Poland Meets World – The Cracow Duo (Kalinowski + Szlezer) Visits SF

Cellist Jan Kalinowski and pianist Marek Szlezer have been close friends since childhood. For the last 15 years, as the Cracow Duo, they have championed music by lesser-known Polish composers as they explore a larger repertoire of global contemporary music, performing at home in Poland and around the world. With their longstanding friendship, they “ have a wonderfully natural rapport, and there is an arresting quality to their playing that gives life to the music.” (The Strad)
The duo dedicates this program to crossing borders. The program includes works by Polish and international composers.
Tomasz Jakub Opałka – The Glitch (2015)
Arvo Pärt – Spiegel im Spiegel (1978)
Andrzej Panufnik – Dreamscape (1977)
Witold Lutosławski – Grave, Metamorphoses for cello and piano (1981)
— intermission —
Jakub Polaczyk – Act for T.K (2017)
David Rodriguez de la Pena – Desplegar (2017) (world premiere)
Marcel Chyrzyński – Farewell (2013)
Wojciech Widłak – All my angers … (2013)

About Jan Kalinowski, Cello
Jan Kalinowski studied at the Music Academy in Cracow, the École Normale de Musique in Paris, and the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart. He has recorded several albums for Dux and EMI, receiving critical acclaim from Gramophone, Kulturspiegel, The Strad, Pizzicato, Fanfare, and American Record’s Guide. His prizes include the Gramophone Editors Choice, La Clef de Resmusica, and the Prix de la SACD.
About Marek Szlezer, Piano
Marek Szlezer is one of the most active polish pianists, a laureate of significant national, and international competitions. He is a graduate of the Academy of Music in Kraków, Ecole Normale in Paris, and Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth in Belgium. He has performed in venues including Carnegie Hall, Palais des Beaux Arts, St.Martin-in-the-fields, Seoul Arts Center, Palacio de Bellas Artes, and Salle Cortot. He was honored to perform on Chopin’s original piano at the Jagiellonian University the night Poland entered the European Union.

This concert is presented in conjunction with the Porta Musicae Artistic Association, the Polish Cultural Institute New York, and curator Julia Ogrydziak at the Center for New Music.