<i>Depicting Japanese Soundscapes in Grażyna Pstrokońska-Nawratil’s ‘Słowik i kamień’</i>

Abstract In an article titled ‘Ekomuzyka’ [Ecomusic], Polish composer Grażyna Pstrokońska-Nawratil states: ‘Music is an audio organism. Its existence unfolds in time and space. When stopped, it dies, similarly to other living earth organisms or stars in space. Music is entirely subject to the rules of life: it is born, it grows, fades – and dies. It is renewable (recurring with every performance), and it can reincarnate!’. The artist introduced the term ‘ecomusic’ not only to describe a cycle of her own compositions, but also as a trend in music that can be observed since prehistoric times. As a keen traveller, Pstrokońska-Nawratil has visited many countries on almost all continents. After coming back from her trips, she writes down her impressions and feelings, thus creating musical reportages. Her oeuvre includes seven such work, the latest of which – ‘Słowik i kamień’ [The Nightingale and the Stone] (2020) – was inspired by the soundscape of Japan. In this piece, written for two pianos and percussion, the composer depicts places that she visited, among them: tea fields, dry gardens called karesansui , and Aokigahara forest. The paper summarises Pstrokońska-Nawratil’s concept of ecomusic. The aim is to present the aforementioned composition by analysing sources of inspiration and signs that represent extramusical, Japanese reality.