Schedule for Szymanowski Quartet (Germany) 2022

Andrey Bielow violin
Grzegorz Kotow violin
Vladimir Mykitka viola
Marcin Sieniawski cello

"This Warsaw foursome has superb technical control, innate musicality and an extraordinary sense of ensemble. Couple that with a deep understanding of their repertoire and an involvement that communicates itself electrifyingly to an audience, and the Szymanowski Quartet bears the hallmark of greatness. I guarantee you will be hearing a lot more from this gifted young group." Paul Cutts, The Strad, May 2003

Founded in Warsaw in 1995, the Szymanowski Quartet has developed into one of the most charismatic string quartets of the younger generation. In May 2001 they were selected by BBC Radio 3 to participate in the New Generation Artists Scheme, a project including frequent studio recordings for the BBC as well as concerts in various BBC series. In the UK they have played at the Chester Festival, the City of London Festival, the Wigmore Hall, the Huddersfield Festival, the BBC Proms, the Bath Festival and at many other venues.

Awards at well-known competitions, including the "Premio Vittorio Gui" in Florence and the 1997 "In Memoriam Dmitri Shostakovich" in Hanover, soon confirmed the extraordinarily high standards of the Quartet. In 1999 they won both the second prize and the audience prize at the International Chamber Music Competitions in Osaka and Melbourne.

The last few seasons have included invitations to renowned festivals such as the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Wьrzberg Mozart Festival, Bregenzer and Schwetzinger Festspiele, Niedersдchsische Musiktage and the Festivals of Luxembourg and Lockenhaus. The Quartet has performed concerts in Paris, Lyon, Grenoble and Bremen, and has toured Australia and the United States of America.

The Szymanowski Quartet has played at Carnegie Hall in New York, the Perth Festival, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and the Grьnewald Hall in Stockholm, as well as in Winterthur, Bonn, Hanover and Santiago di Compostela.

After its foundation in Warsaw, the Szymanowski Quartet studied in the chamber music class of the Hochschule fьr Musik und Theater in Hanover, which was founded especially for the Quartet by their teacher and mentor Hatto Beyerle. Although they have now finished their studies in Hanover, the Quartet continues to refine their musical skills by participating in master classes with such teachers as Walter Levin and the Amadeus, Emerson, Juilliard and Guarneri Quartets. Since the autumn of 2000, the Szymanowski Quartet has been "Quartet in Residence" and teaching chamber music at the Musikhochschule Hanover.

Composers they have worked with include Magnus Lindberg, Elena Kats-Chernin, Philip Cashian and Andrew Toowey, several of whom dedicated their works to the Szymanowski Quartet.

In 2005 the Szymanowski Quartet was awarded the prestigious Polish Karol Szymanowski Award for its "unique artistry in the interpretation of the music of Karol Szymanowski and for the consistent international furthering of this music." Previous recipients of this award have included Sir Simon Rattle and the pianist Piotr Anderszewski.

The quartet’s future engagements include return visits to the UK, including their return to the Wigmore Hall in June 2006, as well as concerts throughout Europe, in the USA and in Russia.