Bortnowski, Marcin

Born in Żary, Poland, on 1st March 1972. He studied composition with Grażyna Pstrokońska-Nawratil at the Karol Lipiński Music Academy in Wrocław, graduating with honours in 1997. He took part in the International Meetings of Young Composers in Apeldoorn, organised by the Gaudeamus Foundation (1996), and the experimental and computer music workshops at the University of Ghent (1997).

He was awarded in the Tadeusz Baird Competition for Young Composers (2nd Prize for String Quartet no. 2 and Special Prize for String Quartet no. 1 in 1995, 2nd Prize for Music for... in 1997), the National Composers’ Competition in Gdańsk, 1997 (3rd Prize for Symphony no. 1) and at the Pan Accordion Competition 2000 (1st Prize for Music in Lent).

He teaches composition, modern compositional techniques, and computer music at the Music Academy in Wrocław. In 2012 he obtained a habilitation degree in composition. He has held scholarships from the Polish Ministry of Culture and the National Heritage, Society of Authors – ZAiKS, Friends of Warsaw Autumn Foundation, Ernst von Siemens Foundation, and German Radio. He is a member of the Polish Composers’ Union and the Polish Society for Electroacoustic Music.

Selected works (since 1995): String Quartet no. 2 (1995), Songs to Words by Guillaume Apollinaire for alto, harpsichord and accordion (1996), Music in Autumn for chamber orchestra (1996), Concerto for Accordion and Chamber Orchestra (1996), Clair de lune for chamber ensemble (1996), Music for... for two percussions and two accordions (1997), Symphony no. 1 (1997), Music in Winter for chamber orchestra (1997), Dream Suite for accordion (1998), Music in Spring for piano quintet (1998), Symphony no. 2 (1999), Music in Lent for accordion and string quartet (2000), White Angels for 13 strings (2001), Between Dreams for violin and tape (2002), Time Up for chamber orchestra (2003), Pieces of Light for accordion, harpsichord and computer (2003), Sounds of Time for chamber ensemble (2004), Under the Brown Fog of a Winter Dawn for harpsichord and computer (2005), Easter Music for chamber ensemble (2005– 6), ...Looking into the Heart of Light, the Silence for orchestra (2006), fiftyfifty for harpsichord (2007), Interrogavi terram for voices and cello (2008, rev. for chamber choir and cello, 2015), Four Quartets for four computers (2009), And Night Will Be No More for accordion and chamber orchestra (2010), Studies for disklavier and computer (2010), And the Sea Is No More for harpsichord and chamber orchestra (2011–12), Miserere for chamber choir and percussion ensemble (2012–13), Toward the Sound of the Night for string quartet and accordion (2015), Expectancy for cello and chamber orchestra (2016).