Michajłów, Lena
Born in 2002 in Cracow, she studied with Ignacy Zalewski at Warsaw’s Fryderyk Chopin University of Music (an honours BMus degree). She currently continues her studies, majoring in composition, electronic, film and theatre music.
Her works have been successfully performed at many venues in Poland and abroad. She has attended composition workshops in Warsaw, Darmstadt, and Radziejowice, working under the guidance of world-famous composers such as Marc Andre, Marco Stroppa, Peteris Vasks, Francesco Filidei, Oscar Bianchi, Justė Janulytė, Du Yun, Clara Iannotta, Brigitta Muntendorf, Paweł Mykietyn, Zygmunt Krauze, Krzysztof Knittel, Alexander Schubert, Marta Ptaszyńska, Ondřej Adámek, Doina Rotaru, and Johannes Kreidler.
Apart from acoustic music, Michajłów creates multimedia works and edits her own films. In February 2023 she took part in the Hackathon Synthdesign Marathon, creating (in a team of three composers) an original eco-instrument based on distance sensors. She has composed music for shows and radio dramas by Jerzy Machowski, Roman Polak, Michał Rogalski, Aga Błaszczak, Magdalena Drab, Jan Kamiński, Maciej Jaszczyński, Maciej Synowiec, Michał Świechowski, Ada Branecka, and Oskar Winiarski, broadcast on Polish Radio and staged at TR Warszawa, Andrej Bagar Theatre in Nitra (Slovakia), Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw, and Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre for Music. She is also the co-author of the musical layer for the multimedia monodrama LoveBomb, premiered at TR Warszawa as a Warsaw Autumn fringe event. She has been a member of the Polish Composers’ Union’s Youth Circle since 2021.
Michajłów’s Inconsistency won the main prize at the Competition for Obligatory Solo Flute Works to Be Performed by Participants of the 2nd Eugeniusz Towarnicki International Flute Competition for Students. She was also invited to take part in a project of the Accademia della Voce del Piemonte, culminating in a performance of her Piano Trio in Cuneo, Italy (July 2022). In 2023 she wrote pieces for Spółdzielnia Muzyczna contemporary ensemble (presented during prologue events to the Warsaw Autumn and Sacrum Profanum festivals) as well as Duo Stump Linshalm (premiered at the Limina festival at the Salzburg Mozarteum).
She has won prizes in many piano competitions and played recitals in numerous venues at home and abroad. She has been a member of Chopin University Modern Ensemble since 2021. She has received scholarships from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage (2015), the Sapere Auso foundation (2016 and 2017), the Julian Cochran Foundation (2020), the programme for exceptionally gifted children run by the Polish Children’s Fund (2016–19), and the Young Poland programme of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage (2024)
Selected works: Piece October for violin and piano (2016), 3 Intermezzi for piano (2018), Piano Trio (2019), Music for Cembalo, Piano and Strings (2020), What Follows Suddenly for chamber orchestra (2021), Restlessness at java station for string orchestra (2021), Gyration for clarinet, contrabass clarinet, trombone and tape (2021), The Sleepers for mezzo-soprano, flute and percussion (2021), Inconsistency for flute (2021), Little Myth for soprano, mezzo-soprano and bass (2021), Free floating fear for viola and piano (2022), Trio for violin, cello and piano (2022), Solipse22 for violin, saxophone, accordion, percussion and audio playback (2022), Ziran for three accordions (2022), Parable of the geese for two pianos (2022), Tam / There for soprano, piano, percussion and 6-channel electronics (2022), Shimmering fabrics for violin, audio playback and video (2023), Przejazdem / Passing through for symphony orchestra (2023), inside it rains for cello (2023), all you need is for ensemble, audio playback and live electronics (2023), PROM for 2 bass clarinets, live electronics and video (2023), 46.2 g rocket sled for double bass, piano, audio playback and live electronics (2023), december (4 years after) for nine instruments (2023), spoko luz / chill out for Dolby Atmos audio playback (2024), is it possible for string orchestra (2024), three legs, hands severed for ensemble (2024).