Bio

My adventures with composing began while I was still a student at the I.J. Paderewski secondary school of music in Konin, where I learnt both organ and improvisation, which had a considerable influence on my musical education.  From my earliest attempts at notating my improvisation I began treating composition more seriously.  My harmony teachers and the choir and orchestra director encouraged me in these early undertakings of mine – even a composer.  My first successes in competitions for composers turned out to be important, e.g. I received the First Prize in the Patri Patriae competition, where the jury members were: Wojciech Kilar, Eugeniusz Knapik, Aleksander Lasoń.  An important factor in my organ education constituted trips to the Organ Conservatorium in Leginca, where I had the opportunity to meet many outstanding artists:  Stanisław Moryto and Marian Sawa, who was mostly known to me from many organ works that I had in my repertoire.  I began studies at the Warsaw Music University in the organ class of Professor Andrzej Chorosiński, so that a year later I could simultaneously take composition classes from Professor Marcin Błażewicz.  As I recall, my time as a student was very work-intensive, but I gained much experience in admiring art by frequenting the philharmonic concerts, opera, theatres and museums.  My master of composition immensely encouraged me to do this.  Warsaw was a new city to me, and was at the same time very inspiring, while the artistic events, in which I took part as a listener or observer, shaped my artistic taste.
In the academic year 2006/07 I studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne, where I took composition lessons from Professor York Höller, instrumentation from Professor Krzysztof Meyer, electronic music from Professor Hans Ulrich Humpert, and organ from Professor Johannes Geffert, in accordance with the Erasmus student exchange program.  Studying with the great composer York Höller, creator of the musical language Klanggestalt, has inspired in me a structural approach to my later work.  It is very inspiring that in Klanggestalt, one can obtain completely different results from the same set of sounds, and by using the same compositional technique one can arrive at sound results completely different from each other.
I graduated from my Alma Mater in 2008 by receiving two diplomas, one in composition and the other in organ, and thanks to the University Senate’s motion in 2010 I was awarded the Medal Magna cum Laude – offered to the greatest graduates whose artistic activity goes beyond the required norm.
In 2008-2010 I studied as a graduate student with Professor Wolfgang Rihm at the Hochschule für Musik in Karlsruhe.  This was the crowning achievement of my composition studies, i.e. studying with one of the most valued contemporary German artists from whom I learnt most about the philosophical approach to creating musical material.  I completed these studies with a Konzertexamen diploma – the most advanced type of diploma in the discipline of composition within the German system of education.  As I have mentioned earlier, in 2010 I defended my PhD thesis at my Alma Mater.
In 2012/13 I studied contemporary music as a scholar of the Internationale Ensemble Modern Akademie at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt-am-Main.  At that time I had the opportunity to work with members of the group Ensemble Modern and with student-performers Internationale Ensemble Modern Akademie, which led to two commissioned, pre-premiered chamber works.
In 2011-2013 I received the scholarship Deutsche Bank Stiftung, which involved participation in opera spectacles in different German cities, but also in Paris, Basel, Edinburgh, and Aix-en-Provence.  Meetings with opera directors, composers, stage designers, playwrights, and conductors were concerned with getting to know how opera theatres function, along with the people who work there.  In the final project of the scholarship program, I was commissioned two chamber operas by the Deutsche Oper Berlin, which premiered on 20 June 2014.  My participation in this program gave me the opportunity to meet many valuable people involved with the opera industry, with whom collaboration persists to this day, for example with the opera director Margo Zalite, with whom I presented the full-length, full-cast opera Orphée - tragedié lyrique en musique at the Warsaw Chamber Opera.
In 2007-2010 I was part of the promotional program “Young composers in homage of Frederic Chopin” of the Krzysztof Penderecki European Center for Music, which was meant to acquaint a large audience with the works of young composers.  My compositions have been performed at several dozen concerts, and the crowning achievement of the program was publication of the monographic disc Dariusz Przybylski – Works for Orchestra (DUX), containing orchestral works and concerts.
