Kazimierz Serocki

(1922 Toruń [Poland] – 1981 Warsaw [Poland])

Kazimierz Serocki was a Polish composer and pianist, born in Toruń in 1922. He received his musical education at the State Higher School of Music in Łódź, where he studied composition with Kazimierz Sikorski and piano with Stanisław Szpinalski. From 1947 to 1948, he also attended Nadia Boulanger's composition class in Paris. Until 1952, he performed as a pianist not only in Poland but also in Central and Eastern European countries.

In 1952, Serocki ceased his performing career to dedicate himself entirely to composition. He served as Vice-President of the Polish Composers' Union from 1954 to 1955, and in 1956, he became one of the initiators and organizers of the "Warsaw Autumn" International Festival of Contemporary Music. This, Poland's largest contemporary music festival, has been held annually in Warsaw ever since.

As a composer, Kazimierz Serocki won numerous awards in various competitions. Notable award-winning works include:

• Concerto for Trombone No. 1
• Symphony No. 1 (Minister of Culture and Art Award, 1955)
• Sinfonietta for Two String Orchestras (UNESCO International Composers' Rostrum Award, 1958)

In his compositions, Serocki employed a wide range of contemporary musical techniques and styles, including dodecaphony, strictly ordered tonal serialism, and aleatoric music. Serocki composed by juxtaposing traditional instrumental treatment with unconventional playing techniques, prepared instruments, sonorism, and the use of electronic sounds. Serocki was also a composer of film and stage music. He frequently collaborated with the distinguished Polish film director Aleksander Ford, providing music for his films, including Young Chopin, Teutonic Knights, and The Deluge.