On November 1, 2025, Andrzej Czajkowski (1935–1982) would have turned 90. One of the first members of the Young Circle of the Polish Composers’ Union, Czajkowski will be the focus of a special edition of the “Meeting at the Composers’” series, held on November 7 at 4:30 PM at the historic headquarters of the Polish Composers’ Union.
Though widely recognized as a piano virtuoso, Czajkowski’s true calling was composition. His first work, Nocturne for piano, was written in 1948, while his final composition – The Merchant of Venice, a three-act opera with an epilogue – was completed from his hospital bed in Oxford after 14 years of work.
A special impetus for this gathering is the Octet for clarinet, oboe, horn, and string quintet (1961), preserved in manuscript and performed for the first time in August 2025 at the initiative of clarinetist Julian Paprocki. During the event, Iwona Lindstedt, Chair of the Musicologists’ Section of the PCU, will lead a discussion with invited guests Urszula Kryger, Julian Paprocki, and Liliana Krych, exploring the Octet and other works by Czajkowski, which will also be presented at the event.
Festival program: https://100latzkp.org.pl/wydarzenia.php
Event partners: Co-organized by the National Institute of Music and Dance and co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the City of Warsaw, and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
Co-organizer: Program 2 of Polish Radio
Partners: ZAiKS Authors’ Association, National Philharmonic, Fryderyk Chopin University of Music, Polish Music Publishers (PWM)
Media Patronage: Polish Radio Program 2, Presto Publishing, Waw4Free, “Wolna sobota”, “NaM!” naszemiasto.pl
Editorial cooperation: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC
