Agata Szymczewska

Violin

The Times wrote of her: “She plays with a seriousness, poise and musical wisdom beyond her years, at times sounding like a fiery young Ida Haendel.” Since winning First Prize, the Gold Medal and the Audience Prize at the 13th Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Competition in Poznań, she has performed regularly on leading stages across Europe, Asia and the Americas, earning acclaim from international critics as well as from the conductors, orchestras and festivals with whom she collaborates.

She has appeared, among others, at Carnegie Hall in New York, Chicago Symphony Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington, Wigmore Hall in London, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Palau de la Música in Barcelona, the Berlin Philharmonie, Sala São Paulo in Brazil, and the Seoul Arts Center in Korea; she has also performed in China, Japan, Taiwan, Canada, Chile, Colombia and Israel. She has performed under the baton of, among others, Seiji Ozawa, Sir Neville Marriner, Riccardo Muti, Andrey Boreyko, Maxim Vengerov, Krzysztof Penderecki, John Axelrod, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Jacek Kaspszyk, Krzysztof Urbański, Michał Nesterowicz, Antoni Wit and Jan Krenz. She also appeared at the Royal Festival Hall with the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vänskä.

Chamber music is a major part of her career alongside her solo appearances. She has performed with artists including Krystian Zimerman, Martha Argerich, Igor Levit, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Gidon Kremer, Maxim Vengerov and Mischa Maisky. Since 2014 she has served as first violin (Primarius) of the acclaimed Karol Szymanowski Quartet.

She is a recipient of the London Music Masters Award (2009) and has been honoured with the Polityka Passport, the TVP Kultura Award in the Classical Music category, four Fryderyk Awards, and the Koryfeusz of Polish Music award in the category Personality of the Year (2022). Her discography includes more than a dozen CD and DVD releases on labels such as Deutsche Grammophon, Sony Music, Decca, Hyperion Records, SWR Music, Universal Music and CD Accord.

She graduated from the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover, studying with Prof. Krzysztof Węgrzyn, and from the Academy of Music in Poznań, studying with Prof. Bartosz Bryła. She is Professor of Violin at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and also teaches at ZPSM No. 1 in Warsaw. Since June 2023 she has served as President of the Henryk Wieniawski Music Society in Poznań. She performs on a Nicolò Gagliano violin (1755), kindly loaned through the courtesy of Anne-Sophie Mutter

Piotr Pławner

violin

is regarded as one of the most outstanding and imaginative violinists of his generation. “This young man is a phenomenon, a true genius. His playing is fascinating, thought through to the smallest nuance. One can speak of this interpretation only in superlatives,” wrote Stuttgarter Zeitung. The Times described him as “an exceptional, flawless talent,” and Lord Yehudi Menuhin called Piotr Pławner a violinist of phenomenal abilities and one of the most promising talents of the coming era.

He began studying the violin at the age of six and made his stage debut at nine. He graduated with distinction from the Academy of Music in Łódź. After receiving a scholarship from the Henryk Szeryng Foundation in Monte Carlo, he continued his studies in Bern (Switzerland), where in 1995 he was awarded the special “Tschumi-Preis” for the best solo diploma.

He is a laureate of many competitions and auditions in Poland and abroad. Among the most important are his victories at the 10th Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Competition in Poznań (1991), the International Competition in Bayreuth (1991), the Henryk Szeryng International Competition in Monte Carlo (1994), and the 44th ARD International Music Competition in Munich (1995), where he received the top prize, awarded in the 55-year history of the competition only for the third time.

Piotr Pławner has been a scholarship holder of the National Children’s Fund, the Children’s Art Foundation, the Ministry of Culture and Art, and the Henryk Szeryng Foundation in Monaco. He performs extensively as a soloist and chamber musician in Poland and abroad, appearing throughout Europe, in Arab countries, in Asia, and in both Americas. He has performed with ensembles such as the orchestras of Bayerischer Rundfunk and Süddeutscher Rundfunk, the Berner Symphonieorchester, Sinfonia Helvetica, Radio Kamerorkest Hilversum, Deutsches Kammerorchester, Sinfonia Varsovia, the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. He collaborates with leading conductors of our time.

He has participated in numerous renowned festivals, including Braunschweiger Kammermusikpodium, Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart, L’Esplanade Saint-Étienne, Rheingau Festival, Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo, Internationale Festspiele Passau, Davos Festival, Grazer Frühling, Schlosskonzerte Thun, Musikfestival Braunwald, and the Al Bustan Festival. He has also taken part in prestigious concerts organised for prominent political figures (including Helmut Kohl, Rita Süssmuth, Ruth Dreifuss, Flavio Cotti, and Prince Rainier III of Monaco) and for major European anniversaries and events.

He has performed in venues such as Tivoli Hall in Copenhagen, Liederhalle in Stuttgart, Herkulessaal in Munich, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, Teatro Monumental in Madrid, the Tonhalle in Zurich, and Victoria Hall in Geneva.

His repertoire spans from the Baroque to contemporary music (including works by Krzysztof Penderecki, Witold Lutosławski, Eugeniusz Knapik, Morton Feldman, and Sofia Gubaidulina). He has made numerous radio and television recordings in Poland, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Switzerland, and Austria, including for Polish Radio and Television, TV Hilversum, Bavarian Radio and Television, TVE, Radio France, SDR, WDR, SWR, DRS, and ORF. In recent years he has made archival recordings with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice (violin concertos by Henryk Wieniawski, Karol Szymanowski, Mieczysław Karłowicz, Sergei Prokofiev, and Robert Schumann), as well as with orchestras of Süddeutscher Rundfunk, Bayerischer Rundfunk, and Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk.

His discography includes several CDs devoted to Polish composers. Ernest Chausson’s Concert for violin, piano and string quartet received the Fryderyk Award 2005. A recording of Karol Szymanowski’s chamber works received a prestigious distinction and was named “Record of the Year 1998” by the magazine Studio. In 2007 he received The Strad Selection award for his recording of Szymanowski’s and Karłowicz’s violin concertos, honoured as the best performance of these works by The Strad magazine. In 2009 he received another Fryderyk Award for a recording of works by Karol Szymanowski and Paweł Kochański, made together with pianist Wojciech Świtała.

His playing and artistry have been repeatedly recognised by international critics. He is regularly invited to serve on juries of international music competitions. Since 2006 he has been the first violin (Primarius) of the renowned quintet I Salonisti.

In 2015 he received the Bronze Gloria Artis Medal for Merit to Culture for his contribution to promoting Polish music abroad. In March 2020 he received a Fryderyk Award for his CD featuring violin concertos by Emil Młynarski, recorded with the Artur Rubinstein Philharmonic in Łódź conducted by Paweł Przytocki. In 2021 he was awarded the Silver Gloria Artis Medal.

From the 2020/21 season he has collaborated as Artistic Director with the Silesian Chamber Orchestra in Katowice. In 2022 he became Artistic Director of the chamber orchestra Capella Bydgostiensis.

Piotr Pławner performs on a T. Balestrieri violin.

Mateusz Doniec

Viola

was born in Kraków in 1996. He started viola classes with Rafał Daszkiewicz. In 2020he graduated with honours from the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw where he had been a student of Katarzyna Budnik. Recently he became her teaching assistant.Mateusz performed in the greatest concert halls in Poland, Japan, France, Austria, Germany, Slovakiaand China. Apart from solo performances, he takes part in chamber music concerts. He had the pleasure to collaborate with world-renowned musicians such as Astrig Siranossian, Marcin Zdunik,Anna Maria Staśkiewicz, Diana Tishchenko, Anne Queffélec, Fanny Azzuro. Mateusz regularly performs with chamber orchestras – „Warsaw Players” lead by Janusz Wawrowski and “Polish Soloist String Orchestra” since 2018. In 2019 he started working with “Extra Sound Ensemble”. He takes part in festivals like: „Chopin i Jego Europa”, „La Folle Journée”, „Sinfonia Varsovia swojemu miastu”, „Emanacje”, „Wielkanocny Festiwal Ludwiga van Beethovena”. Futhermore Mateusz is a violist of symphonic orchestra Sinfonia Varsovia. He collaborated with conductors like: Krzysztof Penderecki, Marek Janowski, Jerzy Maksymiuk, John Axelrod, Ian Hobson,Andrzej Boreyko, Aleksandar Marković, Mihhail Gerts, Robert Trevino, Jacek Kaspszyk.Mateusz participated in various masterclasses included one with violists – Roberto Díaz (Curtis), Julia Gartemann (Berliner Philharmoniker) and Katarzyna Budnik (Sinfonia Varsovia). Additionally, he received many scholarships for his work, such as the „Polish Youth” scholarship funded by the Polish Ministry of Culture for young artists. He was awarded many prizes at dozens of competitions. The most significant are:

3rd award at 57th International Music Competition “Beethoven Hradec” (2019),Grand Prix and 1st prize at International 18th International Bogdan Warchal Competition in Dolny Kubin (2014), 2nd award and the special prize for the obligatory piece at Xth National Jan Rakowski Competition Poznań (2018),Grand Prix at National CEA contest, 1st award at Viola Competition in Gdańsk (2017), 1st award at III Viola Competition T.Gonet in Kraków (2017), Additionally, he was a finalist in “Young Musician of the Year” in Poland.

 He currently serves as a teaching assistant in the viola class of Professor Katarzyna Budnik at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw.

Marcin Zdunik

Cello

Polish cellist, soloist and chamber musician. His repertoire spans music from the Renaissance to the most recent works; he also improvises, arranges and composes. He is regularly invited to leading music festivals, including the BBC Proms in London, Progetto Martha Argerich in Lugano, and Chopin and His Europe in Warsaw.

He has appeared as a soloist in many renowned concert halls, including Carnegie Hall in New York, the Konzerthaus in Berlin, Cadogan Hall in London and the Rudolfinum in Prague. He has collaborated with outstanding ensembles such as the National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra in Warsaw, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, the Prague Chamber Orchestra, the European Union Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia and the City of London Sinfonia, as well as with eminent conductors including Andrzej Boreyko, JoAnn Falletta, Antoni Wit and Andres Mustonen. An important part of his artistic life is collaboration with inspiring musicians, among them Nelson Goerner, Rafał Blechacz, Krzysztof Jakowicz, Bomsori Kim, Jakub Józef Orliński, Szymon Nehring, Aleksander Dębicz, Katarzyna Budnik and Jakub Jakowicz. As part of the Chamber Music Connects the World festival he had the privilege of performing with Gidon Kremer and Yuri Bashmet. In the 2016/17 season he was Artist-in-Residence at the National Philharmonic in Warsaw.

He has received numerous awards at international competitions and festivals. In 2007 he won First Prize, the Grand Prix and nine additional prizes at the 6th International Witold Lutosławski Cello Competition in Warsaw. In 2008 he represented Polish Radio in Bratislava at the International Rostrum of Young Performers organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), winning the event and receiving the title New Talent 2008. In 2009 he was awarded Gwarancja Kultury (Cultural Guarantee), granted by TVP Kultura.

In June 2009 Marcin Zdunik’s debut album was released, recorded with the Wratislavia Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Jan Stanienda and featuring, among other works, two cello concertos by J. Haydn. The album received the Fryderyk Award in 2010. He has also recorded the complete works for cello and piano by Robert Schumann (with pianist Aleksandra Świgut; NIFC, 2014), Mieczysław Weinberg’s Fantasia for Cello and Orchestra (with Sinfonia Varsovia under A. Mustonen; TWON, 2015), Fryderyk Chopin’s chamber music (Chopin. Chamber Music; with pianist Szymon Nehring and violist Ryszard Groblewski; NIFC, 2020), as well as a number of chamber compositions. The double album Bach Stories, recorded with pianist Aleksander Dębicz, was released by Warner Classics. Two of his most recent recordings received Fryderyk Awards: Words of Mystery, recorded with Camerata Silesia — City of Katowice Singers under the direction of Anna Szostak, and a recording of Paweł Mykietyn’s Cello Concerto No. 2, made with the National Forum of Music Orchestra in Wrocław under the baton of Bassem Akiki. Marcin Zdunik has also made numerous recordings for Polish Radio and Television, as well as for Slovak Radio.

Composition plays an important role in his artistic activity. In recent years he has written, among others, the cello concerto Ghosts of the Past (2021), commissioned by the Polish Radio Amadeus Chamber Orchestra under Anna Duczmal-Mróz; a Piano Quartet (2022); the cantata Cor Jesu for tenor, choir and orchestra (2024); a Piano Trio (2024); Da Pacem Domine for solo cello and seven cellos; as well as a number of solo works and music for theatre productions.

He studied with outstanding musicians Andrzej Bauer and Julius Berger. He pursued musicological studies at the Institute of Musicology of the University of Warsaw under Professor Szymon Paczkowski. His master’s thesis Bach in Search of the Ideal: Four Versions of the St John Passion BWV 245 received First Prize in the Zofia Lissa Competition. He is also a recipient of the Scholarship for Outstanding Young Scientists awarded by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education (2016–2019).

He teaches cello at the Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk and at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. In April 2021 he was awarded the title of Professor of Arts in the discipline of musical arts; in 2020 he received the Honorary Badge “Meritorious for Polish Culture”, granted by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage.

Jan Kotula

Doublebass

He graduated with honours from the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, the double bass class of Prof. Waldemar Tarnowski. He was awarded the 2nd prize at the 4th All-Polish Adam Bronisław Ciechański Double Bass Competition in Poznań (1997) and 3rd prize at the International Double Bas Competition in Markneukirchen (1999).

The principal double bassist and soloist of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR) in Katowice. As a chamber musician, soloist and orchestra member he performs in Poland and abroad. As a soloist, he has given concerts with the AUKSO Chamber Orchestra, the Academic Symphony Orchestra, the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Capella Bydgostiensis Chamber Orchestra. He has Collaborated with such conductor as Jan Wincenty Hawel, Zdzisław Szostak, José Maria Florêncio and Marek Moś. He cooperates with the Silesia Quartet. He has made radio and CD recordings.

In 2012, as part of the International Silesian Guitar Autumn Festival, he took part (together with the world-renowned guitarist Kazuhito Yamashita)in the European premiere of the concerto for double bass, guitar and orchestra written by the Japanese composer Keiko Fujiie. In 2015, as part of the Zaduszki Jazzowe Festival at NOSPR, he performed as a soloist along the prominent American Saxophonist Brandford Marsalis, accompanied ny the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alexander Humala. 

In 2013, he worked in an expert team of the Art Education Department on a new curriculum for the 1st– and 2nd – level music schools. He has been awarded numerous prizes for his teaching activity, just to mention the Prize of the Art Education Center’s Director or the Prize of the Principal of his Alma Mater (twice). He gives master classes at the International Music Courses in Łańcut and the Winter Music Academy in Lusławice. He is a juror of all-Polish double bass competitions. He regularly conducts methodological seminars as part of the All-Polish Double Bass Meetings in Mielec. He works as an assistant professor at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice; his students boast numerous successes at national and international double bass competitions.

Marcin Dylla 

Guitar

is regarded by many music critics and audiences as one of the leading classical guitarists of his generation. He has built his position, among other things, on an exceptional competition record. Between 1996 and 2007, he won first prize nineteen times at the most prestigious international guitar competitions in Europe and the United States.

He has also received numerous audience awards and distinctions from orchestras with which he has performed. In 2002, at the 7th International Guitar Convention in Alessandria, he was awarded the music critics’ prize “Golden Guitar” for the most promising young guitarist.

His CD recording for Naxos ranked among the label’s ten best-selling albums in 2008, while the DVD Wawel at Dusk (Wawel o zmierzchu) was nominated for a Fryderyk Award in 2010.

Marcin Dylla’s reputation on the European music scene is further strengthened by his appearances at major festivals, his masterclasses, collaborations with outstanding musicians and orchestras, and recitals in some of the world’s most prestigious venues, including: the Konzerthaus (Vienna), the Musikverein (Vienna), Carnegie Hall (New York), the Auditorio Nacional (Madrid), the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), the St. Petersburg Philharmonia, the Tchaikovsky Hall (Moscow), the National Concert Hall (Taipei), and the Kleinhans Music Hall (Buffalo, NY).

Winning first prize at the GFA guitar competition in Los Angeles—widely considered one of the most prestigious in the world—resulted in a concert tour of more than 60 cities across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. After his Washington recital, The Washington Post wrote: “If anyone had doubts that Marcin Dylla belongs among the most talented guitarists on our planet, they were completely dispelled that evening.”

Marcin Dylla was born on 6 June 1976 in Chorzów. He began studying the guitar at the age of eight at the State Music School in Ruda Śląska. From 1995 to 2000, he studied at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice in the guitar class of Assistant Professor Wanda Palacz.

He continued his education abroad: at the Academy of Music in Basel under Prof. Oscar Ghiglia, at the Academy of Music in Freiburg under Prof. Sonja Prunnbauer, and at the Conservatory in Maastricht under Prof. Carlo Marchione.

In 2016 he served as a visiting professor at the University of San Francisco. He currently teaches at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice and at the University of Münster.

Krzysztof Książek

Piano

is a semi-finalist and recipient of two additional (extra-regulation) prizes at the 17th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw (2015), and a laureate of the 3rd Prize and the Special Prize for the best performance of Mazurkas at the 1st International Chopin Competition on Period Instruments (2018). He has been repeatedly awarded and acclaimed for his interpretations of Fryderyk Chopin’s music and Polish repertoire.

He has appeared at numerous festivals in Poland and abroad, including the International Chopin Festival in Duszniki-Zdrój, Chopin and His Europe, Festival Chopin à Paris, the New Year Music Festival in Gstaad, and the Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival in Warsaw. He has performed across Europe, Africa, the United States and Asia, and has appeared under the baton of conductors such as Antoni Wit, Jacek Kaspszyk, Tadeusz Strugała, Grzegorz Nowak, Václav Luks, José Maria Florêncio, Yu Feng, George Tchitchinadze, Łukasz Borowicz, and Ewa Strusińska.

The breadth of his artistic interests places him among the most versatile pianists of his generation. Alongside the core repertoire, he also champions lesser-known works, including Stefan Wisłocki’s Piano Concerto, Zygmunt Stojowski’s Symphonic Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra, Ernő von Dohnányi’s Variations on a Nursery Song, and the Yellow River Piano Concerto. He also engages with contemporary music, such as Zbigniew Bargielski’s Concerto for Piano and Percussion and piano works by Rafał Augustyn.

A significant part of his artistic activity is devoted to performance on period instruments. In addition to collaborations with ensembles such as the Orchestra of the 18th Century, Collegium 1704, and the {oh!} Historical Orchestra, he recorded a recital on a copy of Chopin’s Warsaw piano — a Buchholtz instrument from around 1825. Chamber music also plays an important role in his work. He studied it with Prof. Kaja Danczowska, Prof. Maria Szwajger-Kułakowska, Dr hab. Sławomir Cierpik, Dr hab. Bartłomiej Kominek, and the Silver-Garburg Duo.

Together with his wife, Agnieszka Zahaczewska-Książek, he co-founded the Książek Piano Duo. The duo won the 1st Prize at the 2nd International Polish Music Competition in Rzeszów (2021) and the 2nd Prize at the 12th International Chamber Music Competition “Franz Schubert und die Musik der Moderne” in Graz, Austria (2025), in the piano duo category. He also maintains a long-term collaboration with singer and composer Agata Zubel; their album “Apparition” (CD Accord), featuring songs by 20th-century composers, received the Fryderyk Award 2020.

