Agata Zubel - NOSPR

Agata Zubel composer and vocalist. Known for her unique vocal range and the use of techniques that challenge stereotypes, Zubel gives concerts throughout the world and has premiered numerous new works.

Modern music takes pride of place in her repertoire. She has worked together with the world’s leading ensembles – Klangforum Wien, Ensemble InterContemporain, musikFabrik, London Sinfonietta, Ictus, Eighth Blackbird, San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Seattle Chamber Players, Münchener Kammerorchester, Neue Vocalsolisten, Remix Ensemble, 2e2m Ensemble, as well as The ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Staatsoper Hannover, Sinfonia Varsovia, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice and others.

As a singer and composer, Agata Zubel has collaborated with several dozen prestigious concert venues, such as: Carnegie Hall in New York, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Konzerthaus in Vienna, Konzerthaus in Berlin, Musikgebouw in Amsterdam, Musikverein Wien, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Philharmonie in Berlin, in Cologne, Luxembourg, Moscow, Essen, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall in London, Casa da música in Porto, National Sawdust in New York, Seattle Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, L’Opéra de Reims, National Philharmonic in Warsaw, Philharmonic Hall in Krakow, Łódź, Szczecin, Gorzów, Silesian Philharmonic, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, National Forum of Music in Wrocław, National Opera in Warsaw, Kraków Opera Haus, Wrocław Opera Haus.

She was also present at the festivals: BBC Proms, Wien Modern, Donaueschingen Musiktage, Festival d’Automne à Paris, Warsaw Autumn, März Musik, Darmstadt Summer Course, Ultraschall Festival in Berlin, Wittener Tage für Neue Kammermusik, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Trans Art Festival, Avanti! Festival in Finland, Other Minds Festival in San Francisco, Beethoven Festival in Bonn, Musikprotokoll, Ankara Festival, Klara Festival in Brussels, Festival of Electronic Music in Karlsruhe, Melos-Ethos Festival in Bratislava, Festival de Wallonie in Mons, as well as Wratislavia Cantans, Chopin and His Europe, Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival, Sacrum Profanum, Musica Polonica Nova, Musica Electronica Nova and others.

Agata Zubel’s compositions have been commissioned by prestigious music institutions such as Los Angeles Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, Ensemble InterContemporain, Klangforum Wien, London Sinfonietta, SWR Radio, Deutschlandfunk, Westdeutscher Rundfunk, the Deutsche Welle in Bonn, Hannoversche Gesellschaft für Neue Musik, Ultraschall Festival in Berlin, Middle Europa Music Festival in Seattle, the Wratislavia Cantans Festival, Warsaw Autumn, Sacrum Profanum in Krakow, Kultura-Natura in Katowice, National Opera in Warsaw, Polish Institute in Tel Awiw, Krakow Philharmonic.

Her discography consists of more than a dozen titles, including albums dedicated to her own music – Not I (KAIROS), Cleopatra’s Songs (KAIROS), Bildbeschreibung (Anaklasis) and the “Fryderyk” Award-winning Cascando (CD Accord), as well as her vocal interpretations of songs by Copland, Berg and Szymański (Poems), Dream Lake with song cycles by Witold Lutosławski and André Tchaikowsky, El-Derwid. Blots on the Sun and the most recent “Fryderyk” Award-winning Apparition with songs of Ravel, Barber, Szymanowski, Crumb and Obradors (CD Accord), as well as e-Śpiewnik with arrangements of S.Moniuszko’s songs (Anaklasis)

In 2010 her opera-ballet Between was premiered in the National Opera in Warsaw and in 2011 she was commissioned to write another opera for this theatre – Oresteia. The next opera-form – Bildbeschreibung – was written in 2016 for the commission of Klangforum Wien and was premiered in 2018.

In 2011 she was invited as a composer-in-residence to the Other Minds Festival in San Francisco. For two seasons (2010–2012) she was also composer-in-residence in Krakow Philharmonic and for 2019 she was invited as a composer-in-residence to the 2e2m Ensemble in Paris.

Her composition Not I, recorded with Klangforum Wien, was selected as the best work (the grand prix) of the 60th International Rostrum of Composers (2013) and the same work received the “Polonica Nova” Prize (2014). Agata Zubel was also honoured with Coryphaeus of Polish Music in the category Personality of the Year (2016) and European Composer Award (2018). In the same year she received Austrian Erste Bank Kompositionspreis.

She is currently a lecturer on the faculty of the Academy of Music in Wroclaw. In 2020 she obtained a professor degree in arts. She was honoured with the Badge of Merit to Polish Culture and Medal “Gloria Artis”. She has received scholarships from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the Rockefeller Foundation, Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung, Kultur Kontakt Austria. She is also a member of the Polish Composers’ Union. Together with the composer and pianist Cezary Duchnowski, she established the ElettroVoce Duo.