Bogusław Schaeffer facts for kids

Bogusław Schaeffer

Bogusław Julian Schaeffer (born June 6, 1929 – died July 1, 2019) was a talented Polish composer, musicologist, and graphic artist. A composer writes music, a musicologist studies music, and a graphic artist creates visual art. He was part of a group of modern composers in Kraków, Poland, known as the "Cracow Group." Another famous member was Krzysztof Penderecki.

Schaeffer was born in Lviv (which was then called Lwów and is now in Ukraine). He studied violin in Opole. Later, he learned about musical composition at the Academy of Music in Kraków in 1953. After finishing his studies, he became a very active composer and music expert.

From 1963, he taught composition at the Kraków Academy. He also became a professor at the Hochschule für Music in Salzburg, Austria, from the mid-1980s until 2000. One of his students was Konstancja Kochaniec.

An interesting fact is that Schaeffer's piece 'Klavier Konzert' was used in the 2006 movie Inland Empire by director David Lynch. A documentary film about Schaeffer, called "Solo," was released in 2008. In 2022, an American electronic music duo called Matmos released an album that was dedicated to Schaeffer.

Awards and Recognitions

Bogusław Schaeffer received several important awards for his musical works:

• In 1959, he won 2nd Prize at the Grzegorz Fitelberg Competition in Katowice. This was for his piece Monosonata for 24 solos string instruments.
• In 1962, he received a Prize at the Artur Malawski Competition in Kraków for Musica ipsa.
• In 1964, he again won 2nd Prize at the Fitelberg Competition for his Little Symphony.
• In 2007, he received a big cultural award from the province of Salzburg, where he taught for many years.

Important Works

Bogusław Schaeffer created many different kinds of works, from books about music to various musical pieces.

Books

He wrote books that helped people understand new music:

• New Music. Problems in Contemporary Composing techniques (Nowa Muzyka) - published in 1958.
• Introduction to Composition - published in 1974.

Musical Works

Schaeffer composed a huge number of musical pieces for different instruments and groups.

Orchestral Music

He wrote many pieces for a full orchestra. Some examples include:

• Topofonica for 40 different instruments (1960).
• Musica ipsa for orchestra (1962).
• Warsaw Overture for orchestra (1975).
• Missa Sinfonica for orchestra (1986).

Concertos

A concerto is a piece of music for a solo instrument (like a piano or violin) playing with an orchestra. Schaeffer wrote many of these, often trying new things:

• Quattro Movimenti for piano and chamber orchestra (1957).
• Concerto Breve for cello and orchestra (1959).
• Violin Concerto (1963).
• Piano Concerto III for piano, orchestra, and electronic media (1990).
• Violin Concerto V for violin and female chorus (2006).

Chamber Music

Chamber music is written for a small group of instruments, often just a few players. Schaeffer composed a lot of chamber music:

• Music for string quartet (1954).
• String Quartet No.1 (1957).
• Composition for harp and piano (1966).
• Minimal Art for tuba and piano (1977).
• Summer Music for accordion and piano (1987).
• String Quartet No.17 (2006).

Solo Works

He also wrote pieces for just one instrument playing by itself:

• Sonate for violin solo (1955).
• Negative for flute solo (1960).
• Project for tuba and tape (1980).
• Raccontino for marimba solo (2005).

Keyboard Music

Schaeffer composed many pieces for piano and organ:

• Sonatine (1952).
• Model I-XXXIV (a long series of pieces from 1956-2006).
• Megasonata for piano (1994).
• Grand Sonata for piano solo and electronic media (2006).

Operas

He wrote two operas, which are plays where the story is told through music and singing:

• Monodram (1968), a radio opera.
• Liebesbliecke (1990).

See also

• Regards/Ukłony dla Bogusław Schaeffer, a 2022 electronic album by Matmos that used sounds from Schaeffer's works.