NO MORE GRAVITY IN MUNICH for Wind Ensemble by HELENA ZYSKOWSKA (Poland, 2003)
- WASBE Marcom
- Nov 9
- 2 min read
[#329] Nov 10, 2025 Poland | 2024 | Wind Ensemble | Grade 4 | 4’ | Tone poem
Premiered by RNCM Wind Orchestra conducted by Andre Chan
on 22 Nov 2024 in Manchester, UK
No more gravity in Munich, by Polish composer Helena Zyskowska is our Composition of the Week.
The work was commissioned by the Royal Northern College of Music Wind Orchestra of Manchester, and premiered on November 22, 2024, at the Royal Northern College of Music under Andre Chan.
"No More Gravity in Munich” focuses on exploring the timbre and various textures of the wind orchestra medium. With its emphasis on air sounds it colorfully lifts the music off the ground. The title was inspired by a performance of a street dancer with football in Munich.” Program Note by Helena Zyskowska
The work has a duration of 4 minutes, and it is scored for the following instrumentation:
Piccolo.3.2. English Horn. E-flat Cl.3.2. ASx(2).TnSx (2).Bar.Sax / 4.3.3.Euph.1 / Timp.Perc (3)
No more gravity in Munich is available directly from the composer.
Helena Zyskowska (Warsaw, Poland) is a Manchester-based composer whose work explores fragile sonorities and nuanced musical expressions. She has worked with the Hallé Orchestra, BBC Singers, Heather Roche, CoMA Manchester, and many RNCM ensembles.
Career highlights to date include receiving the 2nd prize at the Composers Song Writing Competition 2023 organised by the Association of English Singers and Speakers (AESS).
Zyskowska has been selected to attend the Summer Composers' Lab with Yannis Kyriakides and the Athens State Orchestra in August 2025. She will also take part in the RNCM Gold Medal Competition Final in June 2025 - the highest prize awarded at the Royal Northern College of Music. She has worked closely with the RNCM Wind Orchestra for the past two years receiving a commission for a new work as well as a concert performance of her previous composition in November 2023.
Being granted a scholarship, Helena continues her composition studies with acclaimed composers at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester (UK) - Professor Emily Howard and Professor David Horne. She writes for a variety of instruments, both acoustic and electronic, and her completed works include pieces written for: symphony orchestra, wind orchestra, chamber choir, and youth brass band among others.
Other works for winds include:
• I Wish I knew how to fish (2023, rev.2024) 5’30
• Ondinas (Water Spirits) for Youth Brass Band (2024) 3’
• Bridge, for saxophone quartet (2025) 8’
More on Helena Zyskowska
