Catalogue

What is that special world in which Adam Bałdych can meet Agnieszka Budzińska-Bennett? He is a violin virtuoso navigating his way between jazz and contemporary music. She is a singer, harpist, pianist, and musicologist, founder of Ensemble Peregrina early music ensemble associated with the famous Schola Cantorum Basiliensis early music academy. The world in which they have met is called Kras52. Rather than being a planet in a faraway galaxy, it is a Krasiński Library manuscript and one of the main sources of Polish medieval polyphony.

What is that special world in which Adam Bałdych can meet Agnieszka Budzińska-Bennett? He is a violin virtuoso navigating his way between jazz and contemporary music. She is a singer, harpist, pianist, and musicologist, founder of Ensemble Peregrina early music ensemble associated with the famous Schola Cantorum Basiliensis early music academy. The world in which they have met is called Kras52. Rather than being a planet in a faraway galaxy, it is a Krasiński Library manuscript and one of the main sources of Polish medieval polyphony.

“I’ve focused on chamber music in order to bring out as much colour in the violin itself and its changing sound as possible,” says virtuoso Adam Bałdych about his vision of Wieniawski’s music. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung called Bałdych “technically the most accomplished violinist of our time”. Technical proficiency and thorough education (which includes an honours degree from Katowice’s Academy of Music and a scholarship to Berklee College of Music) do not stop Bałdych from taking an unorthodox approach to the time-honoured music of old masters.

“I’ve focused on chamber music in order to bring out as much colour in the violin itself and its changing sound as possible,” says virtuoso Adam Bałdych about his vision of Wieniawski’s music. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung called Bałdych “technically the most accomplished violinist of our time”. Technical proficiency and thorough education (which includes an honours degree from Katowice’s Academy of Music and a scholarship to Berklee College of Music) do not stop Bałdych from taking an unorthodox approach to the time-honoured music of old masters.

From his debut album Outside Sources (2004), Canadian bassist-composer Michael Bates felt that even contemporary open jazz constrains him. Michael Bates’ arrangements OF Lutosławski’s works were premiered in a dazzling manner by the joint forces of Acrobat and Lutosławski Quartet during the New York edition of Jazztopad festival in June 2022. Several months later in Wrocław, the musicians met up again in order to record the music and thus preserve their fantastic adventure for the future generations.

From his debut album Outside Sources (2004), Canadian bassist-composer Michael Bates felt that even contemporary open jazz constrains him, which he honestly admitted, saying that he takes inspiration from Miles just as willingly as from the noisy recordings of Bad Brains. It was from punk that he started his adventure with music composition and performance. He sailed into new waters with an album of Acrobat (a quintet led by Bates) daringly taking up the legacy and composition technique of Shostakovich (titled Music for, and by, Dmitri Shostakovich, 2011).

Bloody crime, family tragedy, the force of destiny… The timeless works of ancient playwrights continue to move audiences also today as well as inspiring present-day artists. Aeschylus’ "Oresteia" has thus become the basis for Agata Zubel’s dramopera to a libretto by Maja Kleczewska.

Bloody crime, family tragedy, the force of destiny… The timeless works of ancient playwrights continue to move audiences also today as well as inspiring present-day artists. Aeschylus’ "Oresteia" has thus become the basis for Agata Zubel’s dramopera to a libretto by Maja Kleczewska.