Sikorski/Eastman: the Processes of Forgetting and Remembering

Abstract

The article is a double portrait of Julius Eastman and Tomasz Sikorski in the context of the processes of forgetting and remembering that take place in collective memory and the shaping of the repertoire and canon of music history. The first chapter lists seven analogies between the biographies and styles of two composers from the second half of the 20th century. As it turns out, the American and the Pole have much in common in terms of spectacular success and subsequent slow decline, as well as the formulation of an individual minimalist aesthetic. In the second chapter, based on recordings, studies, and publications, I analyse the gradual disappearance of their music from the discourse, which began during their lifetimes and intensified after their deaths. Based on the collected material and the previously outlined biographies, I put forward theses about the possible reasons for such oblivion: the loosening of notation, the lack of archiving and promotion, the environmental mismatch of the difficult character and loneliness of the creators. Finally, in the third chapter, I trace the return of Eastman and Sikorski to the repertoire of labels, festivals, and publishers, which began several years after their deaths. I identify the canonizers who contributed most to this process, as well as their motivations and achievements. Here, too, I try to find reasons for reviving their music: musicological investigations, the emancipatory expansion of the canon, the “cult status” and uniqueness, and the popularity of minimal music in its various forms.