A new way of listening to the harpsichord: Katarzyna Kowalik's Meditations for Harpsichord

With Meditations for Harpsichord, British-Polish harpsichordist Katarzyna Kowalik will gather together nine newly commissioned works by five British and four Polish composers.

The project will receive its world premiere at Colet House in London on 20 October 2026, followed by the Polish premiere on 24 October in Hashtag Lab, Warsaw, as well as performances in the UK and Poland throughout 2026–27, including events for the New College, Oxford, National Centre for Early Music, The Confraternity of Polish Artists in Great Britain & POSK, Warsaw Music Encounters Festival, among others.

Written for harpsichord, Tibetan singing bowls, gongs and electronics, the works explore the instrument from radically different perspectives, incorporating contemporary techniques, resonance, silence, improvisatory elements and immersive sound. The programme will be framed by an unmeasured prelude by Louis Couperin and Froberger’s Méditation sur ma mort future. The nine contemporary composers featured are Rolf Hind, Janet Oates, John Palmer, Kevin Raftery, Nicola LeFanu, Anna Ignatowicz-Glińska, Andrzej Karałow, Dariusz Przybylski and Anna Maria Huszcza.

The October performances coincide with the release of the project’s recording on Prima Facie Records. An accompanying book, co-edited by Katarzyna Kowalik and John Palmer, published by Vision Edition, will feature contributions from all nine composers, offering further perspectives on the music, the commissioning process and the ideas behind the project.

Tickets for 20 October from TicketTailor.