Sunday, October 8, 2017 – Sunday, November 5, 2017
San Diego, La Jolla (CA), Encinitas (CA), Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Pasadena (CA), San Francisco, Templeton (CA), Paso Robles (CA)
“Kalinowski and Szlezer, friends since childhood, have a wonderfully natural rapport and there is an arresting quality to their playing that gives life to the music.” — Janet Banks, The Strad
Cellist Jan Kalinowski and pianist Marek Szlezer, who perform together as Cracow Duo, return for the second time to the US. On this month-long tour, starting October 8th in San Diego, the pair will present lectures, concerts and world premieres. Then they will return to New York, where in 2015 they made their Carnegie Hall debut. This will be followed by a performance October 20th at the Kosciuszko Foundation where they will present works including a world premiere of Act for Tadeusz Kosciuszko written by Jakub Polaczyk and composed for the bicentennial of the General’s death. November 2nd at the Center for New Music in San Francisco, the musicians will present a program of contemporary compositions by Polish and international composers. The tour will close with a concert on November 5th in Paso Robles at the Paderewski Festival.
In addition to these performances as a duo, on October 15th they will perform at the Newman Recital Hall in Los Angeles with Andrew Leonard (clarinet) and Jiwon Sun (violin), while on October 28th they will join the New Zimro Ensemble, Krysta Close (soprano) and Ed Levy (baritone) at the Boston Court Performing Arts Center. For the conclusion of the tour they will be joined by violinist Maurice Sklar for a performance of Beethoven’s Triple Concert for Violin, Cello & Piano for a concert in Paso Robles. During their North American tour, Cracow Duo will perform works by Fryderyk Chopin, Karol Szymanowski, Krzysztof Penderecki, Witold Lutoslawski, Andrzej Panufnik, Arvo Pärt, Sergei Rachmaninoff and others as well as world premieres by Marcel Chyrzynski, Jakub Polaczyk and David Rodríguez de la Peña.
A close understanding of music and common artistic vision coupled with an excellent command of their instruments and a high degree of concert experience allow Cracow Duo to offer interpretations that are emotional, sincere and spontaneous. Kalinowski and Szlezer studied together in Kraków and Paris. They took on the name Cracow Duo over fifteen years ago. Since then, they have been hailed by audiences and critics from Poland and abroad. The Cracow Duo has been praised by The Strad magazine for its “arresting” performances and “natural rapport.” ResMusica described the Duo’s performance of Chopin’s Cello Sonata as “intelligent and reflective.” The Duo has committed itself to performing and recording the best of Polish music, including extensive recordings of the chamber music of Chopin, Tansman, and Penderecki. Kalinowski and Szlezer have acted as ambassadors for their homeland at the “Kraków Days ” festival in Nanjing, China and similar events around the world. Equally dedicated to music written by living composers, the Cracow Duo released their album Dedications in 2015, featuring works by Polish composers written specially for the Duo. They were also featured on the album celebrating Krzysztof Penderecki’s 80th birthday in 2015, which was awarded the Gramophone Editor’s Choice and was nominated for the Fryderyk Award.
Presented in partnership with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and the Polish Cultural Institute New York.
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