His discography also includes recordings of music by Chopin and Augustyn, suites for two pianos by Anton Arensky and Sergei Rachmaninov, as well as four-hand works by Polish composers of the early 19th century.

Krzysztof Książek graduated from the Academies of Music in Kraków and Bydgoszcz (studying with Prof. Stefan Wojtas) and from the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover (studying with Prof. Arie Vardi). He was a recipient of the “Young Poland” scholarship programme and received the Krystian Zimerman Scholarship in March 2014.

He teaches piano at the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków; his students include Yehuda Prokopowicz. Krzysztof Książek is represented by the Ludwig van Beethoven Association

Wojciech Świtała

Piano

Graduate of Professor Józef
Stompel piano class at the Academy of Music in Katowice.

In the years 1991-1996 he perfected his piano skills under supervision of Karl-Heinz
Kämmerling, André Dumortier and
Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden.He is a laureat of International Piano Competitions in Paris (Marguerite Long and Jacques Thibaud Piano Competition – II Grand Prix) and Montreal. He was the best Polish contestant of the 12 th International F. Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw,where he was granted the prize for the best performance of Polonaise and a number of non-statutory prizes.Soloist and chamber musician, he has performed in various venues across Europe,North and South America. He has collaborated with most Polish symphony orchestras,the Aukso Orchestra, the Silesian Quartet, the Camerata Quartet, Royal String Quartet,as well as violinists Szymon Krzeszowiec, Piotr Pławner, and soprano Ewa Iżykowska.He has made about a dozen of recordings for such labels as Polskie
Nagrania, Bearton,DUX, Sony Music Polska, IMC and Chandos, featuring works of Bacewicz, Brahms,Chopin, Debussy, Liszt, Schumann, Szymanowski and Zarębski. For the Fryderyk Chopin Institute recorded two albums on period instruments (Pleyel 1848 and Erard 1849). In the years 2000 and 2005, his albums were awarded the Grand Prix du Disque Frédéric Chopin. In 2002, 2009 and 2019 – he was honored with the "Fryderyk" award.Since 1998 he has been engaged in teaching. He is a professor in the Piano Department at the K. Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice. In the years 2008- 2012 he was additionally vice-rector for the science and didactics, and in the years 2012-2016 he was the head of the Piano Department at the University. In the years 2020-20023 he was also a professor at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. From 2024 he is also a guest professor at Showa University in Japan. Juror of international piano competitions, including the M. Long and
J. Thibaud Competition in Paris (2009), F. Chopin Competition in Warsaw (2015,2021,2025), V. Horowitz Competition in Kiev (2016, 2019), A. Rubinstein Competition in Beijing (2016),and I. J. Paderewski Competition in Bydgoszcz (2010, 2013), as well as many others (Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Japan, Singapore, Italy, USA). He regularly conducts piano courses in Poland and abroad (Austria, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, , USA). He was the chairman of the jury of the 2nd International Chopin Competition on period instruments in Warsaw in 2023. Originator and the main organizer, (till 2017), of the International Piano Masterclasses in Katowice. In 2014, he was appointed to the Program Council of the National Fryderyk Chopin Institute. From December 2021, a member of the board of the Chopin Society in Warsaw.

Anna Armatys-Borrelli

chamber music

She began musical education in her native Tarnów, Poland, where she attended the local State Primary School of Music. Subsequently she graduated with honours from the State Secondary School of Music in Tarnów. Throughout her primary and secondary education she was a member (a cello leader) of both Children’s and Youth Chamber Orchestras, with which she toured many European countries and performed at festivals both home and abroad.

She completed her tertiary education with excellent grades at the Faculty of Instrumental Music, Academy of Music in Kraków, in the cello class of Professor Witold Herman. Throughout her studies she participated many times in Helmuth Rilling’s classes organised by the Bach Academy (Kraków and Stuttgart) and in the Summer Music Academy in Pommersfelden, Germany. She was awarded three annual scholarships by the Polish Ministry of Culture and Art. 

In 2000 she obtained a postgraduate degree in the Melos Quartet’s chamber music class and in Professor Peter Buck’s cello class, in 2002 a Solistenklasse diploma in the same class, and in 2004 a Solistenklasse diploma in the string quartet class at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart, Germany. In October 2002 she was awarded the Third Prize in the cello category at the International Competition of 20th and 21st Century Music in Rome, Italy.

Since 1993, Anna Armatys-Borrelli has been a member of the Dafo String Quartet, with which she has received numerous awards at international music competitions, including the First Prize and Special Award at the Bacewicz Chamber Music Competition in Łódź, Poland, in 1995; the First Prize at the Valentino Bucchi Competition of 20th-Century Music in Rome in 1995; the First Prize and Special Award at the Penderecki International Contemporary Chamber Music Competition in Kraków in 1997, the Second Prize and Special Award at the International String Quartet Competition in Cremona, Italy, in 1998; the Second Prize at the International String Quartet Competition in Bubenreuth, Germany; the First Prize in the string quartet category at the Nationwide Chamber Ensemble Competition in Katowice, Poland, in 1998; the Third Prize at the Zinetti International Chamber Music Competition in Sanguinetto, Italy, in 1999; and a Special Jury Award at the Joachim International Chamber Music Competition in Weimar, Germany, in 1999.  