In 2009 I was invited as composer in residence to Mittersill, Austria – Komponisten Forum Mittersill kofomi, in 2010 to Bad Ischl, Austria – International Composers’ Academy, and in 2012 to Nizhnyi Novgorod, Russia – Scratch-Cantatas Festival.  In the 2012/14 season I was a composer in residence at the Berlin-based vocal ensemble Phønix16, which published at DUX a double CD album containing the works Passio (2013), Miserere (2008) and … et desiderabunt mori… (2008) for 12 voices a cappella.  In 2015 the DUX publishing house published the album Songs and Piano Works, featuring my song-cycles and piano works.  Moreover, my compositions have been recorded on seven discs entitled Sound Chronicles of the Warsaw Autumn Festival and on 19 albums published by DUX, Sarton, Polmic et al.  In the artistic season 2015/16 I am a composer in residence of the Gorzow Philharmonic.
My works have been performed by such orchestras as:  The National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, The Beethoven Academy Orchestra, The Polish Radio Orchestra, The Deutsche Oper Berlin Orchestra, The Chamber Orchestra of the National Philharmonic, Sinfonia Iuventus, the following philharmonic orchestras:   Poznań, Gorzow, Kalisz, of the Silesian Region, Szczecin, Częstochowska, The Neo-Philarmonic Orchestra in Jinju, South Korea, and the following chamber orchestras:  Aukso, Amadeus, Leopoldinum.
I had the opportunity to work with such conductors as:  Jacek Kaspszyk, Szymon Bywalec, Marek Moś, Michał Klauza, Ulrich Grosser, Jerzy Salwarowski, Adam Klocek, Seongtaek Hong, Rudiger Bohn, Timo Kreuser, Henryk Tritt, Daniel Synowiec, Vladimir Baidov, Jakub Chrenowicz, Vimbay Kaziboni, Martin Nagashima-Toft, Piotr Borkowski, Anna Duczmal-Mróz, Maciej Tworek, Massimiliano Caldi, Bassem Akiki, Daniel Raiskin, Jean-Paul Dessy, Jiri Petrdlik, Przemysław Fiugajski, Nicholas Cleobury, Maja Metelska, Monika Wolińska, Paweł Kotla.
My chamber works have been performed by the following ensembles: TWOgether Duo (Warsaw), ensemble:hoersinn (Muenster), creation ensemble (Cologne), an_Arche NewMusicEnsemble (Poznań), Scontri Ensemble (Warsaw), The European Saxophone Ensemble (Brussels), flute o’clock (Warsaw), Nostri Temporis Ensemble (Kiev), European Workshop for Contemporary Music (Polish-German), MS3 Baroque Ensemble, Cartoon Saxophone Ensemble (Amsterdam), Morpheus Saxophone Quartet (Warsaw), Vokalensemble PHOENIX16 (Berlin), Chór Warszawskiego Uniwersytetu Medycznego, Szczeciński Kwartet Smyczkowy Vigoroso, Baltic Neopolis Quartet (Gdańsk), NeoQuartet (Gdańsk), Kwartet smyczkowy OPIUM (Warsaw), Yo String Quartet (Jekaterinburg), Aube Flute Duo (Japan), Randstad Modern Players (Rotterdam), Ensemble of the soloists Classic-Avantgarde (Mińsk), International Ensemble Modern Academy (Frankfurt am Main), GAMEnsemble (Moscow), Kwartludium (Warsaw), Fluent Ensemble (Warsaw), VERGE Ensemble (Washington, D.C.), Hob-Beats Percussion Duo (Warsaw), Kwadrofonik (Warsaw), Hashtag Ensemble (Warsaw), Musiques Nouvelles (Brussels), Ladie Saxophone Quartet (Zagrzeb).
