Chicago Philharmonic 2018-2019

14 FALL 2018 | THE CHICAGO PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY 2018 2019 SEASON: PIOTR ORZECHOWSKI Chicago Philharmonic Festival: Poland 2018 Piotr Orzechowski, Jazz Piano Friday, November 9 2018, 8:00pm Polish Museum of America, Chicago President of the Polish Museum of America Richard Owsiany speaker Piotr Orzechowski (b. 1990) 24 Preludes and Improvisations No. 1 In C Major No. 2 In C Minor No. 3 In C Sharp Major No. 4 In C Sharp Minor No. 5 In D Major No. 6 In D Minor No. 7 In E Flat Major No. 8 In D Sharp Minor No. 9 In E Major No. 10 In E Minor No. 11 In F Major No. 12 In F Minor No. 13 In F Sharp Major No. 14 In F Sharp Minor No. 15 In G Major No. 16 In G Minor No. 17 In A Flat Major No. 18 In G Sharp Minor No. 19 In A Major No. 20 In A Minor No. 21 In B Flat Major No. 22 In B Flat Minor No. 23 In B Major No. 24 In B Minor Performance time approximately 2 hours. Supported in part by Piotr Orzechowski (b. 1990) 24 Preludes and Improvisations (2017) 24 Preludes and Improvisations is the third solo project by the pianist and composer Piotr Orzechowski, Pianohooligan. His previous albums include Experiment: Penderecki (2012), which rev- olutionized the Polish jazz scene by converting Penderecki’s orchestral structures into solo piano and was an attempt to nd the core of the style of this outstanding Polish composer, and 15 Studies for the Oberek (2014) – a genre-defying exploration of folk music. is time, the artist returns with a new proposal of a monumental work, alluding in its form to Johann Sebastian Bach’s 24 Preludes and Fugues. Orzechowski’s total of 48 pieces are an attempt to delve into the most important notions of music, such as structure, principle, creation, and improvisation, by juxtaposing sound blocks with free improvisations, i.e. composed and spontaneously created pieces. e 24 Preludes , then, are musical miniatures, juxtaposed with 24 Improvisations , set according to the chromatic scale in the 12 keys of the circle of hs, in major and minor modes. is confrontation intends to provide understanding for the idiom of this extraordinary phenomenon that jazz is. e reference to Johann Sebastian Bach’s works is nothing other than Piotr Orzechowski’s tribute to the tradition and principles of music, which, the artist believes, should not be renounced, but employed as a tool in the conventions of new genres. Pianohooligan’s new project puts the emphasis on the power of improvisation, which, like a microscope, shows the com- poser’s inner self, at the same time using musical forms from the meeting point of classical, jazz, and other musical styles. rough its de ned perfor- mance techniques in 24 Improvisations – together with 24 Preludes , which will be published as sheet music – it also teaches jazz pianists a new approach to the instrument and how to use acquired knowledge. Released as a double album in 2017, it is in a sense a kind of lecture – it separates structure from improvisation. By using as examples short musical structures ( Preludes ), and equally short but far more complex improvisa- tional creations ( Improvisations ) – the rst aiming at devaluing the former thinking about formal structures, and the latter focusing on presenting the means of departing from conventional thinking – Pianohooligan intends to expound a new way of understanding the notion of jazz and self-expression in music. Notes supplied by O cyna Artystyczna 13 Kotów