The Generation ‘51 composers began a current in Polish music which Andrzej Chłopecki called neoromanticism. The next concert of the Silesian Quartet in the series "Generation '51 for their 70th birthday" on 4 December 2021 at 6.00 p.m. in the NOSPR Chamber Hall will be an opportunity to verify this statement.
The instruments featured in Eugeniusz Knapik’s Trio for violin, clarinet and piano provide a connection with Béla Bartók’s Contrasts, but also with Darius Milhaud’s and Alexander Arutiunian’s suites, Stravinsky’s Soldier's Tale and Khachaturian’s Trio, written for the same type of ensemble. Yet, it was not referencing history that mattered for the composer. It was the sum of timbres offered by such an ensemble and reaching for the essence of the trio genre. The piece, commissioned by Walter Verdehr in 2003, premiered at the “Warsaw Autumn” International Festival of Contemporary Music.
Can performers provide inspiration for the composer? Two years ago, the Silesian Quartet performed Bettina Skrzypczak’s String Quartet No. 4 and Mieczysław Weinberg’s Piano Quintet in one concert in Bern. It was after the concert, at which the composer was present, that the idea of writing a new piece for the same classical type of ensemble, piano and string quartet, burdened with a long tradition, yet also letting one’s sonic-timbre imagination wander freely. Bettina Skrzypczak's Piano Quintet will be premiered by the Silesian Quartet and Piotr Sałajczyk.
Bettina Skrzypczak's piece was co-financed by the Minister of Culture, National Heritage and Sport from the Culture Promotion Fund as part of the "Composing Commissions" programme, implemented by the National Institute of Music and Dance.
Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.
Ticket Information: https://nospr.org.pl/