Like the other artists portrayed in Rebel Spirits II, Piotr Orzechowski aka Pianohooligan showed talent and a fiercely original mind at an early age. By his twenties, he'd won competitions and awards and had a clarity about his intention for music-making. There is one comment he made that particularly stood out to me. He said, “I want to revive the spirit of jazz. Step away from academic music. I am awaiting a confrontation.” 

This is crucial, Piotr knows that at the same time as honoring the history of jazz, standing on the shoulders of these jazz originators, it is vital that jazz is a living, breathing music. It is not a museum piece. It requires artists to have something they need to say and to deliver it in a way that is genuine. Genuine to that artist. Real for that artist. And he has applied that to whatever genre he has touched on.

It's easy to see through his discography that Piotr has allowed his natural curiosity to lead the way. He has released albums such as Bach Rewrite, in collaboration with Marcin Masecki, and Experiment: Penderecki, a tribute intended to renew the accomplished work of Krzysztof Penderecki. He has collaborated with musicians from Ecuador, Mexico, and Spain and has played with significant artists such as the American composer, Philip Glass, as well as establishing his own High Definition Quartet.

It is another beacon of the Polish arts, Adam Mickiewicz whose play, Dziady or the Forefather's Eve, that lit a fuse for Piotr and it's his album entitled, Dziady that he speaks about in this interview. You'll hear why he felt drawn to Part II of this eminent work published in 1823 which follows characters in the Lithuanian countryside preparing to conjure spirits from the dead. Piotr's description is so lucid that you can feel the frisson of fear and expectation. 

Piotr outlines how he decided to differentiate between the earthly world and the supernatural in his music, and as well as the whole piece, 'Preparations', we hear an excerpt of the supernatural 'Little Angels' (with electronics by the renowned William Basinski). The interview is a great opportunity to peep into Piotr's creative mindset and how he instinctively uses his own life experiences to deeply connect with the story. 

Just a word about Dziady - this poetic drama written in four parts is a symbol of European Romanticism, particularly in Poland, where it was not only a statement about the Romantic belief in individualism, the importance of emotion, and folklore, but due to periods of time when it was banned, it also represents freedom, a freedom to feel, and be able to question. In some ways, it's a thoughtful metaphor for the work of Piotr Orzechowski and the other artists in the Rebel Spirits series.

Music from the episode

Preparations (Przygotowania) from High Definition Quartet’s album ‘The Forefathers’ Eve - Dziady’

Further reading

• Piotr Orzechowski  / bio on Culture.pl

Further watching

• Piotr Orzechowski: the piano is my favourite toy / on Culture.pl
• Piotr Orzechowski and Avishai Cohen in concert  / on YouTube.com
• Piotr Orzechowski and Kuba Więcek in concert / on YouTube.com

Credits

This episode of Rebel Spirits was hosted by Debra Richards. The show is brought to you by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.

Written and produced by Monika Proba

Executive production by Move Me Media

Edited by Monika Proba

Design by Dawid Ryski

Scoring & sound design by Monika Proba & Wojciech Oleksiak

Copyrights

The publisher would like to thank all copyright owners for their kind permission to reproduce their material. Should, despite our intensive research, any person entitled to rights have been overlooked, legitimate claims shall be compensated within the usual provisions.