masque II

2024 | alto flute & bass flute | 7'15"

masque II, a duo for alto flute and bass flute completed in February 2024 for Australian flautists Lisa-Maree Amos & Peter Sheridan.

In psychology and sociology, masking is the process in which an individual camouflages their natural personality or behavior to conform to social pressures, abuse, or harassment.




masque I

2023 | flute & oboe | 4 minutes

masque I for flute and oboe was completed in December 2023 for US flautist Kelariz Keshavarz.

People with Borderline Personality Disorder experience internal dysregulation and inner turmoil, but some are masterful at masking their pain — so they may appear cold, distant, or aloof as a result.




light from darkness

2023 | 2 pianos | 11'30"

light from darkness for two pianos was completed in October 2023 for the Polish duo pianists Justyna Maria Etsuko Piękos and Piotr Kędzierski - the Sonami Piano Duo.

The first performance will take place during the 36th Kraków International Festival of Composers in Poland, April 2024.

The piano is my instrument, and so for me this piece has special significance. The title reflects my belief that, no matter how dark life might become at times, there are also periods when a welcome light shines through, which can bring joy and fulfillment.




freedom

2022 | harpsichord & piano | 9'

freedom was composed for Duo Siostry Gajeckie, Hanna Balcerzak (piano) and Aleksandra Gajecka-Antosiewicz (harpsichord), and completed in December 2022.

Jerzy Popiełuszko (1947 – 1984) was ordained a priest by Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński in May 1972.

He was a courageous opponent of the communist regime in Poland, and his sermons combined spiritual and political messages. He criticized the government, expressed solidarity with those who had been detained, and encouraged his parishioners to protest.

The Communist Government eventually decided to eliminate him, and although at first he was able to avoid a faked car accident, he was subsequently kidnapped on 19 October 1984. He was beaten to death by three Security Police officers, a stone was tied to his feet, and his body was dumped in the Vistula Water Reservoir near Włocławek, from where it was recovered on 30 October 1984.




turgiele

2022 | bass viola de gamba & harpsichord | 10'

Turgiele is a small town located about 30 km southeast of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Today it is called Turgeliai. In the past, much of Lithuania, including the area around Turgiele, was part of Poland, and it is to here that I can trace my Polish ancestry back as far as the Eighteenth Century.

This piece primarily expresses a sense of belonging and identity, but is also a reflection of the complex, and often difficult history of the surrounding region.




moonlight

2021 | violin & piano | 3'45" |

moonlight for violin and piano was completed in September 2021.

This short piece started life as an even shorter one from my music for the Australian movie “The Caretaker” (2012). The piano accompaniment is loosely based on the opening movement of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. Whilst there is a certain calm associated with moonlight, there is also the potential for drama and trauma.



addio

2020 | clarinet & piano | 9'30"

addio for Bb clarinet and piano was completed in November 2020.




beyond time

2020 | 2 harpsichords | 10 minutes

beyond time for two harpsichords was completed in August 2020 for the Polish ensemble Klaviduo: Jerzy Michal Wardeski and Magdalena Bak. They gave the first performance on Sunday 24th October 2021, in Warsaw, Poland.

"The title refers to my continuing exploration and assimilation of musical materials from various periods of music history, and the belief that progress should not have to mean abandoning the past. This piece is dedicated to my Polish cousin, Alina Czaplowska."

"It’s an amazing and beautiful piece. I'm honored and excited to perform it!"
Magdalena Bak, Klaviduo.



wherever I go, there I am...

2018 | 3 bass clarinets | 9 minutes

wherever I go, there I am for three bass clarinets was completed in March 2018. The piece incoporates a number of ideas of diverse styllistic origin—including an improvisatory section—and seeks to combine them logically, and with meaningful intent.

"The title of this trio for three bass clarinets is a play on the name of a book about mindfulness by Jon Kabat-Zinn: Wherever You Go, There You Are. There is some suggestion that the book's title is a quote from Confucius, whose tomb in Qufu, Shandong, China I visited in 2013, with my wife Yan Yan. I think this is one of my more successful polystylistic works, because I am particularly happy with the way that the different styllistic elements complement each other."



emergence

2018 | flute, viola & harp | 11' |

emergence for flute, viola and harp was was composed for the 30th International Krakow Composers Festival (2018) at the request of the festival's director, esteemed Polish composer Marcel Chyrzynski, to whom the work is dedicated.

