Philip Czapłowski
is a Polish-Australian composer
Born in London, his father was from Wilno, Poland (now part of Lithuania) born to a peasant family in the village of Kijonij (now Kijonys). Philip's mother was British, born in Marylebone of Irish, Cornish and Scottish ancestry.
In 1969 the Czapłowski family migrated to Australia. After arriving in Melbourne, Philip studied piano with William L (Bill) Lowe from 1970 to 1975, and composition with Felix Werder from 1975 to 1977.
Bill Lowe was a wonderful teacher, but more importantly someone who had enormous empathy for my particular needs.
It was Felix Werder who introduced me to contemporary music, in particular the enormous contribution that Polish composers made during the 20th Century. Felix was a warm and generous soul who had a tendency to get up people's noses--but only if you deserved it!
Czapłowski subsequently studied music at Melbourne and La Trobe Universities, where his composition teachers included Peter Tahourdin, Ted Dollarhide, and Keith Humble, as well as piano with Rodney Sigston. In 2007 Czapłowski completed a Doctorate (PhD) in music composition at Monash University (supervised by Thomas Reiner), during which time he also lectured in music theory.
My Polish origins have led me to explore the music of Eastern Europe, particularly that of Poland, the Baltic states, and the former Soviet Union. But I'm greatly interested in any music where expression is a driving factor. Amongst contemporary composers, I'm interested in the work of Petris Vasks, Gavin Briars, Arvo Part, John Tavener, John Adams, and Erki Sven Tuur. Looking back a little, I love the music of Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Britten, and Honneger. The link between many of them is not hard to discern - tonality! Of the more experimental composers, I am most interested in Penderecki, Lutoslawski, Schnittke, Ligeti, Takemitsu, and Isang Yun.
In 2005 Czapłowski also attended the Academy of Music in Kraków, Poland, where he worked with Marcel Chyrzyński, Zbigniew Bujarski, Krystyna Moszumañska-Nazar, Wojciech Widłak, and Anna Zawadska-Gołosz.
Attending the Academy in Kraków, as well as festivals and concerts in Poland was a real eye opener. I witnessed a creative interaction of styles that I could relate to as a truly Postmodern approach.
This is somewhat different to recent developments in Australia, where composition has tended to become polarised between extreme Modernism or music that's "pleasant".
Philip Czapłowski's compositions include the orchestral work Momentum, commissioned by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in 2000, four concertos for Australia Pro Arte (now the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra), and numerous chamber and solo compositions. His music has been performed and recorded around the world, and he is a represented artist in the collection of the Australian Music Centre and the National Library of Australia, Canberra. Czapłowski is a member, and former Treasurer of the Melbourne Composers' League.
My music is primarily about identity--or more accurately my search for identity.
I was born in England, but had absolutely no interaction with any relatives from my Mother's family. And my family name didn't exactly make me very English! My father was Polish, but from a place that is no longer Poland. I was 43 years old before I finally met any of my Polish family.
I have suffered life-long from Borderline Personility Disorder (BPD), but by the time I was diagnosed it was too late for treatment to have a positive impact on the course of my life. I am also a high-functioning Autistic, probably why I became a composer!
Philip is married to Yan Yan, and they have a daughter named Leah.
Many of the composer's scores are freely available to download in PDF format.
Performers of Philip Czapłowski's music include:
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Christchurch Symphony Orchestra
New York Miniaturist Ensemble
Orquestra Antunes Camara
Australia Pro Arte (now the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra)
Canberra Wind Soloists
Chamber Strings of Melbourne
Geelong Chamber Orchestra
Australian Chamber Soloists
Australia Felix
Monash Festival Orchestra
The Lorien Trio
Klaviduo
The Sonami DuoHarry Sparnaay
Jeffrey Crellin
Prudence Davis
Hanna Balcerzak
Sauro Berti
Lisa Cella
Carla Rees
Peter Sheridan
as well as many other leading Australian and international musicians.
His music has featured regularly in international festivals, including:
Encuentros Festival Internacional (Brazil 1995)
International Double-Reed Society Conference (Arizona 1998)
Federation Music Week (Melbourne 2000)
Sonorities Festival of Contemporary Music (Belfast 2003)
Szymanowski Festival 2003 (XXVI Dni Muzyki Karola Szymanowskiego, Poland)
International Double-Reed Society Conference (Melbourne 2004)
Melbourne International Festival of Single Reeds (2005)
Cortona Contemporary Music Festival (Tuscany, Italy 2006)
Karhonfest (Karhonsaari, Finland 2017)
7th European Clarinet Festival (Porto, Portugal 2017)
30th International Festival of Kraków Composers (Kraków, Poland 2018)
5th International Clarinet Festival (Lima, Peru 2019)
Elzbieta Chojnacka Festival (Tarnowskie Góry, Poland 2019)
Gorczycki Festiwal (Tarnowskie Góry, Poland 2020)
5th Seminar of Contemporary Harpsichord Music 'Cembalo no limits' (Łódź, Poland 2022)
2nd International Low Flutes Festival (USA 2022)
2nd Festiwal im. Elżbiety Chojnackiej (Tarnowskie Góry, Poland 2023)
36th International Festival of Composers (Kraków, Poland 2024)
and has been broadcast by:
RAI Italy
Polski Radio Katowice
ABC Classic FM
ABC TV
ABC Radio National
3MBS FM
Radio Adelaide
Southern FM