My Philosophy of Music

This first English-language book about the original, contemporary music of Hanna Kulenty brings together her three essays about her compositional aesthetics, from 1998, 2015 and 2017, and an interview with Maja Trochimczyk about her original concept of multi-dimensional time in music (2003). The composer discusses her aesthetics and techniques, including such diverse notions as the multiplicity of temporal dimensions, the psychological impact of abstract musical narration, kitsch, and surrealism. Translated and edited by Maja Trochimczyk, this volume features Trochimczyk's essay about Kulenty's music, accompanied by the composer's biography, list of works, discography, and bibliography. Hanna Kulenty is a Polish-Dutch contemporary composer (b. 1961) and an author of more than 130 compositions for soloists, chamber ensembles, and symphony orchestra. Her oeuvre includes three symphonies, more than a dozen of concerti for solo instruments with orchestra, two operas, multiple chamber music works, as well as film and theater music. Kulenty's original philosophy of musical time and compositional techniques range from the "polyphony of arcs" through "trance music,", the "polyphony of time dimensions," to "musique surréalistique." Known as one of the most original and creative Polish composers, Kulenty also penned a book "Odwrocony dom" and recently started painting surrealist and abstract images.