Award-winning Polish composer, Paweł Łukaszewski, is one of today’s most distinctive creators of contemporary sacred music. The Nocturnes for piano, based on some of his own sacred pieces, are inspired by the cosmos, with each nocturne named after a newly-discovered bright star in constellations including Vela, Scorpius and the Southern Cross. Łukaszewski takes the listener on a journey through the beauty of the night sky with these intimate and atmospheric sound paintings.

Paweł Łukaszewski is best known in his native Poland as a composer of sacred works, his music having appeared on labels such as BIS and SWRmusic, with a recent album of his work on the Ondine label regarded as ‘spectacularly fine’ by Fanfare, and as ‘an outstanding album’ by Gramophone. A wider appreciation of Łukaszewski’s music is richly deserved, and this album of his complete Nocturnes is a fine introduction to his instrumental music even for those who are already aware of his religious/vocal works.

Łukaszewski’s Nocturnes follow the ‘songs of the night’ genre which can be traced back to Chopin and other Romantic composers. The titles of each of the fifteen pieces are inspired by the names of newly-discovered bright stars, but with a total avoidance of spectacle and virtuosity, drawing the listener into worlds of poetic expression, depth of expression and the beauty and contemplation of space achieved thanks to subtle, often even neo-tonal harmony, the predominance of chord textures and lyricism, and the musical narrative’s moderate dynamics and calm pace.

Maciej Zagórski is a pianist and teacher, and is a laureate of the Paderewski Piano Competition in Bydgoszcz (1986) and the Polish Piano Festival in Słupsk (1990). He has a particular interest in Polish piano music from the pre-Chopin era and in contemporary works. He has performed widely in Europe, Japan, Palestine, Russia and the United States, both as a soloist with orchestras and as a chamber musician. Maciej Zagórski studied in Częstochowa at the Music School, in Warsaw at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music, and in Vienna at the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst. His teachers were Henryka Zasempa-Kozera, Kazimierz Gierżod, Maria Stojek, Krystyna Borucińska and Walter Fleischmann. He has been associated with the Jan Długosz University in Częstochowa since 1991 (a university professor since 2008) where he currently serves as President of the Music Council.

Appearing here in his Grand Piano debut, Maciej Zagórski is a Polish pianist with a doctorate in musicology, and currently in post as vice-dean of the Jan Dlugosz University in Czestochowa. He graduated with distinction from the prestigious Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and has since performed widely with both solo and with chamber music ensembles. Zagórski is a laureate of the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Piano Competition in Bydgoszcz (1986) and of Polish Piano Music Festival in Słupsk (1990). In 2006 he received the Prize of the President of Częstochowa. In addition to concert and pedagogical activities, he has published scientific articles on Chopin’s mazurkas and their interpretations, and Paderewski’s exceptional pianism, amongst others.