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A Polish pianist/composer, Tomasz Kamieniak wrote three piano pieces inspired by his impressions of life in Berlin after relocating there. The commissioner’s name, Marcin Łukaszewski, is transformed into a series of musical notes and used as the theme. The collection is structured with two toccatas in contrasting styles surrounding an elegant nocturne, which pays homage to Marlene Dietrich.
From Preface by the composer
“Three Berlin Piano Works” were commissioned by Marcin Łukaszewski and composed at the end of 2017. The triptych has some virtuoso panache and includes two toccatas and a nocturne. This was the form requested by the commissioner.
The first piece in the series is “Tempelhof,” a district where a former airport is now a huge recreational park. This was the site of the Berlin Airlift during a divided Germany. Tempelhofer Feld is now a bustling park with all kinds of activities—jogging, cycling, skateboarding, kite-flying, etc. The material of this toccata contains an idea from the 1990s that had been marinating for several years. From these sketches, “Tempelhof,” the initial motif in C-sharp minor, and the general repetitiveness were fully used and developed. The piece brings to mind kites and airplanes rising and falling.
The second piece is “Potsdamer Platz, Homage to Marlene Dietrich, Nocturne.” It is based on a musical cryptogram derived from the name and surname of Marcin Łukaszewski, who commissioned the piece. A musical cryptogram—which I call a sphinx in my compositions—is an old method of “translating” names, surnames, city names, etc., into melodies. I first used this method in 2002 in the piano cycle “Buch der Geheimnisse” (Book of Secrets) Op. 25. At Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, there is a cinema museum with a large collection of Marlene Dietrich memorabilia, as well as movie theaters, elegant hotels, and office buildings. The annual Berlinale festival partially takes place here, celebrating splendor and extravagance. In Berlin, you can also find the grave of the Blue Angel at a municipal cemetery. I have been fascinated by Marlene Dietrich’s life for years.
The last piece is “Kreuzberg, Toccata.” This is the district of Berlin where I currently live. It is very different from Tempelhof, where I lived for five years. Kreuzberg (and perhaps Berlin and Germany) is currently in a different state of mind, rather in a rough way, hence lending a “ragged and dry” quality to the piece. The motif of the sphinx from “Potsdamer Platz” is portrayed in a very different way. The entire cycle has a virtuosic, sometimes Lisztian, momentum. I can’t quite pinpoint why I pursued this idea. Perhaps it was the accumulated feelings during the 15 months when I was not able to write any notes, an effect of leaving my homeland and starting everything over again in a foreign country, without an instrument or opportunities.
“Three Berlin Piano Works” is the first opus I wrote after settling in Berlin in the Tempelhof district. I composed the piece while living in a rented room under the roof of Sabine Roth, a lifelong ballet teacher, whom I lovingly call my “German mother.” The first performance of the opus took place on February 23, 2018, in Berlin at Licht und Musik.
In preparation for this publication, I reviewed and made slight modifications to the opus in July, 2024 in Berlin.
The performance of all three pieces should take about 15 minutes.
Tomasz Kamieniak
