Desire

Marzena Komsta Born in 1970 in Gdynia. She studied composition at the Music Academies in Gdańsk (with Eugeniusz Głowski) and Warsaw (with Włodzimierz Kotoński and Zbigniew Bagiński). She continued her studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Lyon (the Department of Acoustic, Electroacoustic and Computer Music, sonvs, with Philippe Manoury and D. Lorrain. She subsequently undertook doctoral studies in 20th-century music and musicology at ircam. She has participated in numerous courses in instrumental and electronic music, including workshops given by George Benjamin, Magnus Lindberg, Tristan Murail, Harrison Birtwistle, Gérard Grisey, Goerges Arpeghis, Pascal Dusapin, Krzysztof Penderecki, PierreLaurent Aimard, György Ligeti, Pierre Boulez, Henri Dutilleux, and Iannis Xenakis. She recieved one of Witold Lutosławski's private scholarships as well as grants from the Music Academy in Warsaw, the Witold Lutosławski Foundation and the Nadia and Lili Boulanger Foundation in France. She was also composer-in-residence of the Cité Internationale des Arts Foundation in Paris. In 1996 she was a nominee for the 'Polityka's Passport' Award, granted by the weekly 'Polityka'. She is the recipient of many prizes awarded for composition: at the International Competition for Piano Composition 'Manuel Valc?rcel' in Santander (Spain), the 'Ensemble Orchestral Contemporain' and 'Grame' Competitions in Lyon and the Tola Korian Competition in London. She has received commissions from festivals, performers and, most recently, the French Government, as well as from the 'Warsaw Autumn Friends' Foundation financed with funds from the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation. Her pieces have been featured at numerous prestigious festivals including the 'Warsaw Autumn', the Gdańsk Young Composers' Meetings, the International Review of Contemporary Music in Belgrade, 'ppianissimo' in Sofia, 'Musica' in Strasbourg, 'Rendez-vous Musique Nouvelle' in Forbach (France), 'Aujourd'hui Musique' in Perpignan, the Youth Music Forum in Kiev, and have been broadcast on Polish Radio 2, as well as foreign radio stations (Sender Freies Berlin Westdeutsche Rundfunk, sr2 Kultur Radio, France Musique, France Culture, nhk - 'Best of Classic'. Selected works: Oberek for piano (1988), Nobody Knows the Day for mixed choir (1989), Five Miniatures for piano (1990), Gryzaczek (Baby's dummy) for twelve brass instruments (1990), Kirp for string quartet (1990), HO-YI-A for violin and harpsichord, both amplified (1991), To Unwanted Prometheuses for large symphony orchestra (1991), Hard Day for three percussionists (1992), Agmen for chamber orchestra (1993), Oqivian for tape (1993), Brun for violin (1994),... tu sais? for flute, percussion and harpsichord, all three amplified, small orchestra, tape and electronic system in real time (1995), lFdlC (le F de la C) for one piano and three pianists (1996), A toi, mon amour - une pi?ce cruelle for piano (1997/98), ď! - dans l'ombre for clarinet, soprano, percussion, violin and cello (2000), Primaire... humain for harpsichord (2000), Nuit/Portrait for small sinfonietta (2001), Explosif/Passion- interactive piece for cello and electroacoustic real-time system (commissioned by the French Government for Ensemble Orchestral Contemporain and 'Grame'; in preparation), a piece for chamber ensemble (commissioned by Festival 'Musica' in Strasbourg for 'Accroche Note'; in preparation).