Old Models, Modern Solutions: A Chat with Aleksander Dębicz

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In honour of the release of his newest album ‘12 Dreams for Piano’, we take a look back at Filip Lech’s conversation with Aleksander Dębicz, Polish piano virtuoso and composer extraordinaire, co-artistic director of the Break in Classic festival alongside Jakub Józef Orliński.

Filip Lech: You are a classically trained pianist but you spend most of your time now composing new music. How did you go from interpreter to creator?

Aleksander Dębicz: In my case, the journey was pretty smooth and natural. As a pianist, I went through all the stages of classical music education, but ever since I was a child I’ve enjoyed composing and improvising. It’s a way of playing with music that I’ve always loved. Winning the Transatlantyk Instant Composition Contest in 2013 was certainly a turning point – that’s when I really spread my wings and believed I could create my own music.

Exactly 10 years ago, I recorded Cinematic Piano, my debut album featuring original pieces, which I gradually incorporated into my repertoire. After that, I plucked up the courage to write for instruments other than the piano; today, I compose music for large ensembles. I just love composing! This is also because creating music is a constant process of learning and developing one’s skills. I still perform music by other composers, but I’ve realised that I find the greatest fulfilment in playing my own music and improvising, whilst classical music remains my most important point of reference.

FL: Did you have any issues at music school because of your interest in composition?

AD: Quite the opposite. All the teachers looked favourably on it and encouraged me to carry on. I was very lucky – I didn’t have any unpleasant experiences at school.

FL: What about improvisation?

AD: Improvisation is a beautiful art form that involves creating in the here and now – that's it. I like to compare it to natural speech. Our conversation is also an improvisation; you didn’t send me any questions beforehand, and I haven’t prepared any answers – yet we’re operating within a certain convention, using a specific language. By exploring new ways of communicating, we’re able to reach our audience in a more compelling way.

My compositions often stem from ideas that were born out of improvisation; later, I refine them, change them and polish them.

FL: Are there any musical styles or conventions you’d like to explore but haven’t yet had the chance to?

AD: I think every artist’s style is a product of their experiences and fascinations. I’m open to different musical styles; I like to explore various genres, including those that seem far removed from my interests. Musical fusions come very naturally to me; it’s something that characterises my work. I call it ‘cinematic classical’ – music whose mood and logic resemble a cinematic narrative. It’s a style that lends itself very well to blending with other genres, such as world music or pop. I’m hedging my bets because I can’t answer your question right now about what else I’d like to try. I like to surprise myself when a new phenomenon comes my way that I want to be open to.

FL: Were you interested in free improvisation, the avant-garde style?

AD: I have a rather ambivalent attitude towards it; I’ve played free improvisation many times at gigs, without any preparation. Nevertheless, I feel like there’s a lot of pretence in that approach. Playing just anything reminds me of saying whatever comes to your mind. Sometimes, as a result of some particular interplay of energy, something interesting emerges. Usually, I prefer well-thought-out artistic messages, where the artist knows exactly what they want to convey to the audience. Performing without prior preparation strikes me as a form of ignorance, or perhaps even arrogance. This kind of improvisation is the easiest for me; it requires no thought at all.

Sometimes free jazz improvisations are based on graphic scores or a language of gestures. In my view, this is only comprehensible to the musicians, not necessarily to the audience.

FL: The world of cinema and film music are an important point of reference in your work. Over the last decade, we have seen a marked change in the way films are scored. Many filmmakers rely entirely on electronic music, whilst some use only elaborate sound design.

AD: It’s true that certain changes are taking place in film music, but I try to avoid such generalisations. Music in film is subordinate to the image; one could say that the film itself dictates the sound. Cinematography is constantly evolving, so the sound in films changes too. I do, however, sense a longing for beautiful themes in the style of John Williams or Ennio Morricone. They appear less frequently in cinema, but not because of a lack of talented composers, but rather because of a lack of space for this kind of poetic expression. We often find it in animated films, as well as in dramas.

I’ve noticed some interesting developments at the intersection of music and sound design. I really like what Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are doing together. They produce innovative, creative sounds that I’ve never heard before. Pieces that are limited solely to pure sound design don’t always appeal to me. Music serves a different purpose in film; it possesses an extraordinary power and can have a profound effect on the viewer. I prefer it when musical means are used to achieve this.

