I’m very proud of my Anglo-Polish identity

Roxanna Panufnik, born in the UK in 1968 to a Polish father and English mother, has been described as ‘one of the UK’s most popular and loved composers’. She is the daughter of the composer and conductor Sir Andrzej Panufnik [1914–1991], who left Poland to settle in the UK in 1954. Her works, mainly in the classical field, have an ability to make a deep emotional connection with audiences all over the world.

Roxanna studied music composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London and has subsequently written a wide variety of different music. This has included opera and ballet works, music theatre pieces, choral works, chamber compositions and music for film and television. Roxanna’s music is regularly performed right across the world.

Her critically acclaimed overture Three Paths to Peace was commissioned by the World Orchestra for Peace and premiered in Jerusalem, Israel, in 2008, under the baton of celebrated Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, who was until 2015 the principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra – one of the world’s leading professional orchestras. The same orchestra and conductor performed the European premiere of the work at the 2014 BBC Proms season, which was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and later released in DVD form.

Other notable works by Roxanna include her oratorio Dance of Life: Tallinn Mass, the violin concerto Four World Seasons (composed for British violinist Tasmin Little) and Memories of my Father, a composition for string quartet which was commissioned and premiered in the UK and Poland by the Brodsky Quartet, a leading British ensemble.

Roxanna’s compositions are published by Peter’s Edition Ltd and recorded on many labels including Warner Classics, Chandos, Signum and EMI Classics.

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Brin Best interviewed Roxanna for the book, and particularly wanted to know how her Polish heritage has influenced her work as a composer.

The way my Polish heritage has influenced my music is all to do with personal and genetic factors, rather than cultural ones. It’s fascinating to me that whenever I attend a performance of my music in Poland people come up to me afterwards and say they can’t believe I was born and brought up in the UK, as my music sounds so Polish.

I’ve never managed to get them to define what they mean by that (partly because my Polish is atrocious!) but I would hazard a guess. One of the things I love about Poles is our ability to ‘wear our hearts on our sleeves’. We are very spontaneous and often say what we feel, which is not always a good thing! And that’s what happens when I compose. I’m expressing my innermost feelings and emotions – no holds barred.

I’ve also worked on numerous occasions with Polish folk music. I love its sense of joy and quirkiness.

Faith also plays a massively important part in my work. Being a devout Catholic, I’m very comfortable, even ‘at home’ with the religious music I write. One day, I’d love to set the Catholic Mass in Polish. I’m very chuffed that BBC Radio 3 refer to me as an ‘Anglo-Polish composer’ because I’m very proud of my dual identity.

For young people wanting a good introduction to my music I would recommend ‘Zen Love Song’ and ‘Love is Master’, which are both available with animations on YouTube and are accessible both musically and visually.

You can learn much more about Roxanna’s music, and listen to excerpts from her works, by visiting:

www.roxannapanufnik.com

Roxanna Panufnik is one of the finest contemporary vocal composers around. No matter how demanding the subject matter, she always seems to find a way to set words that sit hand-in-glove with the text.

Julian Haylock, International Record Review

A gifted young composer with a fast-growing reputation for heart, spunk and individuality… distinctive in voice, serious, bold and appealing.

Fiona Maddocks, The Observer

Panufnik’s art is something special, putting her among the elite composers in the world today.

Stephen Ritter, Audiophile Audition

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This interview was carried out as part of the ‘Poles in the UK’ project, and was first published in the book Poles in the UK: A Story of Friendship and Cooperation (by Brin Best & Maria Helena Żukowska, 2016).

For more details see the Poles in the UK Facebook page and www.polesintheuk.net.