She has recorded numerous CDs with the Dafo String Quartet, many of which have received music awards. Recorded for the DUX/PWM label, their two albums Polskie kwartety XX wieku [Polish String Quartets of the 20th Century] received two Fryderyk Awards in 1999 and 2001, respectively. The ensemble also recorded a CD for the Robert Bosch Foundation/SWR label featuring string quartets by Szymanowski, 2nd String Quartet by Górecki and String Quintet in C Major by Schubert (the latter recording was performed by the Dafo String Quartet with the Melos String Quartet cellist Peter Buck). In 2010 they released Penderecki String Quartets, String Trio Clarinet Quartet, an album featuring all chamber works by Penderecki, including the world première recording of Penderecki’s 3rd String Quartet. The album was awarded the Supersonic Pizzicato Prize for a unique chamber music recording from the Luxembourg-based music label Pizzicato. In 2011, the Dafo String Quartet recorded a CD/DVD entitled Live Łukaszewski & Bembinow in collaboration with the Puelle Orantes Girls Choir.Their Kolędy i pastorałki [Christmas Carols] received a Golden DVD from the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry and a Fryderyk award in 2011. 

As a soloist and chamber music performer she has appeared in many prestigious music festivals in Poland and abroad, and she has also performed both for radio and television. From 1992–1996 she was a cello leader in the Tarnów Chamber Music Orchestra, and she has also collaborated with numerous chamber music ensembles throughout Europe. Anna Armatys-Borrelli’s repertoire encompasses several hundred works ranging from duets to music composed for large chamber ensembles.

From 1996–2002 she worked as an Assistant Lecturer at the Chair of Cello and Bass, Academy of Music in Kraków, and from 2002 she worked as a Lecturer there while collaborating with the Chair of Chamber Music. Since 2012 she has been working at the Chair of Chamber Music exclusively. In 2013 she was awarded the title of Associate Professor and Habilitated Doctor and was appointed Head of the Department of String Chamber Music. From 2007–2010 she ran the cello class at the Conservatorio di Musica „Domenico Cimarosa” in Avellino, Italy, 2010-2019 a similar class at the Conservatorio di Musica „Alfredo Casella” in L’Aquila, Italy and since 2019 she has been running a similar class at the Conservatorio di Musica „Ottorino Respighi” in Latina, Italy.

Roman Fleszar

Painting

Polish painter and university lecturer born and living in Tarnow, where he graduated Visual Arts High School. He obtained the Master Degree in painting at Academy of Fine Arts in Poznan in 1992, he also studied at Academy Goetz Dederian in Paris. In 2016 he got a PhD at Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow.

His feature techniques are oil on canvas and pastel drawing. The themes of his paintings vary from abstraction, through landscape to sacral art.

He organised over 50 solo exhibitions and participated multiple international art projects and exhibitions in USA, China, Russia, France, Hungary, Ireland and many others countries. His paintings belong to collections of museums and galeries in Poland and abroad.

Selected individual exhibotions:

  • 1986: debut – Wojewódzki Ośrodek Kultury (Tarnów)
  • 1990: La Poste- Ecole Militaire (Paryż)
  • 1997: BWA (Piła)
  • 1998: Galeria Quatro, Rzeszów, BWA (Krynica-Zdrój), Dworek Paderewskiego (Kąśna Dolna)
  • 1999: Hotel Gołębiewski (Mikołajki)
  • 2000: BWA (Sandomierz), BWA (Gorlice), BWA (Nowy Sącz), BWA (Rzeszów), Galeria Sztuki LSB (Lublin)
  • 2001: Międzynarodowe Targi Poznańskie (Poznań), Miejska Galeria Sztuki (Częstochowa), Muzeum Archeologiczno-Historyczne (Głogów), BWA (Gorzów Wielkopolski), Salon Sztuki Współczesnej BWA (Bydgoszcz)
  • 2002: BWA (Sieradz)
  • 2004: Galeria Wirydarz (Lublin), Pałac Małachowskich (Nałęczów)
  • 2005: Galeria Sukiennice (Kraków)
  • 2007: BWA (Tarnów)
  • 2008: Galeria Sztuki (Kazimierz Dolny nad Wisłą)
  • 2012: Galeria Wirydarz (Lublin)
  • 2016: Galeria Pryzmat (Kraków)
  • 2017: Zamek w Nowym Wiśniczu
  • 2018: Muzeum im. S. Fischera (Bochnia), Centrum Sztuki Współczesnej Solvay (Kraków)
  • 2019: Muzeum okręgowe w Tarnowie, BWA Tarnów, Dwór Karwacjanów w Gorlicach, Centrum Paderewskiego (Kąśna Dolna), Muzeum Sztuki Adżarii (Batumi, Gruzja), Art Gallery Heron Live Hotel (Gródek nad Dunajcem)
  • 2020: Płocka Galeria Sztuki, Galeria Sztuki Miejski Ośrodek Kultury w Dębicy, Miejska Galeria Sztuki MM w Chorzowie, Galeria PODDASZE (Zakliczyn), Galeria Wydziału Sztuki (Tarnów), Centrum Paderewskiego (Kąśna Dolna), Osobliwości Galeria Sztuki Wirydarz (Lublin)
  • 2021: BWA Rzeszów, Dworzec Autobusowy w Krakowie
  • 2023: Galeria Arteka w Tarnowie

