Contemporary
Composer in the Spotlight
Michel van der Aa
Richard Ayres
Cornelis de Bondt
Ton Bruynèl
David Dramm
Anthony Fiumara
Joep Franssens
Rozalie Hirs
Simeon ten Holt
Willem Jeths
Hanna Kulenty
Yannis Kyriakides
Ton de Leeuw
Reza Namavar
Mayke Nas
Martijn Padding
Jan van de Putte
Robin de Raaff
Richard Rijnvos
Wouter Snoei
Klas Torstensson
Jacob ter Veldhuis
Theo Verbey
Giel Vleggaar
Peter-Jan Wagemans
Kristoffer Zegers
Hanna Kulenty
A field of waving grass brings to light hidden forces. The swaying of the grass reveals waves appearing and spreading in whirling meanders, expanding stretches, in lines that fall apart and merge again. These changing patterns of interweaving and unravelling draw so much attention that you become one with them.
Similar forces also propel the cello and the accordion in Preludium, Postludium and Psalm by Hanna Kulenty. The work that dates from 2007 has been nominated for the Toonzetters Award. The two instruments work their way through time; the route they should take has been decided beforehand, but it is rarely predictable. They go their separate ways, revolve around each other, support each other, merge and then diverge again. Together they explore the boundaries of a mutual balance that keeps them together with natural flexibility.
The movements in Kulenty’s music follow rules that are intuitive rather than rational. It is not the harmonic or rhythmic structures that are complex, but rather the experience from which they emanate and which they evoke in the listener’s mind. These are movements that invite you to listen and become part of them. Hesitation is at your own risk. Sooner than you expect the force will subside, all the revolving will have come to a halt and the sounds will have risen beyond the borders of your perception.
René van Peer
3 characteristic statements by Hanna:
- After searching for a long time I have found a language with which I can express everything, and that is music. Why should I say anything about my music? Listen to it from the beginning to the end, that is what I have to say.
- Intuition is most important. The intellect is only needed to become aware of things, but without intuition this is impossible.
- Keeping a balanced life. When everybody has mastered this, there will be an honest world.
Two reviews on String Quartet No. 4 (A Cradle Song)
on the Kronos Quartet performance in New York’s Carnegie Hall on 5 December 2008:
[…] But the most powerful work […] was Hanna Kulenty’s gripping String Quartet No. 4 (A Cradle Song) in which a poignant melody serves as the heart of a funereal threnody in memory of Ms. Kulenty’s daughter, who died in childhood.
Steve Smith, The New York Times, December 8, 2008
[…] Listening, though, to Polish composer Hanna Kulenty’s String Quartet was a stunning experience. The song itself was a few simple measures, but as it gradually increased in complexity, we had to feel drawn into the strings themselves, the emotions, the stellar joy within the universe of its notes.
Harry Rolnick, concertonet.com, December 6, 2008
concise personal portrait
Hanna Kulenty’s interests:
Her children; Eating tapas at the Mercat de la Boqueria in Barcelona.
Observing people in Oxford Street;Seeing Greenland from the air.
Hanna Kulenty’s heroes and inspiration:
Bach, Einstein, Paulo Coelho’s philosophical message.
