Born on 16th od November 1977 in Łęczyca, Marcin Stańczyk graduated in music theory under Marta Szoka in 2006 and in composition under Zygmunt Krauze and Krzysztof Knittel (elctronic music) from the Academy of Music in Łódź. In the years 2008-2010 he completed a postgraduate course in composition at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome under Ivan Fedele (2008-2010). In 2001 he also graduated in law from the University of Łódź.
He has participated in several masterclasses, including 13th Young Composers Meeting in Apeldoorn in the Netherlands (2007) under Louis Andriessen, Martijn Padding, Richard Ares, Mary Finsterer and Joe Cutler, course with Klangforum Wien (2007) and Trilok Gurtu (2008) organized at La Biennale di Venezia, Bang a Can Summer Music Festival (2009) under Steve Reich, David Lang and Michael Gordon, session Voix Nouvelles, founded by the Royaumont Foundation (2009) with Brian Ferneyhough, Isabel Mundry, Misato Mochizuki, New Music Courses in Darmstadt (2010), Ovvero la fabbrica della creativita (2010 and 2012; Nuova Consonanza – Roma) under Beat Furrer and Mark Andre as well as Jerwood Opera Writing Programme in Aldeburgh (2010-2011) under Giorgio Battistelli. Between 2011 and 2014 he studied and worked at IRCAM in Paris.
He has also participated in the young composers promotion programme of the Krzysztof Penderecki's European Centre for Music (2007-2011). He has received numerous scholarships in Poland (Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Association of Authors and Composers ZAiKS), Germany (International Music Institute Darmstadt), France (SACEM), England (Aldeburgh Music), and Italy (the Government).
Stańczyk, like no other young Polish composer, is able to tame the energy of sound processes, purely sensually and spontaneously, despite always having a specific and logical plan – wrote Jan Topolski on the pages of the Biweekly.pl
Stańczyk’s music has been featured at events in Poland and abroad, such as Gaudeamus Musik Week (SPIRIT in CAGE, composed for Orkest de Ereprijs), IRCAM Manifeste, Venice Biennale, MATA, Bang on a Can Marathon in New York, Espaces Sonores in Basel, Rondò in Milan, Review of Composers in Belgrade, 'Warsaw Autumn', 'Sacrum Profanum' in Kraków, 'Musica Moderna' in Łódź and Festival of World Premieres in Katowice by renowned artists and ensembles such as Ensemble Intercontemporain, Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, Oslo Sinfonietta, Ensemble Linea, E-Mex, Nikel, Algoritmo, Divertimento, Meitar, Orkest de ereprijs, Zone Expérimentale, Meitar, Divertimento, Sinfonia Varsovia and New Music Orchestra.
A participant of several international composition competitions, he has received a dozen or so awards, including the Toru Takemitsu Award and the prize of the Tokyo Competition for Chamber Music Composition, the Reading Panel IRCAM award, the Franco Donatoni Award in Milan, the Biennale/ISB David Walter award in San Francisco, the Salvatore Martirano Award in Illinois, and the Sun River Competition award in Chengdu, Grażyna Bacewicz International Composition Competition award in Łódź, Laurenscatorij Foundation Composers Competition award in Rotterdam, Ignacy Jan Paderewski International Composition Competition award in Bydgoszcz, International Competition of Composition Associazione Culturale Musicale 'Euritmia' award in Povoletto, Italy and International Composition Contest 'From Romanticism to Contemporary' award in Bucarest. He was also nominated for the Koryfeusz Award bestowed by the Polish music community. In 2014 he was elected for a residency programme established by the City of Paris and Institut Français.
He works at the Administrative Court and as a choir singer at the Łódź Philharmonic. He also sang in chamber choirs Con Vigore, Alla camera, and All antico, with which he gave concerts in Poland and abroad.
Marcin Stańczyk also teaches contemporary composition techniques and the history of electronic music at the Academy of Music in Łódź, where he earner Doctor of Arts degree in 2013 and a habilitation in 2016.
Selected works:
- Agnus Dei for mixed choir, 4 percussions, oboe and tape (2004)
- Aspetto... for retuned piano (2004)
- The Last One, music theatre for alto saxophone, harpsichord and tape (2005)
- Musings for alto saxophone and piano without performer (2005)
- Esercizi. Hommage à Karol Szymanowski, music theatre for instruments, metronomes and audience (2005)
- Geysir – Grisey for chamber ensemble (2006)
- Trois chants d’amour for 2 chamber choirs (2006)
- Dialogues de Douve, song cycle for mezzo-soprano and piano (2006)
- Afterimages, version for flute, violin and piano (2006)
- SPIRIT in CAGE for Orkest de Ereprijs (2007)
- Selsebil for orchestra (2007)
- Encounters for folk musicians, instruments and chamber choir (2007)
- Silence, sound impression to a cycle of paintings by Łukasz Leszczyński (2007)
- Ciottolo for ensemble (2008)
- Laterna for ensemble and tape (2008)
- Three Afterimages for double bass (2008)
- Sighs for chamber orchestra (2008-2011)
- Afterimages – rosso for piano (2009)
- Nibiru – La rivoluzione della terra sconosciuta for chamber ensemble (2009)
- Analessi Rotte for cello, 2 voices and trombone (2009)
- Sospiri for ensemble (2009)
- Il riverbero della malinconia for chamber ensemble (2010)
- Chopin’s Secret, musical painting [with Łukasz Leszczyński] (2010)
- OPERA 3 for soloist, accompanist and composer [with Peter Cant] (2010)
- Le teste scambiate, opera for chamber orchestra and 3 characters (2010-2012)
- In Case of Rapture, miniopera (2011)
- Archeopteryx, dance theatre music (2011)
- Swapped Heads, opera for chamber orchestra and 3 characters (2011-2013)
- 4’34” – Short Piece Against J. Cage for four instruments, 3 instrumentalists and 4 loudspeakers (2012)
- Mosaïque for cello and electronics (2012)
- Geysir – Grisey, version for clarinets, piano, percussion, electric guitar, cello and double bass (2012)
- Woven Music for orchestra (2013)
- Solarize, chamber opera for ensemble, 3 actors and electronics (2013-2014)
- POST– SONS for 2 percussionists and live electronics (2013-2014)
- Aftersounds for 2 percussionists and electronics (2013-2014)
- Aftersounds for guitar solo (2014)
- A(pol)ogia, multimedia performance (collective work with Pete Cant and Alex Eisenberg) (2014)
- Blind walk for ensemble (2014-2015)
- Afterimages for voice, string quartet and audio-video live electronics (2015)
Source: marcinstanczyk.com; update: June 2016, AG.
Translator: MJ 31/08/2014
