Zygment Konieczny's iconic songs were sung by Agata Zubel

Agata Zubel isn't the first artist to dare to tackle Ewa Demarczyk's legacy. Previous attempts, however, have shown that it's difficult to match someone as unique as Demarczyk or to create a new work of art from well-known works. Justyna Steczkowska, for example, learned this lesson when, in "Carousel with Madonnas," she primarily showcased herself, rather than the extraordinary music of Zygmunt Konieczny and the poetic lyrics of Miron Białoszewski.

Agata Zubel is different. She found a way to pay respect to the originals while also lending her own touch to Zygmunt Konieczny's music. But in Polish music, Agata Zubel is as unique an individual as Ewa Demarczyk.

For those uninterested in contemporary music, her name doesn't ring a bell. Agata Zubel (born 1978) is one of the most important Polish composers of the 21st century (in a gender-neutral category). She has won more than a dozen competitions, receiving the Coryphaeus of Polish Music and the Polityka Passport Award, and has three Fryderyk Awards. Abroad, she has won the European Composition Award and, in 2013, the most prestigious competition, the International Rostrum of Composers. Renowned ensembles, from the experimental Klangforum Wien to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, commission her works.

Zygmunt Konieczny Such a landscape

Zygmunt Konieczny Such a Landscape, Agata Zubel et al. CD, Anaklasis 2025

Photo: press materials

She began composing very early, winning her first award for her own composition while still a student at the music school where she also studied drums. Singing came later; teachers simply decided she should also develop her voice. She graduated from the Wrocław Academy of Music, where she currently serves as a professor, with a double major: composition and vocal studies.

Contemporary music is her passion. "Since childhood, I've been interested in anything that 'sounds different,'" she said in an interview. "Contrary to popular belief, contemporary music seems more natural to me than classical music. After all, today's composers use cars, cell phones, and computers; they live just like us. Meanwhile, we have no clue about the lives of Mozart or Beethoven."

As a vocalist, however, she can sing anything: a Bach cantata, embody the heroine of a romantic opera, and now Cezary Duchnowski has written one of the main roles for her in an opera about Warsaw, which will have its world premiere in September at the National Opera.

In the pieces she composes, the voice is often a crucial instrument. Agata Zubel believes that every composer should be a performer, writing for live musicians, and every performer should try writing something at least once in their life to understand what the composer has in mind. "Unfortunately, I don't spare vocalists, and then I fall victim to my own compositional ideas," she admits.

He enjoys surprising projects. For years, he and electronic instrument player Cezary Duchnowski have been forming the duo ElettroVoce, exploring new avenues of vocal expression.

These experiments eventually led them down unexpected musical paths. Co-opting the distinguished cellist Andrzej Bauer, they created two projects, also released on critically acclaimed albums. The first, "el Derwid," revisited forgotten songs, even hits, by Witold Lutosławski, which he wrote under a pseudonym. The second, "E-śpiewnik," offered modernized, electronically enhanced versions of Stanisław Moniuszko's songs.

The success of both projects likely prompted the three artists and pianist Bartłomiej Wąsik to embark on another endeavor. This is how their concert program "Konieczny?... Konieczny!" was born, which, thanks to the participation of the NOSPR conducted by Alexander Humala, has now been released in a more expanded musical form on a CD released by Anaklasis.

This album features songs by Zygmunt Konieczny from Ewa Demarczyk's 1967 album, one of the most important releases in the post-war history of Polish music. It also features two iconic anthems by Piwnica pod Baranami ("We Come, We Go" and "This Is Our Youth"), a beautiful song with lyrics by Agnieszka Osiecka, "Oczy tej mała" (The Eyes of This Little One), a new track, "Ktokolwiek" (Anyone), and instrumental excerpts from Konieczny's film scores.

"I'm from a generation that was exposed to Ewa Demarczyk's songs in their early youth," says Agata Zubel, but that's not the most important reason she reached for them now. Both she and Ewa Demarczyk share a unique approach to music—a fascination with vocal timbre, expanding new performance possibilities, and a constant search. That's why Agata Zubel's interpretations of these songs are so close to the originals, yet at the same time original and new, filtered through the performer's individuality.

This individual touch is most evident in "Black Angels," in which Agata Zubel combines operatic soprano singing with the sharp, rock sound of her voice. Wiesław Dymny's lyrics greatly benefit from this.

The authentic, seemingly inimitable atmosphere of Demarczyk's music and interpretation has been preserved in most of the pieces. Even though in "Tomaszów" Agata Zubel adds a fragment of a Schubert song from which Tuwim drew a quotation for his poem, this idea blends beautifully with Konieczny's music.

Also worth highlighting are Cezary Duchnowski's instrumental arrangements, which neither dominate nor disrupt the mood. They subtly imbue the songs, mostly from 60 years ago, with a touch of modernity. Listening pleasure is guaranteed.