To celebrate the one hundred and seventh anniversary of Poland’s independence, we invite you to a special concert performed by one of Wrocław’s chamber ensembles, the LutosAir Quintet. Arrangements for five wind instruments will feature works by leading composers of Polish modernity, from Szymanowski to Meyer. Felix Mendelssohn – a representative of Europe’s musical culture, of which Poland is, after all, a part, will also feature.
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The evening will open with a work by Witold Lutosławski. The Dance Preludes was written in the late period of socialist realism, immediately after the Concerto for Orchestra. At that time, the composer found freedom within the imposed aesthetic in folklore. The Preludes were originally work written with students in mind, scored for clarinet and piano. The composer arranged it twice for orchestra, each time resulting in original tonal solutions.
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The consequence of the so-called thaw was the golden age of the avant-garde in Poland. Krzysztof Penderecki was first to represent its affirmation, and later its critique. The short Aria was composed immediately after the groundbreaking St Luke’s Passion. It was used in the 1966 documentary Passacaglia for the Sigismund Chapel, directed by Zbigniew Bochenek. Its musical style referencing early music corresponded with this interior.
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The centerpiece of the programme will be a premiere work by Krzysztof Meyer, a pianist and composer with wide-ranging interests, based in Germany. This artist is considered by many to be one of the contemporary masters of the sound craft. His Quintet will undoubtedly enrich the repertoire of a genre that emerged some two hundred years ago.
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One of the greatest composers of Poland’s interwar period was undoubtedly Karol Szymanowski. His famous Stabat Mater was first performed in 1929, three years after the score was completed. Bassoonist Fox Chan King Hei arranged the fourth movement of the cantata for wind quintet, the only one performed a cappella in the original version. In this way, Szymanowski achieved an expressive climax, creating a sense of soul-baring.
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Finally, David Walter prepared an arrangement of Felix Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in E minor. Interpreted according to the artist’s biography, this work can be associated with a joyful honeymoon in the Black Forest Mountains in 1837. The quartet is as transparent as a classical work, though it contains a lot of emotional intensity. A performance by a wind quintet will undoubtedly provide new sonic experiences that strings alone cannot offer.
’ marks a breath in the score