Jeremy Bell and Jerzy Kaplanek, violins;
Christine Vlajk, viola; Simon Fryer, cello

Photo by Cylla Von Tiedemann

The Symphony Space Presents STRING THEORY

A rare New York appearance for the Canadian-based Penderecki Quartet, "an ensemble of formidable power and keen musical sensibility" (Fanfare), features two Penderecki quartets, plus works by Szymanowski, Panufnik, Kaminsky and Grella-Mozejko.  Part of Upper West Fest.

Performance playlist:

String Quartet No. 2, Op. 56 (1927)
  Karol Szymanowski
     Moderato, dolce e tranquillo
     Vivace, scherzando
     Lento

Monotypes (2005)
  Laura Kaminsky
     Burgundy Landscape
     Squall in the Mountains
     L'Esterel
     Russet Landscape
     Landscape, 1890

String Quartet No. 2 (1968)
  Krzysztof Penderecki

Der Unterbrochene Gedanke (1988)
  Krzysztof Penderecki

String Quartet No. 3, Wycinanki (1991)
  Andrzej Panufnik
     Lento moderato
     Andantino rubato
     Allegretto scherzando
     Prestissimo possible
     Adagio sostenuto

Transpaining: Black Wings Has My Angel (2007)
  Piotr Grella-Mozejko

The Penderecki String Quartet, approaching the third decade of an extraordinary career, has become one of the most celebrated chamber ensembles of their generation. These four musicians, each originating from different countries (Poland, Canada, USA and the UK), bring their varied yet collective experience to create performances that demonstrate their "remarkable range of technical excellence and emotional sweep." (The Globe and Mail, Toronto)

The Quartet's performing schedule takes them annually to the great concert stages of North and South America, Europe and the Far East. Recent appearances include New York, Madrid, Amsterdam, St. Petersburg, Rome, Paris, Prague, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Indiana University, Wieczory Arsenale Festival in Poland, Is Arti Festival in Lithuania, Rive-Gauche Concerti in Italy, the Festival Internacional de Musica in Venezuela, Casalmaggiore Festival and Incontri in Terra di Sienna in Italy, Musicarama Festival Hong Kong and the Shanghai International Arts Festival. The PSQ appears extensively in Canada, giving numerous performances in all the major centres from coast to coast and participating in the country's foremost concert series, such as the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, Festival of the Sound, Festival Vancouver and Music Toronto.
The Penderecki Quartet collaborates regularly with eminent and diverse artists such as Martin Beaver, Atar Arad, Antonio Lysy, Luba Dubinsky, Jeremy Menuhin, James Campbell, jazz saxophonist Jane Bunnett, pipa virtuoso Ching Wong, choreographer David Earle, NY turntable artist DJ Spooky and actor Colin Fox.

The Penderecki Quartet was founded in Poland in 1986 at the urging of the pre-eminent Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki. The fruit of their association includes Penderecki's complete works for String Quartet on CD (United Records, England). To this day the Quartet is a devoted champion of the music of our time, and has performed a wide range of repertoire from Bach to Brahms, Bartók to Ligeti, Frank Zappa to John Oswald, as well as premiering over 100 new works from numerous composers, including Brian Cherney, Linda C. Smith, Randolph Peters, Harry Freedman, Glenn Buhr, Alice Ho, Peter Hatch, Omar Daniel and Gilles Tremblay, with assistance from the Canada Council, the Laidlaw Foundation, the CBC, the Ontario Arts Council and the Hong Kong Arts Development Council.

Described by Fanfare Magazine as "an ensemble of formidable power and keen musical sensitivity," the Penderecki Quartet's large discography includes over 20 recordings, including the chamber music repertoire of Johannes Brahms on both the Marquis and Eclectra labels, as well as a new release of the six Béla Bartók quartets under the auspices of Chamber Music in Napa Valley. The Quartet has also recorded discs for CBC, CMC, EMI, United and Artifact labels, among others.

The Penderecki String Quartet devotes much of its time to Quartetfest, an intensive spring-term seminar held at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario where guest faculty have included the Tokyo Quartet, the Ying Quartet and the Colorado Quartet. The Penderecki Quartet's involvement in education is a year-round commitment as they enter their 16th year as Quartet-in-Residence at Waterloo's Wilfrid Laurier University. Under the Quartet's direction, the string program has become one of the top programs in Canada, attracting an international body of students.