Organised by: Warsaw Chamber Opera

Performers:
Karol Szymanowski Quartet composed of:
Agata Szymczewska violin
Robert Kowalski violin
Volodia Mykytka viola
Gustav Bafeltowski cello

Programme:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Serenade for string orchestra in G major No. 13, KV 525,
String Quartet No. 6, KV 465 "Dissonance"

Serenade for string orchestra in G major No. 13, KV 525, known as Eine kleine Nachtmusik (literally Little Night Music, although the term 'Nachtmusik' was used to describe the serenade, 'music of the night'; Little Nocturne) is one of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's best-known compositions, written for string quartet, although in practice the work is most often performed by string orchestra. It was written in 1787 in Vienna, at the same time as the composer was working on his opera Don Giovanni. The piece has a cheerful character, despite the troubles and suffering that Mozart experienced in the last years of his life.
String Quartet No. 6, KV 465 "Dissonance"
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completed the Quartet in C major KV 465 in 1785. The last of Mozart's six quartets dedicated to Haydn, it owes its nickname Dissonant to its slow, tense introduction, full of unresolved harmonies in rhythm with the pulsating cello line. Soon this disorientating Adagio gives way to the bright main theme of the first movement, Allegro. The first violin sings a short main theme, which is soon taken up by the other instruments in counterpoint imitation. A second, more jittery melody and a third in triplets become the fodder for the short development section, although it is the first theme, now in a minor cast, that dominates the proceedings until the recapitulation calms the troubled quartet - the exposition, of course, returns , without the baggage of the 'dissonant' introduction.

Agata Szymczewska has performed in famous concert halls including. She has performed in famous concert halls including Carnegie Hall in New York, Chicago Symphony Hall, Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Wigmore Hall in London, Théatre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, Musikverein in Vienna, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Palau de la Musica in Barcelona, the Berlin Philharmonic, Sala Sao Paulo in Brazil, the Seoul Arts Center in Korea, as well as in China, Japan, Taiwan, Canada, Peru, Chile, Colombia and Israel under the baton of, among others, Seiji Ozawa. Among others, Seiji Ozawa, Sir Neville Marriner, Ricardo Muti, Andrey Boreyko, Maxim Vengerov, Krzysztof Penderecki, John Axelrod, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Jacek Kasprzyk, Krzysztof Urbański, Michał Nesterowicz, Antoni Wit, Jan Krenz and at the Royal Festival Hall with the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vanska.
Agata Szymczewska regularly performs alongside Anne-Sophie Mutter, and tours with the Mutters Virtuosi ensemble in the most prestigious concert halls and music festivals on four continents. An important highlight of her career, in addition to her solo concerts, is chamber music, through which Agata Szymczewska has performed together with many outstanding artists such as Krystian Zimerman, Martha Argerich, Igor Levit, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Gidon Kremer, Maxim Vengerov, Mischa Maisky and Yuri Bashmet. Since 2014, Agata Szymczewska has been primarius of the renowned Karol Szymanowski Quartet, which for more than twenty years has been among the exclusive group of the best string quartets in the world.
Agata Szymczewska is also the winner of the London Music Masters award in 2009. In recent years she has been honoured with awards: Paszport Polityki, TVP Kultura Award in the category of Serious Music, and 4 Fryderyk Awards. Her phonographic output includes over a dozen CDs and DVDs released by, among others: Deutsche Grammophon, Sony Music, Decca, Hyperion Records, SWR Music, Universal Music, CD Accord.
Agata Szymczewska is a graduate of the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater in Hannover in the class of Professor Krzysztof Węgrzyn and the Academy of Music in Poznań in the class of Professor Bartosz Bryla. She is professor of violin at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and at the State Music School Complex No. 1 in Warsaw.
She regularly shares her teaching experience at music courses, demonstration lessons or masterclasses around the world. She has been a guest at the New England Conservatory in Boston, UCLA in Los Angeles, the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenyang and also at South American music conservatories in Santiago de Chile and Sao Paulo in Brazil. In Poland, he regularly lectures at, among others, the Winter Academy of Music in Lusławice and the Zenon Brzewski International Music Courses in Łańcut.
Played on a violin by Nicolo Gagliano (1755) lent courtesy of Anne-Sophie Mutter .
London's The Times wrote of Agata Szczymczewska:
She plays with seriousness, poise and musical wisdom beyond her age, sounding at times like a flamboyant young Ida Haendel, and belongs to a small group of the most outstanding Polish violinists who are recognised worldwide. Since winning First Prize, the Gold Medal and the Audience Award at the 13th Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Competition in Poznań, she has regularly performed on renowned stages in Europe, Asia and the Americas, earning praise from international critics, conductors and the orchestras and festivals she works with.

Karol Szymanowski Quartet
Since its formation in Warsaw in 1995, KSQ has been characterised by a constant search for new inspiration and an openness to the unpredictable. Each of the outstanding musicians has contributed their voice to the sound of this renowned ensemble. Even today, the quartet's musicians share a unique, common understanding of music and an inspiration based on their commitment to the achievements of Polish composers, including their patron Karol Szymanowski. His music, with its great freedom and expression, is still the identifying factor of the quartet's sound.
In their search for links between eras and crossing boundaries, the musicians develop concert programmes that meet with great favour from critics and audiences. They surprise with unexpected combinations and create new perspectives. This approach is also reflected in KSQ's discography, which in addition to works by Haydn, Dvořák and Shostakovich also includes rarely recorded works by Bacewicz, Zeleński, Zarębski, Friedman, Weinberg and Różycki. However, the close relationship between the ensemble and the audience is created primarily during live concerts, played all over the world. The quartet has been a guest at renowned concert halls such as New York's Carnegie Hall, London's Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Wiener Musikverein, Berlin Konzerthaus and Shanghai Symphony Hall, as well as international festivals in Rheingau, Schleswig-Holstein, BBC Proms, Schuberciad and Lockenhaus.