In previous editions, we were also honoured to host:  

Ewa Pobłocka

Piano

Ewa Pobłocka is a prize-winner of the 10th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw (1980), where she also won the prize for the best performance of mazurkas. She won First Prize in the International Viotti Music Competition in Vercelli (1977) and the gold medal in the International Festival of Young Laureates in Bordeaux (1979).

Ewa Pobłocka has performed throughout Europe and the Americas, as well as in China, Indonesia, the RSA, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Australia, in such venues as the Herkules-Saal in Munich, Musikhalle in Hamburg, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Hall, Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, Kyoi Hall in Tokyo, Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, Barbican Centre and Wigmore Hall in London, Musikverein in Vienna, Lincoln Center in New York, Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto and Sala Cecília Meireles in Rio De Janeiro, among many others. She has played as a soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Bayerischers Rundfunkorchester, Sinfonia Varsovia and Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. She repeatedly toured as a Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra soloist under the baton of Kazimierz Kord. She is an accomplished chamber musician. 

She has given numerous first performances and made world premiere recordings of works by Polish contemporary composers, including Andrzej Panufnik, Witold Lutosławski (first Polish recording of the Piano Concerto with the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra under the composer’s baton), Paweł Szymański and Paweł Mykietyn. Ewa Pobłocka has worked with European radio stations and recorded more than 50 discs (for Deutsche Grammophon, Polskie Nagrania, CD Accord and Bearton, among others). Many of her recordings have won prizes and critical acclaim, just to mention two ‘Record of the Year’ distinctions awarded by the 'Studio’ Magazine and the John Field Medal for the recording of his complete Nocturnes (the first recording of the whole set ever made). She is the first Polish pianist in history to record both volumes of Das Wohltemperierte Klavier by Bach. Recently she has performed both the volumes during the recitali series in many venues in Europe. Her last album with the 1st book has been awarded as recording of the month by and has been placed among the fifty best recordings of Bach’s music in history by the 'Gramophone’ Magazine, also receiving special commendation in 'The Record Geijutsu’.

She is a distinguished pedagogue, teaching at the Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz. She has given numerous master classes in Canada, The United States, Vietnam, Japan, Mongolia, Korea, China, Ireland, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Poland, and Belgium, among many others. She has been a jury member of the most prestigious international piano competitions, such as the Chopin Competition in Warsaw, Artur Rubinstein Competition in Tel-Aviv, as well as the competitions in Hamamatsu, Pretoria, Calgary, Hastings and Ettlingen, among many others.

Ewa Pobłocka also willingly devotes herself to literary activities – her first book, ‘Forte-piano’, was released in 2021. Since 2020, she has been running the broadcasts ‘Start with Bach’ and ‘Bach’s Cases” in Polish Radio. 

Janusz Wawrowski

Violin

Janusz Wawrowski is recognized as one of the most outstanding and experienced violinists of his generation. His solo career brings him to perform in a number of the world’s most important concert halls, including: Musikverein in Vienna, Wigmore Hall in London, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Beethoven- Saal in Stuttgart, Seoul Arts Center, Lithuanian National Philharmonic in Vilnius, De Doelen in Rotterdam, Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, Teatro Teresa Carreῆo in Caracas, National Philharmonic in Warsaw, NFM in Wroclaw, NOSPR in Katowice, or M. Karlowicz Philharmonic in Szczecin. He has been associated with the Warner Classics label for many years, for which he has released six solo albums and a number of singles. His recordings bring him excellent critics’ reviews and many notable awards. His most recent album, Phoenix, received nominations for ICMA 2021, PdSK, Opus Klassik 2021 and Fryderyk 2021, and was chosen album of the month on the UK’s Presto Classic and album of the week on London’s Classic fm, Norddeutscher Rundfunk and Polish Radio Dwójka. 

He is also the winner of the 2017 and 2019 Fryderyk awards, the most prestigious phonographic honor in Poland. The artist gave many premieres of violin concertos. Tomasz J. Opałka, Marcin Markowicz, Norbert Palej, Dariusz Przybylski and Albena Petrovic have written works dedicated to him. 

A unique reconstruction of Różycki’s Violin Concerto, which disappeared in Warsaw, ruined by the Uprising in 1944, was created on his initiative. For his outstanding artistic and social activities, he was awarded the medal of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage for Merit to Polish Culture. 

