An Artist's Labyrinth
Krzysztof Penderecki in memoriam

The labyrinth is both the symbol of my art and the whole creative process. The wandering around the familiar labyrinth alleys, where you often find yourself up against a green wall not sure whether to turn left or right. That's when you usually have to turn around. Take a few steps back in order to be able to go forward. That's what it is like to roam the artistic labyrinth, looking, in essence, for perfect solutions. But this is something that most people, fixated on progress in music, fail to see.—Krzysztof Penderecki

Back in the 2018/2019 season, we could attend the BirthdayConcert dedicated to Krzysztof Penderecki, and two seasons later comes time for his In memoriam. It is of course impossible to recall the gigantic oeuvre of Maestro Penderecki in a sole evening. He left behind four operas, eight symphonies and many instrumental concerts, smaller instrumental and chamber pieces and choral arrangements of texts with primarily religious content. In addition, he was an active professor and conductor. His most famous works, such as Symphony No. 3, St Luke Passion, Polish Requiem and Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima, resound in concert halls around the world. Penderecki became part our national cultural heritage as the most renowned and respected Polish composer of the 20th century. The master is gone, but his music will stay with us. In memoriam.

PERFORMERS:

Krzysztof Zbijowski – clarinet 

Airis String Quartet: Aleksandra Czajor-Kowalska – 1st violin, Grażyna Zubik – 2nd violin, Malwina Tkaczyk – viola, Mateusz Mańka – cello

PROGRAMME:

Krzysztof Penderecki:

Prelude for Clarinet (1987)
(ca. 3 min.)

String Quartet No. 3 'Leaves of An Unwritten Diary' (2008)
(ca. 23 min.)

Quartet for Clarinet and String Trio (1993)
(ca. 17 min.)

Quartetto per archi No. 2 (1986)
(ca. 6 min.)