As a genre of chamber music, the string quartet has been regarded as a probe into the skills of composers since its birth in the mid-18th century (Joseph Haydn was a key contributor). It is also a test of quality for musicians – the best ensembles are those whose artists demonstrate virtuosity, but also the ability to work together, listen to each other and maintain the musical balance. An opportunity to see how it is done at the highest level will be the Symmetries – 4th String Quartet Festival. In a panorama of works from Haydn – the “father of the quartet” – to the Krakow school of composition represented by Zbigniew Bujarski, we will hear two outstanding ensembles associated with Kraków: Messages Quartet and Dafo, as well as students from the quartet class at the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków. The finale will be truly splendid: the audience will see and hear the Karol Szymanowski Quartet with Agata Szymczewska as a first violinist.
7 January 2025, 7pm
Young Stage
Ati’c String Quartet: Szymon Laks String Quartet No. 3 “On Polish Folk Themes”
Meraviglia String Quartet: Dmitri Shostakovich String Quartet No. 8 Op. 110
MILO String Quartet: Mieczysław Weinberg String Quartet No. 2 Op. 3/145
8 January 2025, 7pm
Messages Quartet
Joseph Haydn String Quartet No. 2 “The Joke” Op. 33
Friedrich Gernsheim String Quartet in A minor No. 2 Op. 31
THE CONCERT HAS BEEN CANCELLED!
9 January 2025, 7pm
Dafo Quartet
Zbigniew Bujarski String Quartet “For Autumn”
Zbigniew Bargielski String Quartet No. 5
10 January 2025, 7pm
Karol Szymanowski Quartet
Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet in C minor Op. 18 No. 4
Benjamin Britten String Quartet No. 3
Grażyna Bacewicz Quartet No. 4
