Silesian String Quartet & Bies / Masterpieces with a Polish Counterpoint: Henryk Mikołaj Górecki and Joanna Wnuk-Nazarowa - NOSPR

The Silesian Quartet - 44 years of experience, over 150 premieres of chamber works, thousands of performances in the world's most renowned concert halls, more than 60 album recordings, over 20 nominations, 9 "Fryderyk" awards, and the most prestigious of all - the Gramophone Classical Music Award, also known as "the musical Oscar". 

They specialize in discovering, promoting, and recording Polish music - renowned for premiering works under the composers' guidance. Departing from the traditional hierarchical model of music-making, the ensemble emphasizes exchanges with musicians from other chamber groups. Part of this exchange includes regular workshops with musicians, chamber players, and composers. 

In this season, they will combine masterpieces of chamber music with quartets by Polish composers - Witold Lutosławski, Zbigniew Bargielski, Krzysztof Meyer, Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, Joanna Wnuk-Nazarowa, and Andrzej Panufnik. All of this is on the occasion of milestone birthday anniversaries. 

The key to the arrangement of the December concert program is the 90th anniversary of Krzysztof Penderecki and Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, composers of the so-called ‘Generation of the 33’. Therefore, the program includes Górecki's String Quartet No. 1, Op. 62 "Już się zmierzcha". The Silesian Quartet has frequently turned to the master's quartets, and in 1995, they received their first "Fryderyk" award for a recording of Górecki's music. 

Especially for this occasion, Joanna Wnuk-Nazar will compose another String Quintet, as a tribute to "the memory of Krzysztof Penderecki". The composer had a close connection with Penderecki, and the premiere of the Quintet serves as her homage to the composer who passed away three years ago. 

The special guest of the Silesian Quartet will be Tymoteusz Bies - the winner of the 1st prize at the International Music Competition named after Karol Szymanowski. The musicians have already met Bies before, and they performed Alexander Lason's Piano Quintet together. This time, they will collectively take on Robert Schumann's Piano Quintet, featuring the famous death march in the second part. 

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Concert duration: approximately 60 minutes