Cellist Marcin Zdunik will present a solo recital at the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra’s Clement House, featuring a personally curated program of solo cello works, including music by Polish composers and improvisations inspired by their masterpieces.

Cello Solo. Improvising Polish Music

Cellist Marcin Zdunik, in his solo program, draws upon the ancient art of improvisation. The tradition of creating music in the moment has been one of the cornerstones of cultural transformations worldwide for centuries. For various reasons—worthy of a separate essay—in the 20th century, the world of classical music largely excluded improvisation from its domain of interest. Jazz became the only widely recognized genre associated with improvisation. The abandonment of real-time composition resulted in an irreparable loss for both performers and listeners—the experience of participating in the fleeting and unrepeatable moment of creative expression offers a unique musical quality that cannot be replaced.

The recital opens with an improvised La Folia, sending a signal to the classical music world that European music itself is fundamentally rooted in improvisation. The works of Bach, Mozart, and Chopin were largely the result of experimentation and exploration at the instrument. La Folia will be performed entirely in the Baroque style, as a tribute to the 17th-century tradition of preluding—beginning a performance with an improvisation. Some composed works by great composers include passages designed as spaces for free expression—such is the case with Prelude BWV 1008 by Johann Sebastian Bach.

The recital program is designed so that the predetermined intellectual structure of composed pieces provides a counterpoint to the freedom of improvisation, and vice versa. The result is a dynamic, wave-like interplay, where individual pieces and improvisations engage in dialogue, contrast with one another, and build in intensity.

A response to Bach’s music comes in the form of a composition by the performer himself—Passacaglia for Solo Cello (2022). The piece takes its form from the Baroque tradition of improvising variation cycles based on an ostinato bass, yet it explores a variety of contemporary techniques for shaping the cello’s timbre.

Improvisations inspired by specific Polish composers will relate to their musical legacy in different ways. In the case of Witold Lutosławski, the reference will be both his distinctive musical language and his binary formal model (Hesitant—introductory section; Direct—main section). Other improvisations will evoke the extraordinary, dreamlike atmosphere and emotions found in the music of Karol Szymanowski. The pieces referencing Henryk Wieniawski and Fryderyk Chopin will directly engage with specific works of these composers, transforming into their unique reinterpretations.

As a counterpoint to the fluid texture of improvisation, the program features meticulously crafted compositions by two outstanding 20th-century classical masters—Witold Lutosławski and Krzysztof Penderecki. Both pieces share a connection through the legendary virtuoso Mstislav Rostropovich.

Sacher Variation was composed in honor of Swiss conductor and arts patron Paul Sacher‘s 70th birthday. At that time, Rostropovich commissioned twelve distinguished composers to write pieces based on a theme derived from the letters of Sacher’s name—Es-A-C-H-E-Re (D). In Lutosławski’s interpretation, the theme takes the form of an energetic, rhythmic pulse, with its presentations interspersed with free and varied episodes.

Mstislav Rostropovich was also the dedicatee of Per Slava by Krzysztof Penderecki. This piece serves as a tribute to J.S. Bach, with the Leipzig cantor’s name appearing as a musical motif (B-A-C-H) that serves as the foundation for an intensifying musical narrative.

Program

MARCIN ZDUNIK  La Folia (improvisation)

PAWEŁ SZYMAŃSKI  A Kaleidoscope for M.C.E.

Improvisations on themes from music by
WITOLD LUTOSLAWSKI  Hesitant
WITOLD LUTOSLAWSKI  Intrada

Improvisations on themes from music by
HENRYK WIENIAWSKI  After the Legend
HENRYK WIENIAWSKI  Kujawiak

WITOLD LUTOSŁAWSKI  Sacher Variation for solo cello

MARCIN ZDUNIK  Passacaglia for cello solo (2022)

Improvisations on themes from music by
KAROL SZYMANOWSKI  Alfejos
KAROL SZYMANOWSKI  Uwoz, mama

KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI  Per Slava

Improvisations on themes from music by
FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN  Mazurka in G minor, Op. 24, No. 1
FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN  Mazurka in D major, Op. 33, No. 2

Program selections subject to change.

Marcin Zdunik

Marcin Zdunik is a Polish cellist, soloist, and chamber musician. His repertoire spans from Renaissance to contemporary music, and he is known for his improvisations, compositions, and original arrangements.

He has been invited to perform at prestigious festivals, including The BBC Proms in London, Progetto Martha Argerich in Lugano, and Chopin and His Europe in Warsaw. He has given solo concerts across Europe, the USA, and Korea and has collaborated with renowned ensembles, such as Sinfonia Varsovia, Warsaw Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Prague Chamber Orchestra, European Union Chamber Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Zdunik has also worked with distinguished conductors, including Andrey Boreyko, Antoni Wit, and Tadeusz Strugała.

Regularly performing alongside esteemed musicians such as Nelson Goerner, Gérard Caussé, Krzysztof Jabłoński, Krzysztof Jakowicz, José Gallardo, and the Modigliani Quartet, he has also played with Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet, and Tatjana Grindenko at the Chamber Music Connects the World festival in Kronberg. As a soloist, he has performed at renowned concert halls, including the National Philharmonic Concert Hall in Warsaw, the Rudolfinum in Prague, Carnegie Hall in New York, Cadogan Hall in London, Konzerthaus Dortmund, and the Slovak Philharmonic in Bratislava.

The recital is presented by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, in collaboration with the Polish Cultural Institute New York and the National Institute of Music and Dance / Narodowy Instytut Muzyki i Tańca.