You Sink into the City in No Time

Interview with Anna Treter, singer and pianist of the “Pod Budą” band, founder of the “Anna Treter Song Factory” foundation and initiator of “The Pageant” – the Festival of Marek Grechuta’s Works

“The Pageant” – the Festival of Marek Grechuta’s Works begins on 4 October, mainly thanks to your efforts. How come you love this artist so much?
The works of Marek Grechuta have been admired and loved by many generations of Poles. I grew up listening to his songs, I was also lucky enough to know him personally. So when Mrs. Danuta Grechuta asked me to organise a concert commemorating the second anniversary of her husband’s death I was honoured. With time the idea of the concert has developed into a whole festival with a couple of concerts (including the most popular one - a competition for young performers), two exhibitions and many other activities. We are able to carry out this project thanks to the existence of the “Anna Treter Song Factory” foundation, which I set up a year ago. By initiating this festival with the intention to continue it in the following years, I have taken on a challenge to show the variety and richness of Marek Grechuta’s works and to draw young people to his art.

Marek Grechuta was an artist inseparably connected with Krakow, where he lived and worked, just like you. In what way does the city inspire you? Where do you seek inspiration?
Marek Grechuta was born in Zamość, I come from Kielce, but when you come to Krakow you sink into the city and its atmosphere in no time. I started acting in the field of art, in the “Pod Budą” cabaret, during my second year at university. Music and poetry have always been extremely important parts of my life. The places I have been to and the people I have met here, the artistic inspirations I have experienced – these are the reasons why I still sing, write, compose and, recently, even help young, talented artists with their first steps.

It is also a source of inspiration for “Anna Treter Song Factory”, isn’t it?
Yes, “Song Factory” are monthly meetings in Dworek Białoprądnicki in the form of  chamber concerts during which young artists have a chance to give performances next to their mature colleagues. There are singers, poets, musicians – people who want to share their sensibility, experiences and emotions in sounds and words. They can present their works here, confront them with professionals and the audience in the atmosphere of joint music performance, devoid of elements of competition.

Who will be your guest in October?
On 14 October, apart from younger and older artists who, as every month, will be presenting their works, we will have a chance to listen to Paweł Orkisz. These meetings are not competitions, exams or workshop, they are evenings for enthusiasts who want others to see them and listen to them. Some of them are just beginning their adventure with art, others have already been here for a while.

You have been connected with the “Pod Budą” band for over 30 years. Isn’t it right that after so many years of working together you get into some kind of routine. How do you find the sparks that make creative work come to life?
Yes, it has been very many years of time spent together, many joint creative actions. A couple of years ago I began my solo career based mainly on my own lyrics with completely different musicians, in a different convention. Perhaps this is how I try to escape the routine – I look for new sounds, I put my own thoughts and emotions into words.

You have recorded three solo albums: „Na południe”, „Może tak, może nie” and „Bez retuszu”. Does this form of creative expression differ from teamwork? How did these albums come into being?
My songs are rooted in my unending and true fascination with life, with the richness of human emotions and experience. I don’t know the answers to many questions but I keep asking… What influence do we have on our life, what part do coincidences and destiny play in it, how can we explain all the complex relations between people? These are the kind of thoughts I share with my listeners and, as you can see, more often than not, they are very personal.

Can you tell us about the beginnings of the band and your meeting with Andrzej Sikorowski?
I met Andrzej Sikorowski, just like I met my husband Jan Hnatowicz, the composer of my songs and the first guitarist of “Buda”, years ago in the “Pod Budą” cabaret, when Bohdan Smoleń was its leader. At the end of the 1970s the cabaret didn’t exist anymore, but members of its band wanted to keep on working together. This is how the “Pod Budą” group came into being. Probably none of us expected that it would last 30 years.

As a conclusion, could you tell us an anecdote about Krakow, about you or any interesting event from your life?
In the mid 1990s I decided to run away from the turmoil of the city and when, after a very long search, I finally found a beautiful place in the country, not far away from Krakow, it turned out that many other artists from the city had made up their minds to do exactly the same thing. Now we are a kind of suburban social-artistic enclave.