Chołoniewski, Marek (EN)

Chołoniewski Marek, *23 October 1953 Krakow, Polish composer. He graduated from the State Higher School of Music (PWSM) in Krakow: in 1977 in organ performance under L. Werner, and in 1979 in composition and music theory under B. Schaeffer. Since 1976 he has worked at the Electroacoustic Music Studio of the Academy of Music in Krakow, from 1989 as an assistant professor. Founder of the artistic association “Muzyka Centrum” (Kraków 1977), co-founder of the groups Go-Go Boys (1985) and Pociąg Towarowy (together with K. Knittel and P. Bikont, 1986). In 1989, together with K. Knittel, he founded the ensemble Studio CH & K. Organizer (since 1986) of the Audio Art concert series held annually in Kraków; since 1993 director of the Audio Art Festival. From 1993 Chołoniewski has also been deputy director of the Internationale Akademie für Neue Komposition in Schwaz (Austria); since 1990 he has conducted courses in computer music in Austria, Germany, Sweden, the United States, and Canada. In 1987 his first monographic concert took place in New York.

Both the specificity and diversity of Chołoniewski’s output make it difficult to classify his compositional style unequivocally. From his earliest years he has been primarily involved in the relatively new field of electroacoustic and computer music, rarely turning to purely instrumental genres. The guiding principle of his work is openness to diverse artistic ideas and technical solutions, which allows him to avoid schematism and continuously renew his compositional technique. A very important element of his works is a certain “initial” idea, a concept or component determining the shape of the piece; this can be observed not only in works intended for electroacoustic media, but also in instrumental and vocal-instrumental compositions (Amput). Chołoniewski belongs to a circle of artists operating at the intersection of music and other arts. In recent years he has been particularly intensively involved in projects of so-called sound installations and performance.