He has been nominated for the “Coryphaeus of Polish Music” award in the “Personality of the Year” category 2018 and the Norwid 2019 statuette. He plays a 1685 Antonio Stradivari violin.

Katarzyna Budnik

Viola

Katarzyna Budnik  studied the violin (under Mirosław Ławrynowicz, Andrzej Gębski, and Janusz Wawrowski) and the viola (under Piotr Rejchert) at the The Fryderyk Chopin University of Music. The latter instrument won her heart – nowadays, she is a recognized soloist (and chamber musician), and teaching assistant in the class of her former professor, Piotr Rejchert.

Ever since 2008, the musician has been triumphing at one competition after another. She received the main prizes at the Beethoven’s Hradec International Music Competition (Czech Republic, 2008), 15th International Johannes Brahms Competition in Pörtschach (Austria, 2008), and at the 8th Polish National Jan Rakowski Viola Competition in Poznań (Poland, 2008). She also came in second place at the International Max Rostal Competition in Berlin (Germany, 2009), Max Reger International Chamber Music Competition in Sondershausen (Germany, 2009), and at the 4th Michał Spisak International Music Competition (Poland, 2010).

In 2013, she was awarded third prize at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich – one of the most prestigious distinctions for performances of classical music, awarded in a different category each year.

She has frequently performed as a soloist and in chamber ensembles both in Poland and in other European countries (Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, France, Russia). In 2010, she participated in the Chamber Music Connects the World project, organized by the Kronberg Academy, where she had the opportunity to play with some of the big names of contemporary classical music: Gidon Kremer, Tatiana Grindenko, Yuri Bashmet, or Frans Helmerson. She has performed at many significant festivals, e.g. Chopin and His Europe in Warsaw, International Chamber Music Festival Music on the Heights in Zakopane, or Kammermusikfest Lockenhaus (on the special invitation of Gidon Kremer).

2013 saw the release of her first monographic record (issued by DUX), Viola Recital, on which she is accompanied by the guitarist Krzysztof Meisinger. The album includes compositions by Max Reger, Aram Khachaturian, Pierre Rhode, Niccola Paganini, and Krzysztof Penderecki’s Cadenza. She has also taken part in several chamber music recordings, such as Aqua e Vinho (Ponte Art Production, 2010) by Łukasz Kuropaczewski, featuring pieces by Vivaldi, Bartók, Boccherini, and de Falla. She also played on the album Strauss, Shostakovich, Penderecki: Violin Sonatas (Universal, 2012), together with Jakub Haufa (violin) and Marcin Sikorski (piano).

Milena Kędra

Piano

Dr hab. Milena Kędra, prof. AMKP is a pianist, chamber musician, and educator whose artistic path has been shaped by outstanding pianists and pedagogues such as Andrzej Pikul, Piotr Paleczny, Halina Czerny-Stefańska, Jan Ekier, Maria Szmyd-Dormus, and Karl-Heinz Kämmerling. During her studies, she completed an assistantship under the supervision of Prof. Adam Kaczyński—the founder of the Contemporary Music Department at the Academy of Music in Krakow and the legendary ensemble MW2, specializing in the performance of new music.

She is a laureate of national and international piano and chamber music competitions, and a recipient of a scholarship from the Ministry of Culture and Art. Her performance career includes archival recordings for Radio Opole, Radio Kraków, Radio Cluj (Romania), as well as for Kraków Television, BBC, and NHK. She has been repeatedly invited to perform at festivals in Poland and abroad. Her concert activity has taken her to countries including the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Romania, Moldova, Italy, and Brazil. Together with Michał Dziad, she forms the Cracow Piano Duo. She has premiered numerous works by contemporary Polish composers.

As a professor at the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Krakow, Milena Kędra shares her expertise and experience with new generations of pianists, inspiring them to continuously invest in their artistic growth and to seek their own artistic voice. She also serves as the Head of the Keyboard Instruments Section at the F. Chopin State Secondary Music School in Krakow. Her students and graduates have collectively won over 130 awards and honors at national and international competitions. Many of them also pursue successful artistic, scholarly, and pedagogical careers.

Her organizational work includes the creation and realization of artistic initiatives such as the Krakow Festival of Young Pianists, the National Piano Duet Competition “Quattro Mani”, and the National Piano Competition named after Irena Rolanowska. She is also the originator and director of the project „Summer Art Workshop”, which for six years supported the promotion of culture and education of young talents in Niepołomice. For a decade, she served as president of the Małopolska Art Manufacture Association, where she co-created initiatives such as the “Music in Old Balice” Chamber Music Festival, the contemporary music concert series “Bridges”, and the interdisciplinary project “Hebdów Art Encounters”, combining music and visual arts.

Her contributions to the promotion of Polish culture and music education have been recognized with numerous awards and distinctions, including the Award of the Centre for Artistic Education for Outstanding Contribution to the Development of Artistic Education in Poland, the Award of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, the “Meritorious for Polish Culture” Honorary Badge, and the Medal of the National Education Commission.