Soloists, with whom I collaborated directly when composing:  the flutists Jadwiga Kotnowska, Ewa Liebchen, Karolina Balińska, Rafał Żółkoś, the clarinetist David Campbell, the trumpeter Lubomir Jarosz, the percussionist Leszek Lorent, the pianists Marek Bracha, Daniel Brylewski. Maciej Piszek, Piotr Kopczyński, the violinists Patrycja Piekutowska, Janusz Wawrowski, the cellists Magdalena Bojanowicz, Dominik Połoński, Mariusz Wysocki, the saxophonists Paweł Gusnar, Wojciech Psiuk, Piotr Wysocki, Cezariusz Gadzina, the accordionists Maciej Frąckiewicz, Paweł Janas, the organists Jan Bartosz Bokszczanin, Jarosław Wróblewski, Andrzej Chorosiński, the vocalists Urszula Kryger, Maciej Nerkowski, Łukasz Hajduczenia, Iwona Sobotka, Wojtek Gierlach, Alexander Pinderak, Łucja Szablewska, Jan Jakub Monowid, Barbara Zamek, Robert Gierlach et al.  Besides, my works have been performed by numerous soloists, whose list may be found under the concerts heading of my resume.
My works have been presented at festivals such as: Warszawska Jesień (concerts at the Young Corcle of Polish Composers' Union), Anima Mundi in Kielce, Musica Moderna in Łódź, Musica Polonica Nova in Wrocław, Chopin. Transgresje in Warsaw, International Percussion Forum in Żagań, Sounds Between in Poznan, Colors of Poland in Łódź, Susa Festival in Naestved (Denmark), Muzyka na szczytach in Zakopane, Nordalia in Katowice, Sanggeun in Jinju (South Korea), contem.ucha in Łódź, International Accordion Festival in Vilnius, Automno Musicale Caserta in Capua (Italy), Festival of Premieres in Katowice, Świętokrzyskie Dni Muzyki in Kielce, World Music Days ISCM in Visby and Vaxjo (Sweden), Zagreb (Croatia) and Wrocław, Giardini di Luglio in Rome, Festiwal of Polish Music in Kraków, International Woodwind Workshops in Szczecinek, Adam Didur Festival in Sanok, Kontrasty in Lvov, January Music Nights in Brest (Belarus), Generacje in Warsaw, Festiwal Muzyki Pasyjnej i Paschalnej in Poznan, International Saxophone Week in Amsterdam, Sacrum non Profanum in Trzęsacz, Festiwal Muzyki Organowej i Kameralnej in Krasnobrod, Scratch Cantatas Festival in Nizhnyi Novgorod (Russia), Musica Sacra in Vienna, NeoArte in Sopot, Gorzowski Festiwal Muzyki Współczesnej in Gorzów Wlkp., Magister Ludi Festival in Moscow, Provinzlaerm in Eckernfoerde (Germany), Poznańska Wiosna Muzyczna, Międzynarodowe Dni Kompozytorów Krakowskich, Crossdrumming Festival in Warsaw, Międzynarodowy Festiwal Organowy in Szczecin, Gaudeamus Muziekweek in Utrecht, Muzyczne Przestrzenie in Konin, Voix Nouvelles in Royaumont (France), Melos-Ethos in Bratislava, Gdański Festiwal Muzyczny, KODY in Lublin, Warszawskie Spotkania Muzyczne.
In addition, my compositions were performed at concerts not forming part of any music festivals in such places as the Royal Festival Hall in London, the Cathedral in Cologne, at the Philharmonic Orchestras in Moscow, Minsk, Lvov, Vitebsk, the National Philharmonic in Warsaw, Poznań, Gorzów, Katowice, Łódź, Wrocław, Olsztyn.
A complete list may be found under the concerts heading of my resume.
I have executed compositional orders for such ensembles and institutions like: Deutsche Oper Berlin, The Warsaw Chamber Opera, The Philharmonic Orchestra in Poznań, The Philharmonic Orchestra in Kalisz, The Orchestra of the Beethoven Academy, The National Symphonic Orchestra of the Polish Radio, the K. Penderecki European Center for Music, The Association of Polish Composers, The Royal Castle in Warsaw, DUX Recording Producers, Internationale Ensemble Modern Akademie, the vocal ensemble PHOENIX16 in Berlin, The Wiener Glassharmonika Duo, hoersinn:ensemble in Muenster, The Creation Ensemble in Cologne, Scontri Duo in Warsaw, TWOgether Duo in Warsaw, Fluent Ensemble in Warsaw, flute o’clock duo in Warsaw, the European Saxophone Ensemble in Brussels, and Kwartludium in Warsaw.
