Calendar of Cultural Events

Please verify dates and times with The Kosciuszko Foundation Director of Cultural Affairs
Tom Pniewski -- (212) 734-2130 ext. 214

Silesian String Quartet Featured in Carnegie's Weill Hall
Friday, March 4
"A Celebration of Polish Music and Musicians"

The Silesian String Quartet, Poland's foremost chamber group, will make its only New York appearance this season at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall on Friday, March 4, at 8 PM. Their program, "Szymanowski & Friends: A Celebration of Polish Music and Musicians," is being presented by the Kosciuszko Foundation and the Polish Cultural Institute; it features music of three master Polish composers of this century - Karol Szymanowski, Andrzej Panufnik, and Henryk Gorecki. Tickets are $20- $40, and can be ordered at CarnegieCharge (212.247.7800) and online at www.carnegiehall.org.

The Silesian Quartet was founded in 1978 by a group of students from the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice. It developed its skills at master courses conducted by the members of the LaSalle, Amadeus, Juilliard, Smetana and Berg Quartets. The Quartet's repertoire includes over 250 pieces of chamber literature, of which almost two hundred are by 20th-century composers. The Silesian Quartet has premiered some 40 works by Polish and foreign composers, many of which have been dedicated to the Quartet. It has performed at the 'Warsaw Autumn', 'Poznañ Music Spring', and music festivals throughout Europe.

The Silesian Quartet has given over one thousand concerts in Poland and Europe, as well as the United States, Canada, Mexico, Israel and Hong Kong.

Its discography includes complete string quartets by Aleksander Tansman, Karol Szymanowski, and Igor Stravinsky ; works by Henryk Górecki, Krzysztof Penderecki and Zygmunt Krauze. Recent recordings include the String Quartet of Stefan Wolpe, the chamber version of Chopin's Concerto in E minor, piano quintets by Johannes Brahms and Juliusz Zarebski.

In 1992 the Silesian Quartet launched an annual chamber music festival in Rybna (in Silesia, Poland), It was also the recipient of the Polish Composers' Union Prize (1994), the Artistic Prize of the Katowice Province Governor (1988) and the City Mayor (1992). In 1999 the ensemble was awarded the Gold Cross of Merit by the Government of Poland.

The Silesian Quartet will also be heard Sunday, March 13 at 6 PM on WQXR-FM 96.3, in a broadcast made possible by Thomas and Cynthia Rosicki, of Rosicki, Rosicki, and Associates, Attorneys at Law.

Program:
Szymanowski: Quartets Nos. 1 & 2
Panufnik: Quartet No. 2, "Messages"
Gorecki: Quartet No. 2, "Quasi una fantasia" (Commissioned by the Kosciuszko Foundation)

All events take place at the Foundation House, unless otherwise noted. Programs subject to change. Click here for directions.

Kosciuszko Foundation programs are supported by the Mary F. Koons Charitable Trust, the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), the Tadeusz Solowij Literary Fund, and the KF Cultural Fund.

Silesian String Quartet