronics (2012)
• Esercizi for students (2006 rev. 2012)
• Geysir – Grisey for ensemble (2005 rev. 2012)
• Muzyka Możliwa I (Possible Music I) (2012, rev. 2015)
• 4'34'' – short piece against J.Cage (2012)
• Le teste scambiate - opera for chamber orchestra and 3 characters (2010 - 2012)
• Attorno for alto flute, cello and piano (2013)
• Muzyka tkana (Woven Music) for orchestra (2013)
• Solarize - chamber opera (2013-2014)
• Aftersounds for 2 percussionists and live electronics (2013-2014)
• Aftersounds for guitar (2014)
• A(pol)ogia - multimedia performance (cooperation with Peter Cant and Alex Eisenberg) (2014)
• Blind walk for ensemble (2014-2015)
• Posłuchy (Afterhearings) for ensemble (2015)
• Powiodki (Afterimages) for voice, string quartet and audio-video live electronics (2015)
• muzyka tkana – powidoki (woven music - afterimages) - audiovisual interactive installation (2016)
• Some Drops for double-bell trumpet and ensemble (2016)
• A due for Fender Rhodes, string orchestra and electronics (2017)
• Dancing Dune for chamber orchestra of Chinese traditional instruments (2017)
• Sursounds for string quartet, wind quintet and electronics (2018)
• Kobro/ Strzemiński. Opowieść fantastyczna (Kobro/ Strzemiński. Fantastic story) - film music, dir. by Borys Lankosz (2018)
• Ciemno, prawie noc (Dark, almost night) - film music, dir. by Borys Lankosz (2018)
• Afterthoughts - multimedia spectacle (2018)
• Unseen for female voice, ensemble and electronics (2017-2018)
• Western Whiffs I for guzheng, vibraphone and yangqin (2019)
• Muzyka Możliwa II (Possible Music II) (2020)
• Aftersounds for flute solo (2020–21)
• Aftersounds II for guitar solo (2021)
• Live for saxophones, symphonic orchestra and electronics (2021)
• Impossible Music (24.02.2022) (2022)

• Chamber Music, DUX (DUX0757), 2015
• Acousmatic Music, double CD, Anaklasis/PWM (ANA 015), 2021
• Mosaïque, Kairos (0015108KAI), 2021
• Dark, Almost Night, DUX (DUX1818), 2021
• Chamber Works (re-edition), DUX (DUX1117), 2023

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