An important element of my compositional work is the collaboration with music publishers and record companies.  Since 2008 my works have been published at the Verlag Neue Musik publishing house in Berlin; a few single compositions ended up in the music catalogues of PWM in Krakow, Pro Organo in Warsaw, and Butz Verlag in Bonn.  The record company with whom I work is DUX (as of now, three monographic albums have appeared; the fourth one, including a symphonic work and instrumental concerts recorded by the National Symphonic Orchestra of the Polish Radio in Katowice, is scheduled for the year 2016).  I also closely collaborate with Requiem Records – an independent company active on the market for twenty years, for whom I have been curator of the OPUS SERIES since July 2014 – a label devoted to the broad concept of contemporary artistic music.  The first five albums premiered on 11 April 2015; they contain works by twenty Polish composers.

I took part as member of the jury in the following competitions for composers:  The Zygmunt Mycielski Competition for Composers (Warsaw, 2013, 2014), The International Competition for Composers during Seventeen Days of spiritual music Cro Patria 2013 in Split, Croatia, The Second Piotr Perkowski Polish Competition for Composers in Torun, 2014.  In April 2016 I was invited to be member of the jury at the Fourth International Competition for Composers organized by the Gorzow Philarmonic.
My activity as interpreter of organ music concerns itself over the last few years with creating my own compositional projects, in which I participate as performer, and with the interpretation of the latest music.  In the years 2006-08 and 2011, during four editions of my projects regarding concerts of the Young Circle of Polish Composers' Union accompanying the Warsaw Autumn festivals, 29 works by young composers from seven European countries and South Korea were pre-premiered.  In 2007, the multi-movement Missa Solemnis 2007 was created, a work for three voices, string quartet and organ; in 2011, chosen fragments from Homer’s Odyssey became a source of inspiration for composers.  The result of this was the organ poem Organ Odyssey, again presented with recitations in between the compositions in Poznan, Lvov, Vitebsk, Brest, and Eckernfoerde.
 All in all, I pre-premiered 16 solo works and 19 chamber works, including 5 works composed for the festival Musica Polonica Nova 2014 in Wroclaw, designed for a Hammond organ and the Kwartludium ensemble, which included violin, clarinet, piano, and percussion.
At the inauguration of a new organ at the cathedral in Olsztyn in 2008 I pre-premiered seven works of music by K. Penderecki in the form of transcriptions for organ for two performers.  These transcriptions were done by me and the German organist and conductor Ulrich Grosser.
    As an organist I participated in several festivals, e.g.: Musica Polonica Nova (Wrocław, 2014), Conversatorium Organowe (Legnica, 2014), Internationales Festival Provinzlärm (Germany, Eckernfoerde, 2013), Stockhausen Kurse 2013 (Kuerten),  January Music Nights Festival (Brest, 2012, 2013), Festiwal Muzyki Pasyjnej i Paschalnej (Poznań, 2012), International Festival Contrasts (Lvov, 2011), Anima Mundi (Kielce, 2010), Gotland Orgeldagar (Visby, Sweden,  2007 i 2008), The International Organ Festival of Westphalia-Lippe (Munster, 2008), "Dialogi" International Festival (Minsk, 2007), Międzynarodowy Festiwal Muzyki Organowej in Święta Lipka, (2008),  Warszawska Jesień (concerts of the Young Circle of Polish Composers' Union, 2006-08, 2011), Międzynarodowy Festiwal Musica Sacra (Warsaw, 2005), Międzynarodowe Wieczory Muzyki Organowej i Kameralnej in Kłodzko (2004), Mikołowskie Dni Muzyki (2005), Międzynarodowe Dni Muzyki Kompozytorów Krakowskich (2006), Pasymskie Dni Muzyki (2006).
I have been a prizewinner in the following organ competitions:  in 2001 I received the Second Prize (the First Prize was not awarded) and the Marian Sawa Special Award at the Fourth Competition of Polish Organ Music of the 20th Century in Legnica, in 2005 – The Main Award at the 6th Competition of the 20th and 21st century Music for Young Performers in Warsaw, organized by the Polish Society for Contemporary Music.