FL: Has anything caught your attention as a viewer recently?

AD: The TV series Severance, with its phenomenal score by Theodore Shapiro. I could hear some old-school elements in it – at times it reminded me of David Shire’s score for Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation.

The show also features a lot of older music from the 1960s and 1970s. But also includes several modern electronic tracks, not composed by Shapiro, which use samples from old recordings. There’s also some thoroughly modern electronic music in there, and I really like that blend.

I also really enjoyed the music in Pedro Almodóvar’s latest film, The Room Next Door, composed by Alberto Iglesias. I’m also a fan – although probably in the minority – of Joker: Folie à deux, directed by Todd Phillips. I think it’s an outstanding film; I particularly love the way songs are used in it. Every year, we find films with brilliant music – for me, it’s a huge source of inspiration and a driving force for my own creativity. I think there’s a place in this art form for every artist who can speak their own language.

FL: Talking about electronic tracks… Do you compose on a computer?

AD: I literally finished my new album yesterday. This time I wrote everything down by hand, but that’s an exception. I jot down the first ideas with a pen in a special notebook. Afterwards, I work on the computer, as it’s more convenient and easier to read. I recently watched an interview with Quentin Tarantino in which he said he writes exclusively by hand, because, in his view, poetry cannot be created on a computer. I don’t take such an extreme stance, but that analogue vibe is truly inspiring. I look for ideas at the piano, with a pen in my hand. After that, my workflow becomes quite modern.

It reminds me of a scene from the documentary Music by John Williams, in which the composer shows how he writes everything out by hand and jokes that his younger colleagues do it much faster because they work on computers. It’s hard to imagine him creating even more – he’s quite a prolific artist…

Some think that when you write by hand, you pay more attention to every note – there’s no ‘copy/paste’ option. There’s something in that. I myself like to combine the classical approach with the modern one. I’m like that in many areas, actually – I love modern technology, but I have just as much affection for vintage things. I stream music, but I love vinyl. This even applies to cars – I appreciate modern solutions, but old models have a unique charm for me.

FL: To slowly sum up our conversation, I’d like to ask a question I put to every composer. What does it mean to be a composer?

AD: You know, a composer, like any artist, simply feels the need to create something and share their music – and that’s what they do. Do they fulfil any particular social function? I don’t think so. I mean, every profession has some sort of social role. A composer wouldn’t be able to create freely if they didn’t have access to food – and they have that access thanks to suppliers, shops, the retail sector and so on. You could give countless examples like that. That is why I don’t see the profession of composer as having any particular social mission. Although for me personally, creating music is something special – that’s for sure. But that’s more of a personal emotion associated with it. And I don’t expect others to view composers in the same way.

FL: So composing is all about emotions.

AD: Absolutely. I have to say that I’m also fascinated by craftsmanship in its own right. I don’t like it when it’s underappreciated – especially in art. It’s craftsmanship that allows emotions to truly flourish. Without it, everything just fades into the background.

FL: Last, but not least – do you feel threatened by artificial intelligence?

AD: Not as of yet. I use chatbots regularly, but not for composing. Although I must admit I did have one interesting experience: I posted an arrangement I’d done – it wasn’t a composition – into the chat and, just for a laugh, asked if it could assess the quality of my orchestration. I thought it would be impossible, but the AI generated a really detailed analysis for me. The sort I’d expect from a composer who’d studied the score carefully. The AI did make a few mistakes – for example, the bar numbers didn’t match up. Still, I was amazed at how the AI formulated its comments. For example: ‘If this was a deliberate sonic choice – fine. But if not, it’s worth rewriting it.’

The very fact that the algorithm was able to put it that way made a big impression on me. In many places, that was indeed my intention, but I did actually make a change following one suggestion. I believe that AI will sooner or later find a use in composition – it will speed up the process, just as music notation software once did. It will certainly be used in music for adverts – perhaps with the exception of campaigns for luxury brands, which will want to have the artist’s original signature and may even boast about it.

However, I still believe that AI merely synthesises what already exists. It doesn’t invent anything new. Humans, with their unpredictability and madness, are capable of creating something truly surprising. That’s why I treat AI as a tool. And I believe that those who learn to use it will come out on top – because they’ll work faster and become more attractive on the market.

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