Adam’s Apple

“Adam's Apple” is Mateusz Smoczyński's first violin concerto. Its author is a working jazz violinist, yet the piece stands far closer to contemporary classical music than to jazz. Improvised passages are of course present, but most of them too are kept in a classical idiom. The concerto is built of four movements played attacca. Writing for himself, the composer could draw fully on the skills and experience gathered across other genres: the piece calls for playing techniques found in no other violin concerto. One movement is played on the baritone violin — an instrument practically unknown in Poland, with a pastel tone and a range close to that of the cello. The title nods to Smoczyński's recent fascination with the music of John Adams; it was this American “maximal minimalist” who inspired the Polish musician to write a violin concerto.

The album pairing “Adam’s Apple” with Zbigniew Seifert's jazz concerto was released by Warner Music Poland in 2024 and nominated for a Fryderyk in the category “Album of the Year: Classical – Crossover”, while Smoczyński himself received the Fryderyk for Jazz Composer of the Year.