"I chose emergence for the title of this piece because it's a word full of meaning, and the music is about many things, including my emergence as a composer, the emergence of my identity from a confused history, the emergence of Poland as a nation once again, and the emergence of a partial understanding of my place in the world..."


The premiere of emergence took place on Saturday 21st April 2018 at 6 PM, at Muzeum Sztuki Współczesnej (Museum of Contemporary Art, MOCAK), Krakow, Poland, performed by the LorIen Trio—30. Miedzynarodowy Festiwal Kompozytorów Krakowskich 14-22 kwietnia 2018:

Alicja Lizer-Molitorys - flute
Aleksandra Batog - viola
Agnieszka Kaczmarek-Bialic - harp



red moon

2006 | shakuhachi & harpsichord | 5 minutes

red moon was composed for a concert of the Melbourne Composers League, and was premiered on 10 December 2006 at Richmond Town Hall, Melbourne by Anne Norman (shakuhachi) and Peter Hagen (harpsichord).



Innocence II

2006 | violin & piano | 6 minutes

Innocence II was composed for Elizabeth Sellars and Kenji Fujimura, who premiered the work on 10th September 2006 at St Michael's Church, Melbourne.



At the Grave of Dmitri Shostakovich

2004 | violin & cello | 5 minutes

At the Grave of Dmitri Shostakovich, a duo for violin and cello, was composed in August 2004, and was premiered by Isin Cakmakcioglu (vln) and Rachel Atkinson (vc), during a Melbourne Composers¡¯ League concert at the Iwaki Auditorium, ABC Southbank Centre, Melbourne in November 2004.

In 2001 I spent a few days in Moscow, where I visited the Novodevichy Cemetery, the burial place of Dmitri Shostakovich, along with many of the other luminaries of Russian culture. This work is a homage to Shostakovich, and a musical interpretation of the very moving experience of visiting his grave.



Wind Quintet

2004 | 13 minutes | Jun 2004 Melbourne, Australia

This piece was written for the Canberra Wind Soloists, who gave the premiere at the IDRS convention in June 2004, at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.



Conversations

2003 | 3 clarinettists & electronics | 40 minutes | 12 Jun 2003 Melbourne, Australia

Conversations was a collaborative work that involved 6 composers from Monash University: Steve Adam, Philip Czaplowski, Robin Fox, Russell Goodwin, Peter Myers, and Thomas Reiner.

The piece was the outcome of a research project funded by Monash University, and its composition took place over a period of approximately 9 months prior to the first (and only) performance on 12th June 2003 in the Drama Theatre, Performing Arts Centre, Monash University.

Not surprisingly the future of the piece quickly became terminal, so I eventually decided to use my contributions as the basis for pieces that continue to exist.

Trio
"This section of Conversations was a trio of about 5 minutes that I composed for Eb, Bb and bass clarinet, which emerged inpercebtibly from the previous material."

Totenlied
"The next section of Conversations was a solo of about 5 minutes that I composed for Bb clarinet, accompanied by the very creative electronic/digital manipulation of composer Steve Adam. The clarinet score later became my piece called Totenlied."

"This is a rich and engaging example of electro-acoustic music at its most successful."
Anthony Linden Jones, MCA Music Forum Magazine November 2006.

The complete recording of Conversations is available on CD from Move Records.



Innocence

1998 | violin & piano | 9 minutes | 12 Jun 2003 Melbourne, Australia

Innocence for violin and piano was written in 1998 for Australian violinist Deborah Fox, who gave the first performance at the Preshil School, Melbourne on 29th November 1998, with the composer (pictured) at the piano.

Subsequent performances include those by Zoe Nighton and Ian Munroe at a concert of the Australian Chamber Soloists, and a recording for the ABC by the Mogilevsky Duo.



Personae

1996 | oboe, clarinet & bassoon | 9'30"

This trio for oboe, clarinet, bassoon was written for the Australian Chamber Soloists 1996 season and completed in July 1996.

Personae was premiered by Jeffrey Crellin (ob), Phillip Miechell (cl) and Amanda Lee (bsn) at Melba Hall, Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, on Sunday July 7th 1996. The concert was recorded and broadcast by the ABC.



Trio

1994 | oboe, flute & cello | 9 minutes

This piece was written during April and May of 1994 for Prudence Davis (fl), Jeffrey Crellin (ob) and Phillip Green (vc), and was first performed at Music in the Round concerts, in Melbourne on 21st & 22nd May 1994. The work explores some of the timbral & textural possibilities of the ensemble, juxtaposing lyrical passages with sections of aleotoric writing, somewhat in the style of Lutoslawski.