Jagoda Szmytka (born 1982 in Legnica) is a Polish composer. She has attracted attention for her style of music, which uses elements not only of sound, but also of the sense of space and visual arts, and also for her new opera, Dla głosów i rąk (For Voices and Hands).[1] She is a well-known composer in Europe[2] and has been recognized abroad, winning numerous juried scholarships, including the Staubach Honoraria for Composition.
Szmytka has received numerous scholarships and grants from various foundations including Austrian Agency for International Cooperation in Education and Research (ÖAD) (2008), an artist grant funded by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (2008), German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) (2008/09), a scholarship of the Oscar und Vera Ritter Stiftung (2010), a scholarship from the Baden-Württemberg Art Foundation (2011), Alfred Toepfer Stiftung (2011), the Wolfgang Rihm Scholarship of the Hoepfner Foundation (2011),[4] and the Staubach Honorarium for Composition by the Darmstadt Summer Courses (2012).[5] In both 2011 and 2014 she was composer-in-residence at ZKM Karlsruhe, which in between those appointments she had served as composer-in-residence at La muse en Circuit Paris.[3] In 2015 she was awarded with the Villa Serpentara Scholarship 2016 by the Academy of Arts, Berlin.
Szmytka lives as a freelance composer in Frankfurt am Main.[6] Szmytka founded an artist's and musician's group called "Play" which meets biweekly and performs once a month.[7]
Work
Szmytka's work uses sound and also includes visual elements such as text, theatre and painting.[6]
The work on her release, "Bloody Cherries," was performed mainly by Ensemble Garage, and was considered to be sensual and gestural by Polityka.[8]
happy deaf people. Staged piece for amplified cello, large ensemble, video and audio projections (2012)
Stage Works
dla głosów i rąk [for hands and voices]. Chamber opera for soprano, 7 singers, ensemble, audio and video projections (2013)
Discography
„Jagoda Szmytka – bloody cherries: electrified memories of bloody cherries / for travelers like angels or vampires / hand saw WeltAll-Stars. generously / sky-me, type-me / pores open wide shut / f* for music / greetings from a doppelgänger“ WERGO 2014 (WER 64142)
References
^Bylander, Cindy (April 2014). "Disorientation at the Warsaw Opera". Musical Opinion. 137 (1499). Retrieved 20 September 2015. ((cite journal)): Unknown parameter |subscription= ignored (|url-access= suggested) (help)
^Schutz, Larissa (18 September 2015). "Sirenen im Kopf". Dreh Punkt Kultur (in German). Retrieved 20 September 2015.